Vegan Ricotta Spinach Pasta With Lemon & Garlic. Your New Favourite

This lemon ricotta spinach pasta has to be one of the best vegan pasta recipes out there! Its absolutely scrumptious and takes less than 30 minutes to make! Perfect for a weeknight meal. Recipes like this one that make being vegan easy! I promise you're going to love it!

This is the perfect mid-week dinner for four. Or the perfect meal for two, and take some to work the next day. Look how delicious this looks! All ingredients are vegan, so 100% guilt free!

You can serve this one as a cold pasta too. Perfect to take as a plate to your next BBQ or dinner party.

Ricotta Spinach Pasta: 4 Main Elements (all vegan)

There are 4 main elements to this recipe:

• The Pasta
• Spinach (or any other green vegetable. I've used broccoli or brussels sprouts before)
• Ricotta Spinach Sauce
• Parmesan Cheese

Pasta

This ingredient is pretty self explanatory! Choose your favourite pasta and cook until al dente. I prefer to use a long pasta like fettuccine for this recipe.

Spinach

This recipe calls for you to use fresh spinach. Fresh spinach is an easy, nutritious veggie that is added to the boiling pasta for the last minute of cooking. Spinach is recommended not only for its flavour, but for the convenience and speed of cooking. 

Substitute for spinach?

Another great combination with this lemony creamy pasta sauce, is either broccoli or brussels sprouts! Add the broccoli to the last 2 minutes of the boiling pasta, or add the brussel sprouts to the last 6 minutes. I have tried all three options (spinach, broccoli or brussels sprouts), and I can confirm that they are all delicious! 

Ricotta Cheese Sauce

There are many vegan ricotta cheese recipes out there, but this is one that I’ve found works best for this recipe. If you don't own a food processor you can use a blender instead. The flavour is the same, and some even prefer the smooth sauce texture anyway

Once you have made your vegan ricotta, combine in a bowl with the  olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and cracked pepper

Parmesan Cheese

This is the last step to the recipe, and it is one that cannot be missed! This will add that salty cheesy flavour, which this recipe could be quite bland without. Finish tossing your cooked pasta, spinach and ricotta sauce in the sauce pan, slowly adding in the vegan parmesan.

Nutrition

 The total calories & macro's for the exact quantities in this recipe are as follows:

1 SERVING (4 SERVINGS)

• 505 cal
• Carbs - 60g
• Protein - 20g
• Fat - 21g

Meal Planning

If you have found this recipe from one of my meal plans, then follow the recipe below exactly noting the following:

• Divide into exactly 4 meals (over 4 days)
• Have 1 meal on the day of making it, and keep the other 3 in the fridge for the next 3 days 
• Use almond milk instead of coconut cream. This is to reduce the calories 
• Follow the Vegan Ricotta & Vegan Parmesan recipe below exactly
• The calories & macros stated above reflect exactly the quantities in the recipe below divided by 4

If I'm having this as part of my meal planning I prefer to just keep it in the fridge and have it cold. Try it with my Quinoa Chickpea Salad shown above! 

THE RECIPE

Vegan Ricotta Spinach Pasta

One of the most tasty vegan pasta recipes out there! It takes less than 30 minutes to make, which makes it a perfect mid-week meal.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Pasta, Vegan

Servings 4

Calories 505 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 240 g pasta of your choice
• 200 g fresh baby spinach
• 1 lemon (juice & zest)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (very finely chopped)
• 1 cup vegan ricotta (make from scratch or make beforehand for a cold pasta)
• ½ cup vegan parmesan
• 2-3 good pinches of cracked pepper

Vegan Ricotta (makes 1 cup)

• ½ cup raw cashews (soaked overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes)
• 100 g firm tofu
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 4 tablespoon coconut cream use almond milk for low fat / lower calorie option
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Vegan Parmesan (makes ½ cup)

• ½ cup raw cashews
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta until al dente in a saucepan with plenty of boiling water
• Add spinach to the boiling pasta for the last minute of cooking. Slowly add all of the spinach until wilted
• Drain pasta and spinach into a colander. Keep & set aside ⅓ of a cup of the boiling water
• Transfer pasta & spinach back to the saucepan (heat / gas turned off)
• In a bowl, mix the vegan ricotta, black pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic & olive oil
• Add the mixture to the sauce pan, stirring through. Add the boiling water slowly to make the sauce less sticky
• Add the vegan parmesan, again slowly mixing through (save some parmesan for garnishing)
• Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top & some lemon wedges

Vegan Ricotta

• Add all vegan ricotta ingredients, except the firm tofu to a blender or food processor. Blend smooth
• Combine the sauce from the blender & the firm tofu to a food processor. Pulse until blended (maintaining a lumpy ricotta like texture)
• Refrigerate until cold if you are having this as a cold pasta. Otherwise set aside in a mixing bowl

Vegan Parmesan

• Add all ingredients to a blender (I use a small nutribullet), and blend until fine, with lumps starting to form
• Set a small amount aside for garnishing on top

Notes

You can pre-make the vegan ricotta and have this as a cold pasta. A great option in hotter weather! Check out my vegan ricotta & vegan parmesan recipes 

Nutrition

Calories: 505kcal

Keyword Ricotta Spinach Pasta, vegan, Vegan Pasta

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