A creamy pasta sauce featuring subtle notes of white wine, mushrooms, and fresh herbs served with plant-based meatballs and pasta.
These Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs are insanely delicious!! This euphony of mushrooms, fresh herbs, meatballs, creamy sauce, and pasta are melodic. So, I have to tell you that this dish is basically a nice warm bowl of tasty comfort — and you get to eat it! And it gets better still!! — it’s really good for you.
Needless to say, I am head-over-heels in love with these Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs.
The very first star of this Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs dish is the beloved mushroom. Most people I know either love mushrooms or hate mushrooms. My friend Dana abhors them; but I love them – always have. Even when I was a kid, I loved putting sautéed mushrooms on my food. They’re succulent and flavorful and earthy and – oh, I think they’re just delectably perfect.
Besides, Dr. Joel Fuhrman advocates eating cooked mushrooms every day. I think I love Dr. Furhman, if for no other reason than he advocates me eating mushrooms. In fact, he dedicated an entire post to my little fungus friends, Mighty Mushrooms: Boost Immune Function and Brain Health and Guard Against Cancer. My hero. When I read his book, Eat to Live, I was truly inspired. I knew I could eat a plant-based lifestyle by following his GBOMBs principle. It wasn’t all or nothing and the benefits are worth it. I just need to focus on what I can eat, which is an abundance of glorious foods.
Turns out, these mighty mushrooms are much more than just delicious. According to studies cited by Dr. Fuhrman, the phytochemicals in mushrooms enhance “immune cells including natural killer cells, which attack and destroy virus-infected and cancerous cells.” In other words, mushrooms help our bodies kill cancer. Dr. Fuhrman explains that just one button mushroom a day decreases breast cancer by 64%! (Dr. Fuhrman). And this Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs uses plenty of mushrooms to fill your body with immune-enhancing phytochemicals.
The second star of this show are these tasty little Plant-based Meatballs. I posted the recipe for them here. I will be the first to tell you that Aldi’s Earth Grown makes an awesome vegan meatless meatball – and I always keep a bag stashed in my freezer because I really like meatballs and sometimes I don’t have time to make them myself.
But when I do have time, I make these delicious morsels of goodness. They are packed full of beans, brown rice, oats, veggies, and flax seed. They are so healthy, hold their shape very well, and are delicious! They also freeze well. So there’s that. If you are interested in making these scrumptious Plant-based Meatballs, this is the ideal time to do it.
These Plant-based Meatballs add so much healthy plant protein, fiber, and nutrients. You can’t go wrong. I mean, just look at them – aren’t they adorable?
The creaminess in this delicious sauce comes from soaked raw cashews. You probably already know this. When cashews are blended, they magically transform into creamy plant-based and vegan sauces. Of course, you can use a few different things, including oil and canned coconut milk. But I try to limit my oil consumption to the times when a recipe truly needs it or when I’m dining out. And canned coconut milk is incredible when a recipe can benefit from the intoxicating flavor of coconuts – but this is not one of those recipes.
Cashews, on the other hand, do a remarkable job. As I said, when you combine soaked cashews with some unsweetened plant milk in a high-speed blender, it truly is like magic. I think there’s fairy dust in my Vitamix because every single time I do this, a glorious creamy sauce emerges out of it in mere seconds. And I swoon.
Now there are two little but flavorful ingredients that truly make this sauce taste incredible. The first is fresh herbs. I like adding fresh rosemary and thyme in this Savory Mushroom sauce. Both of these complimentary herbs lend a delicate flavor composition in this savory and creamy mushroom gravy.
And the second flavor-enhancing ingredient is a splash of white wine. I actually use white cooking wine, but you can use any kind of wine you have on hand. And of course you can always sub the wine for additional vegetable broth, you just won’t have that extra depth and flavor complexity that the wine provides. If you do opt to use veggie broth, you can use your kitchen scraps to make Umami Vegetable Broth in an Instant Pot. It’s sodium-free, contains so much flavor, and doesn’t cost anything. Either way you go, this Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs is delicious.
And finally, I recommend using pasta as the base for these Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs. But honestly, you can use anything you want or have on hand, including mashed potatoes, quinoa, rice, sorghum, couscous, toast, and more. And when you make this, you’ll know that this Savory Mushroom Sauce is delicious all by itself.
I hope you enjoy this Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs recipe as much as I do. Please leave a comment, rate it, and tag a picture #pebblesandtoast on Instagram! I’d love to see your results. Enjoy!!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta
- ½ cup cashews, soaked in very hot water
- 1½ -2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (2 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter or oil (optional)
- ¼ cup white wine*
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary (½ tsp dried)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme (½ tsp dried)
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (1 tsp dried)
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- Dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 30-40 Plant-based Meatballs**
- 2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat. Add in the butter or oil (if using) and wine or vegetable broth. Sauté until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked, 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat to the low.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the cashews very well.
- In a high-speed blender, combine the rinsed cashews, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and about 1/2 cup of the mushroom-onion mixture. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the cashew-mushroom sauce over the remaining mushroom-onion mixture. Add the parsley, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and crushed red pepper (if using).
- Add the meatballs to the gravy and stir gently to coat; continue to cook on low heat until the meatballs are heated through, about 10 minutes. Add a little vegetable broth or wine as needed.
- Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings to taste, including salt, if using. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more vegetable broth, if needed.
- Serve the Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs over cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley, rosemary, and/or vegan parmesan cheese.
Notes
* You may use white wine, white cooking wine, or additional broth.
** My Plant-based Meatballs are delicious in this Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs recipe.
Savory Mushrooms and Plant-based Meatballs
Equipment
- stove
- high speed blender
Ingredients
- 12-16 ounces pasta
- ½ cup cashews soaked in very hot water
- 1½ -2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 12 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced (2 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter or oil optional
- ¼ cup white wine*
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary ½ tsp dried
- 2 tsp fresh thyme ½ tsp dried
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley 1 tsp dried
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- Dash crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 30-40 plant-based meatballs
- 2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain, set aside.
- Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat. Add in butter or oil (if using). Sauté until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked, 5-10 minutes. Reduce to the lowest heat setting to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the cashews very well.
- In a high-speed blender, combine the rinsed cashews, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and about half a cup of the mushroom-onion mixture. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the cashew-mushroom sauce over the remaining mushroom-onion mixture. Increase the heat to medium-low. Add the fresh herbs, paprika, and red pepper (if using).
- Add the meatballs to the gravy and stir gently to coat; continue to cook on medium-low heat until the meatballs are heated through, 5-10 minutes.
- Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings to taste, including salt, if using. Add half a cup more vegetable broth, if needed.
- Serve over cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley, rosemary, and/or vegan parmesan cheese.