Spaghetti Verde

 # Vegan Spaghetti Verde with Parsley, Broccoli & White Bean Cream


There's a reason so many "spaghetti verde" recipes lean on cilantro — it's punchy, it's classic, and it photographs beautifully. But in my house, cilantro is a non-starter. My husband and kids all get that soapy, metallic taste from it (turns out that's a real genetic quirk, not pickiness), so I've spent years finding ways to get that same vibrant, herb-forward green sauce without it.


This version swaps in flat leaf parsley, which brings a cleaner, grassier flavor that nobody in my family objects to. And instead of the usual spinach for color, I went with steamed broccoli — spinach (like beets and mushrooms) carries compounds that read as "dirty" or "earthy" to some palates, thanks to a naturally occurring compound called geosmin. Steaming the broccoli briefly, rather than boiling it, keeps that clean, bright flavor intact.


## Why this sauce works


The base is a simple cashew cream, blended smooth with garlic, lemon, and nutritional yeast for that savory, cheesy backbone vegan sauces need. I add a full can of white beans directly into the blender — not tossed in whole, but pureed completely into the sauce itself. If you've got a texture-sensitive eater at your table (I do), this is the move: the beans disappear entirely into the cream, adding protein and fiber with zero trace of "bean-ness."


For the pasta itself, I used Barilla Protein+ spaghetti, which is made from a blend of wheat, lentils, chickpeas, and peas. It cooks and tastes almost identically to regular spaghetti, but it quietly boosts the protein and fiber count of the whole dish — a nice bonus when you're trying to make a pasta night actually filling.


## The result


A bowl that's creamy, herby, and genuinely kid-approved, with roughly **31g of protein and 13g of fiber per serving** — numbers you don't usually associate with a pasta dish, let alone a green one.


### Recipe


**Serves 4 | Active time: 25 minutes**


**Ingredients**

- 1 cup raw cashews

- 12 oz Barilla Protein+ spaghetti

- 1½ cups flat leaf parsley leaves, packed

- 2 cups broccoli florets

- 3 garlic cloves

- 1 lemon, juiced and zested

- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- ½ cup vegetable broth or reserved pasta water

- ¾ tsp fine sea salt

- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper

- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, for serving (optional)

- 15 oz can white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed


**Instructions**

1. Cover the cashews with boiling water and soak for 15 minutes to soften. Drain well.

2. Steam the broccoli over boiling water until just fork-tender and bright green, 4–5 minutes. Rinse briefly under cold water to set the color and stop cooking.

3. Cook the spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente (check the box — protein-blend pastas can cook a bit faster than regular pasta). Reserve ¾ cup of the pasta water before draining.

4. In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, steamed broccoli, white beans, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and zest, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend on high, adding the broth or reserved pasta water gradually, until completely smooth with no visible bean pieces.

5. Return the drained pasta to the pot over low heat. Pour in the sauce and toss to coat, thinning with more pasta water if needed. Warm through for 1–2 minutes without letting it boil hard.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with red pepper flakes and cherry tomatoes if using. Serve immediately.


*Notes: The sauce freezes beautifully on its own for up to 2 months — just thaw and toss with freshly cooked pasta. Rinse the beans well before blending for the smoothest possible texture.* 


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