This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
I am a huge fan of truly quick and easy meals. And I love to experiment with ingredients that I have on hand. On Instagram, I call it #jenspantrychallenge. I challenge myself to come up with something delicious without having to go grocery shopping, simply using leftovers or pantry items in a creative way!
This is how this creamy fall harvest pasta was born. One night I shopped at Trader Joe's and picked up their Rice & Quinoa gluten free pasta (it's amazing, you should try it), and was intrigued by a jar of Fall Harvest Salsa. The ingredients were super clean - lots of harvest veggies with tomatoes, peppers, and spices.
The next night, I was trying to decide what to make and looking in my cabinets for an idea. I saw the pasta...I saw the salsa...and had a crazy idea. What if the salsa could be a pasta sauce? I mean, come on - salsa in Spanish literally translates to sauce.
I cooked the pasta, dumped in the salsa, added some avocado oil for good fats, and still felt like the pasta needed some substance. I had recently been on an obsessive tahini kick (when I become obsessed with something, I eat it all the time for a week or two), and so...I poured in some tahini. The result was a magical creamy protein- and nutrition-packed pasta that you would have a hard time believing did not contain any gluten or dairy. But believe it, my people. And try it for yourself ~ Recipe below!
Creamy Fall Harvest Pasta (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 bag Trader Joe's Rice and Quinoa Gluten Free Pasta
- 1 jar Trader Joe's Fall Harvest Salsa (don't buy the TJ's goods on Amazon if you can get to a store, they are $2-$4 in the store. But I added the links here so you can see what to look for!)
- 2-4 tbsp tahini (I love this organic brand)
- 2-4 tbsp avocado oil (I love this brand or this brand. You can also use olive oil!)
How to:
- Boil the pasta in a pot according to directions on package
- Strain pasta and return to pot
- Pour the entire jar of Fall Harvest Salsa into the pot
- Add 2 tbsp of avocado oil to the pasta, and stir until mixed
- Add 2 tbsp of tahini to the pasta, and stir until mixed
- Taste the pasta. If you want a thicker pasta with more "creaminess" add more tahini.(Beware, the tahini does have a strong flavor so taste as you add. Less is more - you can always add more later!) If you want a less thick pasta, you can add more avocado oil, and maybe even a tiny (1 tbsp at a time) bit of water. This is where you wander free to create the consistency that works for you!
And that's it! Line up some pumpkins, gourds, fall leaves, or just your kitchen counter and take a beautiful picture of your creation. Post it on Instagram with #wanderfreerecipes so that I can see what you've done!
Note: the links to my favorite brands are Amazon Affiliate links, and if you purchase through them, I will earn a small commission. This helps me continue to do what I do, and to bring free health and wellness info to my Free Wanderers!
Some of the items - like the Trader Joe's items, are so much cheaper in the store! Go to a Trader Joe's to get those things, but the link is provided here so you can see what it looks like.