Cheezy Italian Pasta with the HEALTHIEST Vegan Sausage

I’m not really a recipe follower. Mostly I use a recipe as a “guide”. I use the term “guide” loosely, hence the quotation marks. Sometimes I get adventurous and create my own recipes. And when I say create my own recipes, I mean throw some stuff together and see if it tastes good. I’d say I’m batting .500. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad. I’m being kind when I say it’s bad because when I fail, I fail epicly. Like the time I made rice and my husband thought we were having oatmeal. Or the time I made lo mein noodles and they turned into a ball of glue. Oh, we at all of those anyway, but they were NOT good!
Well, I’m here to share this new recipe with you. I threw some stuff together and blasted it out of the park! I didn’t think to take any picture of it along the way because as I said, I only get it right about 50% of the time.
My family and I have been loving the new breakfast sausage recipe that I discovered and posted on my facebook page; so, I’ve been playing with it and trying other methods. I’ve done smoked sausage patties and here I used an Italian sausage approach. Also, I used lentil penne here, but feel free to use your favorite or whatever you have on hand.
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I won’t waste any more time describing how deliciously cheesy, a little spicy and savory this dish is...

Cheezy Italian Pasta with the HEALTHIEST Vegan Sausage


Sausage
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoon soy sauce, liquid aminos or tamari

Directions
Place dry ingredients into a blender or food processor, blend until oats are roughly chopped.
Add in wet ingredients and blend until throughly mixed.
Important: Allow to sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
Add sausage “batter” to a hot non-skillet or oiled skillet over medium heat. Smooth it into one even layer across the skillet. Allow to cook until the bottom browns, about 4 minutes. Then, flip it. It may break apart into chunks, but that’s fine because we will chop it into a crumble later. After the other side is browned, turn of the heat, but keep the pan on the hot stove. Using a spatula chop the sausage into small crumble-like pieces. Allow to remain on warm stove until ready to add to pasta (this helps dry it out and give it a more meaty texture).


Pasta
Ingredients
Boil and drain 1 box of your favorite pasta
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups of vegetables of your choice (I use 2 bell peppers and 2 cups broccoli), chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of chopped tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions
In a skillet on medium add onion, vegetables and garlic and a little bit of water to keep it from sticking. Once vegetables soften, about 10 minutes, add in tomatoes and herbs. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Cheez Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons raw cashews
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons of tapioca flour (or corn starch or flour with varied results)
1 cup of unsweetened non dairy milk

Directions
Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and combined until it is a liquid with no chunks remaining

To serve: Add cheez sauce and pasta to skillet with vegetables. Stir to combine. Add in sausage. Stir to combine.

Let me know your thoughts!

Peace, Love, Plants,
​Cristy