Why have just regular pasta, when you can have bold, rich, flavorful Cajun Pasta and Peppers? We have this comforting dish on repeat! Tasty bell peppers, nourishing collard greens, and hearty black-eyed peas come together in delicious Cajun saucy goodness then tossed with chewy pasta. A fantastic week night meal where the whole house smells of Cajun deliciousness and everyone is running to the dinner table.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Mom always made pasta and peppers ever since I was wee-little-one lol. Her version of this dish had an Italian twist and was super simple: pasta, bell peppers, oil, garlic, and Italian spices.  I wanted to take the idea of that dish, but make it a nod to the Cajun cuisine and that is exactly what I did… and it turned out soooooo gosh-darn-good!

Nod to Cajun Cuisine

I love Cajun food!  Mind you, I have never been to New Orleans to have authentic Cajun food, but I’ve had plenty of Cajun dishes in my life to know that I simply can’t get enough of it.  Maybe someday I will head down to New Orleans to get some authentic Cajun food, but I seriously doubt that I could find vegan, oil-free, refined sugar free, minimally processed authentic Cajun food, right?  *sigh*

But that’s ok, I’ll keep continue making my variations of yum!

Nourishing Greens

As most of you already know, I love me some collard greens.  Any time I find an opportunity to add collard greens to a dish, I will try to do it. They are just SO good for you and packed with tons of vitamins and nutrients.  They are loaded with Calcium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.  You just can’t go wrong with yummy collard greens.

Tenderness

In our home, the hardest part about cooking collard greens is the varying stages of tenderness liked by each individual in our household.

Dad likes them cooked for long periods of time, so they are super tender (low and slow.)  Mom is somewhere in the middle, and I like them the least tender.

If Dad even gets a hint that we are cooking collard greens, he feels that it is his duty to constantly remind us that he prefers his collards cooked for a long time. He LOVES collards, so he is like a clock ticking off the minutes “You know I want the collards cooked for a while, right?”, then 5 minutes later, he hovers over the pot and is like “Cook those babies for a while, OK?”.

If we cook them less tender, then when he eats a dish with collards that aren’t super tender, then he will be like “I would give this dish a higher score, but since the collards aren’t cooked long enough for me, you only get a 9.5 rating!” LOL

I’ll let Mom tell you more.

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Hi! Robin here!

Monkey makes a mean Whole Food Plant Based Cajun Pasta and Peppers dish.  I absolutely loved the flavors.  So bold, tasty, and utterly delicious.  Don’t let the impressive list of spices deter you from making it.  It is bursting with great flavor!

I loved that she put collard greens and black-eyed peas in this dish, they perfectly compliment the peppers and spices.  It all works really well together.  Great job Monkey!!!

If you try this pasta recipe, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Products Used:

• 8-quart ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or similar large stock pot or skillet with a tight-fitting lid
• Stock pot to boil the pasta

Cajun Pasta and Peppers

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 13 Minutes
• Cook Time: 17 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Mintues
• Yield: 4-5 Serving 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Cajun

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Description

Why have just regular pasta, when you can have bold, rich, flavorful Cajun Pasta and Peppers? We have this comforting dish on repeat! Tasty bell peppers, nourishing collard greens, and hearty black-eyed peas come together in delicious Cajun saucy goodness then tossed with chewy pasta. A fantastic week night meal where the whole house smells of Cajun deliciousness and everyone is running to the dinner table.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup red onion, fine dice
• 1 green bell pepper, cut in strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
• 2 celery ribs, small dice
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon thickener of choice *
• 1 cup vegetable broth *
• 1 cup water (or broth)
• ¼ cup unsweetened plain plant milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium tamari * (see notes)
• 1 Tablespoon miso *
• 6 medium-sized collard green leaves, thick vein removed, cut into long strips
• 1 – 15 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

Seasonings/Spices:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme *
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Other Ingredients:

• 12 oz. of cooked pasta of choice, drained and rinsed

Optional Toppings:

• Chopped parsley
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese
• Red Pepper Flake

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Instructions

1. Set a large pot of water to boil in preparation to cook the pasta.
2. Measure out all your spices (except the cayenne pepper and red pepper flake) into a small bowl, mix well. Set aside.
3. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, nonstick skillet or similar stock pot, add the red onion, celery, and bell peppers; and a tablespoon of water, place the lid on and sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Remove the lid, add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, sprinkle the flour over the veggies, and sauté for about one minute, then add the Seasoning/Spice Ingredients from Step 2, sauté to release their fragrance, about 30 seconds to one minute.
5. Then add the veggie broth, tamari, miso, lemon juice, plant milk, and water, bring to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
6. Add the black-eye peas and collard greens. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. In the meantime, place the pasta in the boiling water, cook according to package directions, when al dente’, drain and rinse the pasta with cold water to remove any excess starches. Set aside.
8. After 10 minutes, test the flavors, add the cayenne pepper. Add more spices, if necessary, to achieve the level of flavor you desire. Remove the bay leaf and discard.  Cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked pasta and red pepper flake, heat until heated through, then serve immediately with additional toppings.

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Notes

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  If using a brand other than Pacific that has a mild/mellow flavor, you may wish to use 1 ½ cups broth and ½ cup water.  Also, if you like more liquid, add a bit more broth or water at the end.

*Thickener of Choice:  We used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free flour.

Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Cayenne Pepper: If you are concerned about heat, start low and taste test at the end.  You can ramp up the heat with more cayenne pepper or use hot sauce on individual servings.

*Miso:  We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free.  Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 5 days.

*Servings:  4 to 5

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.