My famous vegan mushroom carbonara is known far and wide for its tempting flavors and irresistible vegan mushroom bacon! It’s the dish you need to turn your non-vegan family and friends into believers that vegan dishes are as good if not better than the original!
I’ve been on a vegan pasta roll lately! My family loves pasta, and I’ve been creating new recipes to take our pasta night to the next level! No more spaghetti tossed with jarred marinara sauce, although that’s fine, too, if it’s what you like. But instead, I’ve been creating some of their favorite pasta dishes and turning them into vegan versions. I’ve created traditional vegan spaghetti and meatballs, vegan bolognese, and pasta puttanesca, and today, I’m bringing you another Italian classic, vegan carbonara!
Carbonara is a distinctive Italian pasta with spaghetti, eggs, cheese, pancetta, and black pepper. It has a rich and creamy sauce, made by mixing beaten eggs with the cheese and some of the pasta cooking water to create a smooth and velvety texture. The hot pasta and pancetta are then tossed with the egg and cheese mixture, which cooks slightly from the heat of the pasta, creating a creamy sauce that coats the noodles.
So, how do you create a vegan version of this dish when vegans don’t eat bacon/pancetta or eggs? It must be complicated, right? It’s much easier than you think!
Crispy shitake mushrooms are tossed in spices and pan-fried until crispy. A rich umami sauce has vegetable stock, cashew cream, and nutritional yeast.
It takes a bit of ingenuity but not much time! Enjoy this classic Italian pasta recipe any day of the week, and watch as your family devours every bite!
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What Sets This Vegan Mushroom Carbonara Above the Rest
Crispy Unique Vegan Bacon: Mushrooms offer a unique texture to create a crispy pancetta-like texture using a vegan ingredient. Shitake mushrooms are rich, earthy, and savory with a meaty texture, making them the best choice to create a smoky, salty, and meaty flavor.
Creamy Dairy-Free Sauce: Combining cashew cream and plant-based milk can achieve carbonara’s eggy and creamy texture without using eggs. Carbonara sauce has a rich and creamy texture with a silky-smooth consistency that coats the pasta. Combining rich spices and vegan parmesan cheese creates the ultimate finishing touch!
Rich and Comforting: When you need an impressive vegan dish for a dinner party or a simple meal to get the rest of your non-vegan family to clean their plates, this vegan mushroom carbonara will convince them with its rich flavor and comforting creamy sauce.
Ingredients and Notes
This dish has several components, but don’t let that intimidate you! The dish starts with cooked pasta, reserving some of the pasta water for the sauce. Next, you’ll prepare the crispy vegan bacon, and lastly, you’ll whisk together the sauce and put it all together to create the ultimate crave-worthy meal!
Ingredients for the Vegan Bacon
Shitake Mushrooms: I highly recommend using shitake mushrooms, not another variety. Shitake mushrooms have a meaty texture and less moisture content, which allows them to absorb the flavors of the spices and create a crispy finish.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The shitake mushrooms absorb the oil and create a crisp texture that gives you a distinctive salty bite!
Spices: A combination of smoked paprika and a touch of salt and pepper gives the mushrooms the rich and smoky flavor of pancetta.
Ingredients for the Sauce
Vegetable Stock: Provides flavor to the sauce and extra moisture content to get a creamy texture.
Unsweetened Soy Milk: Make sure the soy milk is unsweetened and unflavored. Soy milk has a creamier texture than other types of dairy-free milk. If you don’t want to go with soy milk, then opt for another creamy dairy-free milk like cashew or coconut.
Raw Cashews: Creating cashew cream with raw cashews helps create the carbonara sauce’s signature texture.
Minced Garlic: This aromatic flavor of the sauce comes from garlic. Add more or less garlic, depending on your preference.
Nutritional Yeast: This vegan substitute is used in place of parmesan to provide a cheesy, umami flavor.
Lemon: Provides a touch of acidity that brightens the sauce and brings out the flavors.
Spices: Salt, pepper, and smoked paprika round out the spices of the sauce.
Best Pasta to Use
Carbonara is most commonly made with spaghetti or another type of long pasta, such as tagliatelle. I recommend traditional spaghetti or tagliatelle. You can use gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta for added fiber depending on your dietary preferences.
How to Make Vegan Mushroom Carbonara
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ a cup of the pasta water before draining.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, add the extra virgin olive oil, shitake mushrooms, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to a pan over medium heat. Cook until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the cashews. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then drain.
- Add the drained cashews, vegetable stock, unsweetened dairy-free milk, reserved pasta water, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cashew sauce and pancetta mushrooms to the pot of drained spaghetti. Toss it all together until thoroughly combined.
- Serve topped with fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese, and optional red pepper flakes.
Alison’s Cooking Tips
- Use high-quality pasta. The key to telling if pasta is high quality is to look at the color. It isn’t made with added preservatives if the color is a distinct yellow color. However, if it’s more of a bronze color, it is made with added preservatives. Opt for brands that are made in Italy for authentic pasta.
- Before draining the pasta, save some of the cooking water. The starchy water helps create a creamy sauce when mixed with the egg and cheese mixture.
- Once the pasta is cooked, please remove it from the heat and add it to the cashew cream carbonara sauce.
- The mushroom pancetta is already salty, so go easy on the sat added to the sauce.
FAQS
Traditional carbonara sauce is made from eggs, cheese, pancetta, and black pepper. This vegan version uses cashews and nutritional yeast to achieve a creamy texture and a cheesy flavor.
Chop the shitake mushrooms into small pieces. Make sure to add oil to your pan. Completely coat the mushrooms in the spices and oil, and allow them to cook on low-medium heat for at least 8 minutes. If you want crispier vegan pancetta, cook for another 2-5 minutes until the desired crispiness is achieved.
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Serving Suggestions
This pasta makes eight servings, making it perfect for a small dinner party. Or for 4-6 large servings!
Place into shallow bowls using tongs to create a nest of pasta. Top with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of vegan parmesan.
Storage
Fridge: Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature. Place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I don’t recommend freezing pasta as it becomes mealy and less appealing when defrosted.
Reheat: When ready to warm, place in the microwave and heat through until warm.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes!
Recipe
Vegan Mushroom Carbonara
Ingredients
- 16 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
Mushroom Pancetta
- 3 cups shitake mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Carbonara Sauce
- ¼ cup low sodium vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup pasta water
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tso kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
For serving
- ¼ cup parsley roughly chopped
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Reserve ½ a cup of the pasta water before draining.
Mushroom Pancetta
- While the spaghetti is cooking, add the extra virgin olive oil, shitake mushrooms, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to a pan over medium heat. Cook until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Carbonara Sauce
- While the mushrooms are cooking, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the cashews. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then drain.
- Add the drained cashews, vegetable stock, unsweetened dairy-free milk, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Putting It All Together
- Drain the pasta, and add it back to the large pot. Add the cashew sauce and mushroom pancetta. Toss it all together until completely combined.
- Serve topped with fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese, and optional red pepper flakes.
Video
Notes
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- Use high-quality pasta. The key to telling if pasta is high quality is to look at the color. It isn’t made with added preservatives if the color is a distinct yellow color. However, if it’s more of a bronze color, it is made with added preservatives. Opt for brands that are made in Italy for authentic pasta.
-
- Before draining the pasta, save some of the cooking water. The starchy water helps create a creamy sauce when mixed with the egg and cheese mixture.
-
- Once the pasta is cooked, please remove it from the heat and add it to the cashew cream carbonara sauce.
-
- The mushroom pancetta is already salty, so go easy on the sat added to the sauce.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
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