Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

*sigh* I aim for one recipe per week and wind up making it to about one per month! It’s not ideal, I know, but it’s hard work, with a wee man running around, to get the adequate time needed to recipe develop, create and make a recipe, do the photography, then write up a post. It seems simple enough, and it is (albeit there is a lot of toil that goes into making a post) but it just takes so much darn time.

It’s a great joy to be able to cook and write and share it all with you. However, now that Todd and I have a little family, I prioritize my free time with them; whether it’s skiing on the weekend with friends or just simply chillin’ inside by the fire reading and playing with stuffed animals. We actually cook and bake a lot, but Oliver loves to help and there isn’t a lot of measuring happening and we really just wing things together. Messily and quickly. It’s not super kosher for sharing recipes here on Produce On Parade.

While I try to navigate dedicating time to this space but not sacrificing time with family and friends, I want to thank you for being so patient. You’re all so wonderful; I love hearing from you, especially those of you who have been here since the beginning six years ago. It blows my mind it’s been six years already. Thank you guys! Happy Valentine’s Day to your loves, your friends, your family <3 Love makes you want to stay. Love is a day full of hugs. Love is cheers when you get home.

Bear with me today, I’m on Tamiflu (I don’t have the flu, but opted to take it prophylactically due to work exposure) and it really makes it difficult to concentrate. I think I’ve spent about 20 minutes trying to write one paragraph!

Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

By Kathleen Henry - Produce On Parade

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry rigatoni pasta (or pasta of choice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 oz) package of Lightlife Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage
• 12 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 ¾ cup unsweetened, plain soymilk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• Dash of white pepper (black pepper will work)
• Dash of shiitake mushroom powder (optional)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions


1. Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook according to package until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large rimmed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes then add the sausage, breaking it into bite size pieces with a wooden spatula. Add the mushrooms; saute an additional 5-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have darkened and shrunk.
3. Whisk the nutritional yeast through the mushroom powder into the soymilk and stir into the mushroom mixture over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes; while deglazing the pan. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in cooked pasta. Serve hot, topped with fresh parsley.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 5 servings

Corn & Zucchini Tacos with Chickpea & Walnut 'Meat'

This is one of the best weeknight meals around, vegan or otherwise! These tacos are super fast, healthy, there’s very little prep, everyone loves them, the tacos are customizable to tastes, and they leave little cleanup. A giant win in my book!

These aren’t much to look at, but I guarantee you that everyone is going to love them! Quite possibly one of Todd and my favorite meals, these tacos are so quick and easy to whip up. Perfect for a busy weeknight. Oliver really enjoyed putting the lettuce on the tacos too, so kid-friendly! Yay!

Have you watched the Tidying Up with Marie Kondo show on Netflix? I read her book several years ago and still fold my clothes in her very particular way, even though I found the book to be slightly absurd. We watched the show a couple weeks ago and pretty much turned our house upside-down. I don’t know what it was about actually watching her go through with people and help them ‘tidy up’ but it really made an impact on us. If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth the watch! Okay, PSA over. Now it’s taco-time!!

Corn & Zucchini Tacos with Chickpea & Walnut 'Meat'

By Kathleen @ Produce On Parade

This is one of the best weeknight meals around, vegan or otherwise! These tacos are super fast, healthy, there’s very little prep, everyone loves them, the tacos are customizable to tastes, and they leave little cleanup. A giant win in my book!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 15 oz can of sweet corn, drained well
• 2-3 small zucchinis, diced small
• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 ¼ cup whole raw walnuts
• 2 ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• ½ small head of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 8-10 taco-size flour tortillas
• Sprinkle of shredded vegan mozzarella
• Spoonful of salsa, to taste

Ingredients

1. Over medium, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Once hot, saute the corn and zucchini for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. While the veggies fry, place the chickpeas through the garlic powder into a food processor. Pulse several times, until the mixture resembles taco meat. There should be small chunky bits of walnuts and chickpeas, and the spices should be well blended. Transfer to a microwave safe bowl.
3. Prep the veggies. Microwave the taco meat for about 1-2 minutes, until warm. Heat the stack of tortillas in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds, to heat.
4. To assemble the tacos, place lettuce on one taco, followed by taco meat and pan-fried veggies and then the remaining veggies. Top with a sprinkle of shredded vegan mozzarella and a spoonful of salsa, to taste, on each taco. Divide the fillings evenly between all the tortillas. Serve hot.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5
Total time: 15
Yield: 8-10 tacos

Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese

I’ve made a lot of vegan mac and cheese. All kinds. If you can think it, I’ve probably made it: some good, some bad but this one is my absolute favorite. It also happens to be exceptionally easy. A staple in our house, I hope it will become one in your house as well. This vegan version is oil-free and oh so creamy and delicious.

Noticed some changes? Produce On Parade got a bit of a makeover! What do you think of it? I hope you like it; we felt we needed a bit more of a modern feel. Something clean and shiny, eh. If you have any comments please let me know through the brand new contact page at the top right on the screen. I'd love to hear what you're thinking.

Anywho, what I am thinking is... comfort food. A teething Oliver is getting up every two hours to nurse #whatdidwedo and then with me working full-time, this is one dead momma. I literally ran into a wall today, in front of a patient. That's what three intermittent hours of sleep get you. I need food that is fast and filling and yummy. Last night I was really craving mac and cheese, so we whipped this up in no time. I thought it was about time I shared this recipe. It's always the staples that I have yet to share for some reason.

Not only is this dish killer but it happens to be the only vegan mac and cheese recipe that is Todd approved. He doesn't like the sweet potato or butternut squash mac and cheeses. Nope, this is the only one. Oh well, makes my life easier!

Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

I’ve made a lot of vegan mac and cheese. All kinds. If you can think it, I’ve probably made it: some good, some bad but this one is my absolute favorite. It also happens to be exceptionally easy. A staple in our house, I hope it will become one in your house as well. This vegan version is oil-free and oh so creamy and delicious. Inspired by BuzzFeed *A high powered blender works best. If you don’t have one just soak the cashews in boiling water for 20 minutes prior to use.

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
• ¼ medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• ½ cup raw cashews*
• scant ¼ cup large-flake nutritional yeast
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• dash of freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz dry pasta shells

Instructions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil for the vegetables. Boil the potatoes and garlic clove for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and boil for 5 additional minutes. Add the onion and boil for 7 additional minutes.
2. While the vegetables are boiling, add the remaining ingredients except the pasta to a blender. Drain the veggies saving the water (1 ½ cups), add them to a blender along with the saved water; blend on high until smooth and creamy. It makes about 4 cups of sauce.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta and cook according to the package. Drain and return to the pot. Stir 3 cups of the sauce into the cooked pasta, reserving 1 cup for stirring in later if all the mac and cheese won’t be all eaten immediately. Serve hot.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Save Money!

I buy my nutritional yeast here where it’s only $9.55 per lb versus $13.99 per lb at our local grocery store, Fred Meyer.

More Mac and Cheese Recipe and Cauliflower Recipes

Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

Creamy Fettuccine Miso Alfredo

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Creamy Spiced Cauliflower Soup