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Vegetarian

Super Easy and Creamy Vegan Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

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Take a delicious pasta favourite recipe and make it healthy. Tangy mushrooms in a creamy vegan sauce tossed with soft pasta. Digging into this bowl is like digging into a bowl of comfort. Such a creamy and rich sauce but still filled with nutrients and so much protein!

What’s special about this dish?

Healthy, creamy pasta. Usually a creamy pasta sauce is either made with lots of cheese and butter or with cream or all together. Not very nutritious but loaded with saturated fats. But is it possible to make such a sauce in a healthy way? Yes it is!

It is very common to make it with soaked cashews. I need to say that I really like this but tbh only soaked cashews tastes very intense. But they do make the sauce really creamy and nutrient dense. In order for this sauce to still be creamy but not too intense, we are using a mix of soaked cashew nuts, butter beans and nutritional yeast.

What’s nutritional yeast:

Nutritional yeast is a very popular cheese alternative for vegans or people who do not consume dairy. It is basically the same as yeast, it just is dehydrated and has a cheesy – like flavour. You can buy this in the form of little flakes. In German it is Hefeflocken.

Is this dish healthy?

It definitely is very nutrient – dense. Why? We have wholegrain pasta as a base. They provide lots of complex carbohydrates and fibre to give you energy and keep you full for longer.

Then we have the mushrooms, which are high in vitamins and fibre like any vegetable. And the sauce: it is made out of butter beans, great source of protein, fibre (lots of that!) and vitamins, cashew nuts, many unsaturated fats and protein, plant based milk to thin everything out. Besides we have nutritional yeast, which also is high in vitamins and antioxidants. That already is pretty much it, so you can see – a very balanced meal with carbs, protein, fibre and fats.

Can wholegrain pasta be tasty?

Oh, yes! Definitely! I totally agree that whole grain pasta can be very boring or not delicious. But there are various things you can do to change this. It starts with the pasta you are buying. I LOVE the one I am using, and have only been buying this ever since I tried this. This really is not sponsored but I am just truly amazed by their quality and taste. I always buy the organic one form Pastafani that is produced in Austria from Austrian ingredients. You can really taste the difference to conventional whole grain Pasta. If you want to try it, you can safe 10% with UNEPETITE10 !

How to make this dish:

Really really simple. First boil the pasta according to package instructions. In the meantime fry the mushrooms with the onions. In the meantime we blend everything for the sauce up. Once the pasta is done cooking, we preserve some pasta water, drain it and then mix it with the mushrooms, the sauce and the water. That’s as easy as it gets!

When, how, meal prep?

You can make this anytime because it literally takes 20 minutes to make max. So it is a great quick lunch or dinner, easy to make and super tasty. It also is very family friendly, since everyone loves pasta and if desired, you can add in some chicken for example. It does work for meal prep, just be sure to know that the sauce won’t be as creamy anymore.

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Super Easy and Creamy Vegan Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

A bowl of (healthy) comfort. A delicious, tangy, creamy bowl of pasta with a healthy mushroom sauce. Definitely not your regular pasta recipe but it's absolutely delicious!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 658 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g pasta
  • 500 g mushrooms
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 can white beans
  • 20 g cashews (soaked for a few hours if you do not have a high speed blender)
  • 200 ml plant based milk
  • 40 g nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • salt & pepper

How to

  1. Prepare the pasta according to package instructions.

  2. Preheat the oil. Finely chop the onion and slice the mushrooms. Fry them in the oil. To a blender add all of the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Before the pasta is done cooking preserve some pasta water.

  3. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and add to the mushrooms with the sauce. If too thick add some of the pasta water.

  4. Serve with more nutritional yeast and enjoy!

I really enjoy this pasta and hope that you will enjoy it too!
Have lots of cozy nights and fun cooking,
Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Swirled Pesto Ricotta

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A very long name for a very simple dish. Comfort food at its finest but make it healthy. A little bit like Lasagna, but with a fall twist to it. Roasted pumpkin with creamy ricotta-bolognese filling, tangy pesto and a little molten cheese on top! Sounds pretty good right? 

What is Spaghetti Squash?

Spaghetti Squash is a type of squash (or pumpkin) that originated in North and Central America. The US also is where it became very famous first! Why? What it is being baked, you can basically scrap the pumpkin „meat“ with a fork and get a texture very similar to spaghetti. These pumpkin spaghetti also look very similar to the real ones. The similarities are what made this pumpkin be so popular. It is commonly used as a replacement for pasta in many dishes, since it is incredibly low in calories, and therefore gained popularity! 

What is special about this dish?

You have to know, it is like a pasta bake kind of dish. Just without the pasta. You still have a similar texture as in pasta, and get that whole pasta feeling because of the looks and the sauce, the spaghetti squash comes with but it is a much lighter version of a pasta bake. More vitamins and fibre, less calories and carbohydrates. It is really fun to switch this up a little once in a while.

And also, there is not just pumpkin, bolognese and cheese, but we have this amazing pesto ricotta swirl that really does take this dish next level. It adds so much flavour, creaminess and goodness to this whole dish, which is just amazing!

Is this dish healthy? 

Yes-ish. As a base we have a vegetable, with lots of Vitamin B, C and fibre. This already makes it really nutritious! (You can read more about pumpkin in my November top 5 blog post!). I would definitely say that any dish that has a vegetable as a base is healthy (at least healthyish) because it is nutritious.

Veggie Bolognese?

Then the filling: this is not super duper nutritious but it is not unhealthy. The sauce. I love to use a vegetarian bolognese because it is more nutritious in most cases. Also, I feel like it lightens up the dish plus it tastes amazing. I know, you may now be thinking, hm not sure about that! And I agree, there can be boring pasta sauces! Definitely! But not the one I like to use! If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been moving to use the products from Pastafani because they produce delicious, high quality pasta products with Austrian ingredients. I tried out their vegan Bolognese and I need to say, with honestly, that it really is delicious! You can find it here and even get 10% discount on it with the code UNEPETITE10 ! I can only say that it definitely is worth a try!

Picture by Pastafani

So back to whether it is healthy or not. The base, yes. The sauce, depends on what you are using. A veggie bolognese, yes! A meat bolognese I would say healthy-ish. Then we have the ricotta and pesto (which you by the way can also get a super delicious one at Pastafani!)! Ricotta I would say is not super nutritious but also not unhealthy. It is higher in protein and lower in calories than regular cream cheese. Plus, super good for the soul 🙂 The pesto is high in vitamins and healthy fats, and it is green (doesn’t that basically already mean that it is healthy?). Then we just top it off with some cheese, not very nutrient dense but you know, a little cheese never hurt nobody.

How to make this?

This is not challenging at all. We start by preparing the spaghetti squash. For this cut it into half, season with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper and roast in the oven. In the meantime we heat up the sauce. When the squash is done, we need to tear the „spaghettis“ from it. This is done by taking a fork and scrapping the pumpkin meat off the sides.

Now we just pour in the sauce, add a few dollops of ricotta and pesto, swirl everything around so it looks nice and marbled, top it with some cheese and bake it again. That’s all it takes to make this super delicious meal!

I genuinely hope that you will enjoy this recipe at least as much as I do and that you will make it on repeat! It is a delicious, comforting meal for cozy weeknights and weekends!

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Oven Roasted Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Swirled Pesto Ricotta

Comforting, Healthy, easy & delicious! A lighter version of a pasta bake, with seasonal ingredients: Baked pumpkin with a creamy bolognese, ricotta and pesto filling!

Course dinner, Main Course
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 5 Minuten
Calories 567 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 kg spaghetti squash
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 300 g (veggie) bolognese sauce
  • 100 g ricotta
  • 3 tbsp pesto
  • 50 g cheese

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the meat is soft.

  2. In the meantime heat up the bolognese and season the ricotta with salt and pepper.

  3. When the squash is done baking, take it out of the oven. Grab a fork and scratch off the pumpkin "meat" from the edges. This will create a spaghtti like look.

  4. Pour in the bolognese sauce, divide the ricotta and add the pesto. Swirl everything together, so it is all combined and creates a marble-like look. Top with the cheese and bake for another 5-q0 minutes at 200°C until the cheese has molten.

  5. Serve & Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Easy Oriental Baked Pumpkin with Creamy White Bean Hummus

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It’s finally the season of our all-beloved veggie! Soups, stews, carving, roasting. No matter when and it which way, pumpkin always is a great idea! But the good same old soup can also get a little boring after a while. So let’s bring some new spices into your kitchen and try out having pumpkin in a different way! Soft roasted pumpkin on a bed of creamy white bean hummus, topped with pine nuts and a good drizzle of olive oil. Perfect fall lunch or dinner and great for meal prep! 

What is special about this dish? 

The combination of pumpkin with oriental flavors and the slightly different variation of hummus! Hummus usually is made out of chickpeas, tahin and olive oil. In this recipe, we are using white beans, also called butter beans instead of chickpeas. They make it equally as creamy and taste very similar. The major difference is that compared to chickpeas, white beans have a milder and slightly buttery taste. This goes in great harmony with the roasted pumpkin. This is flavored with an oriental spice mix and then baked. To finish off we are topping it with roasted pine nuts. This gives the final touch and is really delicious! 

Is this dish healthy?

Yes and yes! Let’s start with the white bean hummus. Beans have a great nutritional value. They are an incredibly good source of plant based protein and fibre. Plus, the addition of the olive oil and tahin not only make it super creamy but they also add a decent amount of healthy fats.

Pumpkin, as you can read in my November Top 5 as my food of the month, is also super nutritious. Lots of vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, C and E as well as other minerals. Plus it contains a lot of fibre, which is really beneficial for your digestion. 

Also the pine nuts are really nutritious, as all nuts! Protein, unsaturated fats and minerals. Brainfood at its finest! 

How to make this dish

This actually is super simple. To start, you need to combine the spices with some olive oil and brush the pumpkin with it. Then pop it in the oven for half an hour and that’s all you got to do for the pumpkin! 

Next up, making the hummus. For this you need a food processor or at least a blender! Into this you add the white beans, olive oil, tahin, salt, paprika and garlic powder. And VERY important: you need to add a little splash of vinegar! Sounds a bit unusual at first, but believe me, it makes the difference. The slight acidity makes the hummus so super addicting, I promise, soso good! And last, but not least we also need to add some of the liquid the beans were preserved in. This helps to make it super creamy! 

When and how to best have it

If you are wondering when to best have it, I can only tell you so much: it works at any time of the day! It is a great addition to your brunch, works great as a lunch or a comforting dinner! What is great about this is, that it works amazing for meal prep too! You just need to make the hummus first. This you can store in the fridge for up to a week. The hummus need to be baked and stored separately and can be reheated when you want to eat it! 

In terms of how to best have it, I recommend serving it either with some kind of bread such as pita bread or with some cooked grain as quinoa! If you are not super hungry, it also works great with a green salad on the side!

Perfect comforting and healthy dish for fall to make use of all of the pumpkins that are in season! Easy and delicious! 

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Oriental Spiced Baked Pumpkin with Creamy White Bean Hummus

Creamy, tangy white bean hummus topped with super flavorful, oriental spiced pumpkin and topped with crispy nuts. Fall comfort at its finest.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine oriental
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 391 kcal

What you will need

For the pumpkin:

  • 1 hokkaido squash
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the rest:

  • 1 can white beans
  • 1 tbsp tahin (this is a paste made out of sesame seeds. If you do not have this, simply add more olive oil)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp paprika powder
  • 2-3 tbsp of the liquid the white beans were canned in
  • 2-3 tbsp parsley
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • some PIta bread to serve

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Slice the pumpkin into about 1-2cm thick slices. Lay them out on a baking tray. mix the spices with the olive oil and brush the pumpkin with the mixture. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until soft.

  2. In a food processor combine the drained white beans, tahin, olive oil, salt, paprika, vinegar and the preserved liquid in which the beans have been stored. Blend until creamy. If not creamy enough add more of the liquid or more olive oil.

    Add the pine nuts to a pan and heat them up. Fry them until golden brown, then immediately take them off the heat.

  3. Divide the white bean hummus onto plates. Top with the pumpkin when done. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and parsley. Enjoy!

I hope you will enjoy this recipe!
Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

The Best Healthy and Crispy Cauliflower Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa

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Tacos. One of the best foods ever invented. Even if most Tacos, especially the ones in Europe are everything else than traditional, they still are incredibly delicious. And what I love most about them is that they are so versatile!! You can have them with meat, fish, tofu, mushrooms, lentils, chicken or with cauliflower. Just a huge disclaimer: this cauliflower is NOT BORING. Everything else than boring!

What is special about this dish?

The filling of the Taco. My Mexican friends explained me that in Mexico, the real, authentic, filling is prepared greatly different than in most other parts of the world. There, you have a huge stick with lots of meat on it, that is turning over heat. When it is cooked, you slice down the meat and add it into the tortillas. A bit similar to Kebap I believe.

So yes, this would be the traditional. But if you look at that picture, you c an see that this cauliflower obviously has not been sliced down from a stick. No, not at all. This cauliflower is tossed in a super delicious, very non traditional marinade made out of Ajvar, samba olek, olive oil, maple, tomato paste, garlic cloves and sesame oil, then tossed in breadcrumbs and baked until crispy. This adds SO much flavour to the cauliflower and will make it taste amazing! This recipe will really convince all meat eaters and non-cauliflower fans of this vegan version of tacos.

Besides the star of the show we also have a creamy avocado-yoghurt sauce on top and some spicy mango salsa. More flavour, more color, more explosion in your mouth. The combination of all of these work in perfect harmony and make the ideal taco party.

Are these healthy?

Yep! Contrary to the meat in traditional tacos, cauliflower is low in calories, high in nutrients and low in fat. The marinade is also pretty healthy since it mainly consists of roasted red peppers. To make the cauliflower crispy, we are also not frying it but baking it in the oven, which is a game changer in terms of nutrients.

Other than the cauliflower we have an avocado yoghurt dip, which gives us the healthy fats we need (and the avocado that we need in tacos). The mango salsa, is another vitamin bomb and the child in there, helps to keep your immune system fit. Important for the cold season that’s about to come up!

How to make them:

This actually is super simple. You need to blend the ingredients for the marinade up and break up the cauliflower into small rosettes. Then you let it marinate in the sauce for at least one hour to really absorb as much flavour as possible. Before baking we need to toss them in breadcrumbs and lay them on a baking tray. Drizzle them with oil, and really make sure that there is some oil on every cauliflower bite. Now, it just needs to go into the oven!

In the meantime we are just smashing the avocado and mixing it with the yoghurt. Also, we chop up the mango along with some chilis, spring onions, cilantros and mix it with the juice of a lime, some soy sauce and sweetener. Serve it all up with some Cole slaw if wanted (for this you could mix some shredded cabbage with vinegar, carrot and a little of the avocado sauce) and let the taco party begin!

A meal the whole family LOVES

You really will not have a hard time to convince meat eaters of this dish. Doesn’t taste healthy, does not taste boring, easy to make and heavenly when served in a warm taco shell!

I really hope and I am pretty sure that you will love this recipe at least as much as my family and I do! I promise you, it will taste pretty amazing!

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The Best Healthy & Crispy Cauliflower Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa

They are not even in the slightest bit boring. An explosion of falvor in your mouth from a cirps on the outside and soft on the inside baked cauliflower along with a creamy avocado sauce and a spicy mango salsa. Taco dreams coming true.

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican, texmex
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Marinating 1 Stunde
Total Time 2 Stunden
Servings 4 servings
Calories 456 kcal

What you will need

For the cauliflower:

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 6 tbsp ajvar
  • 2 tsp sambal olek
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 50 g breadcrumbs
  • oil

The rest:

  • 1 avocado
  • 200 g (plant based) yoghurt
  • 1 mango
  • 2 chilis deseeded
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 12 taco shells

Optional:

  • shredded red cabbage
  • shredded carrot
  • a splash vinegar

How to

  1. Break or cut the cauliflower into small florets. Blend all the ingredients except the cauliflower, breadcrumbs and the normal oil in a blender. Add the cauliflower to a large bowl and toss in the marinade. Let sit for at least 1 hour. The longer the better.

  2. Heat up the oven to 180°C. Take the cauliflower out of the marinade and toss them in the breadcrumbs. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and add the cauliflower on top. Drizzle with oil and make sure that every piece has some oil on it. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then turn up to 200°C and bake for 5 minutes until crispy and golden brown.

  3. IN the meantime mash the avocado and mix with the (plant based) yoghurt! Peel the mango and chop in small cubes. Add to a bowl along with the deseeded and finely sliced chili, the spring onions and the cilantro. Combine soy sauce, lime jice and maple and mix it with the rest.

  4. Optional: Toss the cabbage and carrots with a splash of vinegar and about 2-3tbsp of the avocado cream.

  5. Heat up the taco shells.

  6. Fill each taco shell with some cabbage (if making some), a few cauliflower florets, the salsa and avocado cream! Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière