This was definitely an ambitious one. Let’s be honest, nothing says ‘Veganuary’ like a cheesy bacon pasta, does it? But I really couldn’t see myself going a month without a comforting, melty and gooey bowl of savoury, creamy pasta. This was an entirely experimental recipe. I was really interested to see how far I could push the limits of dairy and meat alternatives. I wanted to see how close to a classic ‘normal’ dish I could get without using any animal products. Normally, I’ll make a creamy pasta dish for dinner once a fortnight or so, and I really wouldn’t want to go without it long-term. I do not think that a recipe like this would have been possible a few years ago, but with the incredible progress in vegan alternatives to things like double cream and bacon, it’s exciting to see what we can replicate. I actually ended up shooketh and impressed with the results of my playing about in the kitchen!
Wandering into the supermarket, I had no idea how I was going to achieve this recipe. I had watched a fair few YouTube videos on how to make a ‘creamy pasta’ but to be honest, most of these people were fannying around mashing cauliflower florets and blending cashews up, and your girl really doesn’t have the time or inclination for that. I wanted to try to recreate a familiar dish using similar methods to normal; so I was open to the idea of making a plant-based rue using vegan butter, flour and dairy-free milk. But then I hit the jackpot when I spotted the Oatly Whippable Creamy Oat - which is marketed to be used as double cream. When I make my usual creamy pastas, sometimes I’ll just dump a whole carton of double cream in a pan and melt my cheese into it [yes, I know, my poor arteries, but it’s super quick and easy, and really bloody delicious!]. So that’s what I decided I’d do with this one!
Then I grabbed the THIS™ Isn't Bacon Plant Based Rashers which we’ve already tried and tested, and absolutely LOVED. They are a solid 11/10, they are peng, they are majestic, I have no idea how they are made and I don’t really care. They’re smoky and savoury and salty, and even have the unmistakeable meaty texture of a thick bacon rasher. These have been a true revelation during the course of Veganuary for us. Chef’s kiss every time! Then, for the cheesy sauce, we opted for a new cheese alternative that we’ve not tried before. We chose the Vitalite Delightfully Creamy Grated alternative to Cheese which literally says O N T H E P A C K E T that it melts perfectly. So if it didn’t melt perfectly, I’d have a solid legal case and I’d be taking Vitalite on Judge Rinder.
The rest of the ingredients are your standard bits and pieces for this pasta dish; you’ve got your onions, garlic, broccoli and spaghetti. Though you can use any shape pasta you like! However, I would recommend having your salt, pepper, and some extra milk alternative on standby, just in case! I also garnished with a sprinkle of parsley and was pleasantly surprised to find that Aldi’s Everyday Essentials 32p chilled garlic baguette is vegan! Now I know there is a god. Looking at the ingredients list below, it’s actually a pretty minimal and simple recipe, which I love. It’s pretty much identical to the usual non-vegan recipe I’d make normally, so I was really hoping the taste would be nice and convincing.
Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic
THIS™ Isn't Bacon Plant Based Rashers
Oatly Whippable Creamy Oat
Vitalite Dairy Free Delightfully Creamy Grated alternative to Cheese
Napolina Spaghetti
Broccoli
The method is super easy and part of the appeal of making this dish to me. I also created a YouTube video when I made this as I usually find videos much more helpful to visualise the cooking process! So please feel free to give that a watch below.
Method:
- Get your onion and garlic sizzling in some extra virgin olive oil. While it’s sizzling, slice your bacon into strips to add to the onion and garlic. Then get your broccoli steaming/boiling in a separate pan. When the bacon looks crisped up and the broccoli is tender, set all of this aside in a bowl.
- In the same saucepan used for the onion, garlic and bacon, empty your Oatly Whippable Oat double cream substitute in and stir. Add the grated vegan cheese of your choice. Add black pepper to taste. We added nutritional yeast for colour and thickness too.
- Add chopped parsley into the sauce [reserving some for garnish]. Add some oat milk to the sauce if it begins to thicken too much. In the mean time, start boiling your pasta.
- Begin adding the broccoli, onion, garlic and bacon into the cheesy sauce, stirring well to combine. Lower the heat on the sauce. When the pasta is ready, dump it all in to the sauce and stir well.
- Serve immediately with black pepper, extra vegan cheese and parsley sprinkled on top. We also served a garlic baguette on the side.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe and video, and make sure you let me know if you give this a try! I thoroughly enjoyed creating this dish and it’s still one of my favourites from the whole of veganaury so far.
Lots of love,
Jasmine x
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