Creamy rich spanakopita inspired pasta dish with a variety of vegan cheeses, greens and herbs for a decadent dinner easy enough to make any night of the week.
INGREDIENTS
16 oz ziti, penne or rigatoni
8 cups baby spinach, chopped
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 large onion, or 6 scallions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz vegan cream cheese(Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
8 oz vegan feta cheese(Follow Your Heart)
1 cup vegan mozzarella, shredded
(Topping)
1.5 Tbsp vegan butter
1/3 cup panko crumbs
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water for sauce. During the last minute of cooking, stir in chopped spinach. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 450°F
2. Melt vegan butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Add garlic, chopped parsley and dill; continue to sauté another minute. Add pasta water and vegan cream cheese. Cook, stirring continuously until cream cheese melted. Stir in 3/4 of the vegan feta, 3/4 cup vegan mozzarella, cooked pasta and spinach. Stir until well combined and pasta well coated. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Lightly spray/grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Transfer pasta to baking dish. Top with remaining vegan feta and mozzarella cheeses.
4. For topping, melt vegan butter then stir together with panko crumbs and nutritional yeast. Sprinkle crumbs over pasta.
5. Bake pasta 18-20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with additional vegan feta cheese if desired.
