The Story

One day when I was visiting in my early 20s, my parents swore there was nothing in the house to use to make dinner. I promised them that I could always find something to eat. I gathered what I could find and made a delicious meal that turned into a family classic for the next decade. There’s just one problem. It is absolutely not vegan. I wanted to find a way to cook something similar, but without meat and cheese. This “Vegan Creamy Yellow Squash and Mushroom Pasta” was born.

My family absolutely loved this new recipe. They were asking for the recipe to take home, but I hadn’t even typed it up. It all just came together as a need to use some things in my fridge and convert the other recipe to vegan. It doesn’t taste at all healthy, but it really is much healthier than the previous version. Plus, there was not a speck left in the pot after serving it.

Tips and Instructions

First, I spiraled four yellow squash. There were two of these pans full of spiraled squash. It is best if you do way before you plan to use it. I spiraled my squash in the morning and used it for a late lunch. If that isn’t possible, I would think you could do a lot of patting dry with some paper towels. You want it as dry as possible. Zucchini would definitely work here also.

When you get ready to cook it, I put it in my Copper Crisper and put it on 400 until I saw some browning. You could use an air fryer or a cookie cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. What you are trying to accomplish is to dry it out and cook it just enough to keep it from being wet and soupy in your pasta later. As a last resort put them on a nonstick cookie sheet. It’ll have to be nonstick or you will have to use oil. My basket is nonstick.

Boil Noodles

Put some water to boil and boil the pad Thai noodles just until done. Follow package directions.

Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms

Next, use one tablespoon of oil to sauté the garlic, onion, and mushrooms on medium heat. The rest of this recipe is oil free, and you could omit the oil here as well. However, I really feel like the oil helps to achieve the right browning. Omit this one tablespoon and cook them with water at your own risk. The mushrooms would take on more of a jar texture this way.

Chop your sun-dried tomatoes and make your avocado-basil sauce.

Turn Off the Heat and Add in the Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Squash and Noodles

Then, turn the pan off and immediately put in the squash you cooked, stirring to break up the squash before you put in noodles.

Then, add the sun-dried tomatoes and noodles. Stir, and let the heat from the pan keep the food warm. We will not be cooking it any more.

Make the Creamy Sauce

Mash the avocado with a fork and add the other sauce ingredients. Do not worry if it is a little lumpy, but make it as smooth as possible as a fork. Do not put the basil in a food processor or blender unless you want green pasta instead of little flecks of basil. The sauce should look like any pasta sauce. If it is too thick, add extra soy milk. Or use whatever kind of milk you prefer.

Also, if you do not have Tony Chachere’s. You can use garlic salt, chili, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. You could also use a peppery seasoning mix you know that you like or another cajun seasoning. This is a southern blog after all, and any serious cook within a few hours of New Orleans has Tony Chachere’s in their cabinet. If you really want to have some, here is a copy cat recipe: Tony Chachere’s Copy Cat Recipe. Or just go ahead and order some from Amazon: Tony Chachere’s from Amazon.

Add the Sauce and Reheat a Little

Put the sauce on the noodle mixture and stir. The sauce is going to be cold and it is going to cool everything down. Go ahead and reheat the pot to warm it up. Do not cook it. Just reheat it a little.

Voila!

Vegan Creamy Squash and Mushroom Noodles

4 yellow squash, spiraled (or zucchini)

7 oz uncooked pad Thai noodles

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

8 oz package sliced mushrooms

1/2 medium onion, diced

5 oz sun-dried tomatoes (I used the ones from a jar)

Sauce Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado, peeled and mashed

0.75 oz package fresh basil

1/4 cup soy milk (or whatever kind of milk you prefer, but make sure yours is gluten-free if you are concerned about that.)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (see above notes for substitutions)

2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spiral the yellow squash and leave it out to dry for a few hours of possible. If you can’t towel dry it with paper towels as much as possible to remove moisture. Put the squash on a copper crisper, cooling rack in a cookie sheet, or in an air fryer. Cook the squash until you see some browning. Approximately 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Cook the pad Thai noodles according to package directions. Sauté the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat until some browning occurs. Add the squash and stir to break up noodles. Add the noodles and sun-dried tomatoes. Mash the avocado with a fork and add the other ingredients and stir. It may be a little lumpy, but do not use a food processor or blender to avoid green pasta and retain flecks of basil. Add extra soy milk if your sauce is too thick. Add the sauce and reheat just a little since the sauce will be cool. Do not cook the mixture.