Go Back
Print Recipe

Vegan Lemony Kale Rigatoni Pasta

This oil-free recipe for Vegan Lemony Kale Rigatoni Pasta combines dark kale with creamy white beans and crunchy pistachios.  Whole wheat rigatoni works great to hold the lemony white wine sauce, but you can also use brown rice pasta shells for a gluten-free version. A quick and satisfying weeknight dinner!
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Entree
Cuisine: Healthy, Italian, Pasta, Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: dinner, greens, healthy, Italian, kale, lemon, oil-free, pasta, simple, weeknight, wfpb, whole food, whole grain, wine
Servings: 4
Calories: 349kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white wine
  • 2 tablespoons cashew butter *
  • 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flake
  • 1 lemon zest and juice
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 10 ounces whole wheat rigatoni pasta
  • 1 bunch kale stemmed and chopped (about 4-6 cups)
  • 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Instructions

  • For the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
  • To make Lemony White Wine sauce: In a wide pan, combine the white wine, cashew butter, sliced garlic, red chili flake, and 1 cup of water. Cover and simmer on low till garlic softens, about 10 minutes. When the garlic and cashew butter are soft, use a fork to mash to a paste.
  • Zest the lemon and add to the sauce. Halve and juice the lemon; stir into the sauce. Stir in the cheesy nutritional yeast and salt. Your sauce is ready.
  • If using for pasta, keep on the stove, on the lowest heat possible, until pasta is ready.
  • To make the pasta and kale: Once your large pot of water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions, about 10 min, about a minute before done, or “al dente”. You want the pasta to still have some “bite”.
  • While the pasta is boiling, strip the kale. Discard the stems. Chop the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces.
  • Add the chopped kale and 1 cup of the pasta boiling water to the pan with the white wine sauce. Stir to wilt the kale. Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the pan with the kale.
  • When the pasta is almost “al dente”, drain the pasta and add to the pan with the white wine sauce.
  • Stir and cook until the pasta is tender and everything is hot, just a minute or so. Let the liquid reduce.
  • When the sauce has thickened and is creamy, turn off the heat.
  • Taste adjust seasoning.
  • Top with chopped pistachios and serve