Dining and Cooking
Cooked outside for natural light ☀️🌵 My dad said the pasta was good but dry. I thought it was delicious, but the desert air might’ve sucked the moisture out. How do I make it less dry?
In Plant Based Diet

Cooked outside for natural light ☀️🌵 My dad said the pasta was good but dry. I thought it was delicious, but the desert air might’ve sucked the moisture out. How do I make it less dry?


🍝 Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Spinach & White Beans  

**Ingredients**  

  • 12 oz whole grain pasta of choice
  • 3 cups cubed butternut squash (pre-cut is fastest; if using frozen, add earlier so it cooks through)  
  • 1 onion, chopped  
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced  
  • 1 cup unsweetened plant milk  
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast  
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil  
  • 1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained & rinsed  
  • 3–4 cups fresh spinach (about 3 handfuls)  
  • Salt & pepper, to taste  

**Steps**  

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last minute, stir in spinach. Drain together and set aside.  
  2. Sauté onion, garlic, and squash in olive oil until soft. Add a splash of water if the pan dries out.  
  3. Blend squash, onion, garlic, plant milk, and nutritional yeast into a creamy sauce. Season with salt & pepper.  
  4. Add pasta and spinach back to the pan. Top with beans, pour over the sauce, and fold together until coated. Simmer 2–3 minutes to heat through.  
  5. Finish with cracked black pepper and serve warm.  

Adapted from Lisa’s recipe: [https://www.2sharemyjoy.com/easy-vegan-weeknight-fall-recipes/\]



by VeganProteinChef

7 Comments

  1. Ok-Half7574

    It’s ok to add a little water at the end and swish the mix in the pan for a minute before serving.

  2. DaraParsavand

    Yes – just add whatever water you think evaporated that wouldn’t have inside. If you weren’t spreading the pasta out one piece high in the sun, I’m not sure how it’s going to seem dry and not the whole dish with sauce, but I’m no chef. If you use enough water – I don’t see what difference it makes where you cook the pasta – you had enough excess water when you drained it right?

  3. AccomplishedEye1840

    I’d say finish off with some sort of broth.

  5. Love-Laugh-Play

    I usually add the nutritional yeast at the end (off the heat), it thickens up the sauce quite a bit. Add pasta water so it’s more watery than you’d like before adding the nutritional yeast.

  6. Witty_Fox01

    Just save a little pasta water and stir it in, the starch keeps things creamy. And yeah, take it off the heat sooner I mean, desert air plus simmering = instant dryness.

  7. simpleflavors1

    Puree the beans with the sauce, it will make it creamy.