A few weeks back I posted about how I would love to see more Guest Post, I am very excited about the responses I received. I was most excited about the different views we all take on cooking being that some focus more on freezer cooking, cooking for kids, or in this case vegan cooking.

This guest post comes from Nicole at Vegan in The House.

Don’t we all love a quick recipe? We’re busy…we have things to do. But, we want to feed our family a healthy dinner. This recipe is both quick and healthy. I can make this sauce in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part…it’s delicious too!

12 Minute Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Roughly chop 1 large, ripe tomato. Add it to your blender. Add ½ cup cashews, 1 Tbs. tomato paste, and ¼ cup of water. Blend until very smooth.

Cashews are the base of most of my favorite vegan cream sauces because they’re very rich tasting and they blend easily. It allows you to create a very smooth sauce in a blender.

Add 2 Tbs. olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add 2-4 garlic cloves (chopped) and sauté until golden. Be careful not to burn them.

Once the water is boiling, add pasta. (De Cecco is my favorite.)

Pour sauce from the blender into the sauté pan and bring to a simmer.

Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally.

(If desired, add wine/water to thin out the sauce.) Taste the sauce and season more if necessary.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauté pan. Add 1-2 tsp freshly cracked, coarse black pepper and 1 handful of fresh basil leaves (chopped). Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnish with more pepper and basil if desired.

Enjoy!