Vegan Brussel Sprout Tahini Pasta

This Vegan Brussel Sprout Tahini Pasta is so delicious, creamy, & full of flavor! With just 10 simple ingredients, you can make a creamy tahini sauce mixed with flavorful garlic & shaved brussels sprouts for a vegan pasta ready in 30 minutes or less!

If you are a tahini addict like I am, you are going to LOVE this recipe! Tahini made a first appearance on SGTO in my Vegan Tahini Banana Bread back in 2019, so it was WAY past due for a new tahini recipe.

What does tahini sauce taste like?

If you've never had tahini in a savory dish before, I bet you are wondering what it actually tastes like. Tahini is actually made from grinding hulled white sesame seeds into a thick paste. The seeds are commonly roasted, but you can find brands of raw tahini out there as well.

While it's rarely ever called sesame seed butter, that's essentially what it is! Unlike other nut and seed butters, it is not sweet and has a slightly bitter yet savory and nutty taste to it. If you semi-recognize the flavor, it's likely because it's traditionally added to many Middle Eastern dishes such as hummus!

Since I've tried my fair share of tahini brands, I can attest that the brand of tahini you use in this recipe does matter. Higher quality tahini tends to be less bitter and tastes better in this dish. This is partly due to the actual quality of the sesame seeds and partly due to the seeds being perfectly roasted.

Personally my favorite brands of tahini are Soom Foods and Thrive Market (you need a membership to Thrive, but if you have one I can't recommend their products enough).

Ingredients:

Here is a quick overview of the ingredients you need to make this creamy tahini pasta filled with brussels sprouts.

• Pasta (any shape works but I prefer linguine for this recipe)
• Vegan butter
• Shallot
• Garlic
• Shaved brussels sprouts
• White wine ( a dry white wine is best for cooking, I used a Pinot Grigio)
• Tahini 
• Lemon juice (fresh is best!)
• Salt & pepper
• Water

Steps to make vegan tahini pasta

Cook pasta & prep the tahini sauce

While the pasta is cooking, prep the tahini sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor. During this time I also like to chop all the veggies so they're prepped and ready for making the pasta dish.

Sauté garlic & shallots

Once the sauce is prepped, sauté the garlic and shallots with the butter in a shallow pan. This really infuses the butter with these flavors and adds a lot of depth to this simple pasta recipe.

Add in brussels sprouts & sauté

Next, add in the shaved brussesl sprouts and sauté for another 8-10 minutes. Make sure to stir the brussels sprouts around a few times while sautéing so they cook evenly.

How to cut the brussels sprouts:

Shaving brussels sprouts essentially means cutting them very thinly so they look "shaved" as pictured above. The first step is to cut the root off the bottom of each brussels sprout and compost it. We don't want to cook with this part as it tends to be more bitter and hard. Then, you want to pull off any top leaves that look really dirty or rotten and compost them. After this use a very sharp knife to cut thin slices of brussels sprouts from end to end.

While you could use a mandoline, I find it pretty impossible for this task so I don't recommend it. The last way to do this is to add all of the brussels sprouts to a food processor and pulse a few times until they are shredded. This is by far the easiest way, but I personally still  prefer cutting them with a sharp knife!

Add in the salt, pepper, & white wine

The reason we wait to add the salt until the brussels have finished cooking is because adding the salt too soon actually prevents the brussels from getting crispy. Salt actually draws water from vegetables when it is added and we don't want that extra liquid in the pan when cooking the brussels. Instead, we want the fat from the vegan butter to do all the crisping!

Why add white wine?

While the white wine is totally optional, I love adding it to this vegan tahini pasta for extra flavor! The alcohol will mostly burn off, but it adds a slight sweet & slightly acidic flavor to the dish that is just so good.

Pour in the tahini sauce & pasta...and serve!

As a last step, add in the tahini sauce and cooked pasta and mix it all together until thick and creamy. I do like to cook everything together about 2-3 minutes over low heat so the sauce and pasta get nice and warm. However, it's important not to overdo it or the tahini sauce will get too thick and stick to the pan.

P.S- Your tahini sauce should like like the image above before mixing. Smooth and creamy, yet thin. If it looks much thicker, feel free to add a bit more water as every brand of tahini will differ a little in consistency.

FAQ & Substitutions:

What tahini works best in this recipe?

As mentioned before, I have tried a LOT of tahini and by far my favorite is Soom Foods. It's way less bitter than other brands and I find it is always smooth and creamy. Other brands will also work, but make sure you like the taste of them before using them in this dish. No matter what brand you choose, the most important things to remember is that the tahini needs to be creamy and smooth to the point it can be drizzled off a spoon for the best results.

Is this recipe gluten-free?

Yes! While you can use regular wheat noodles, any gluten-free pasta noodle works perfectly in this recipe. Plus ,the sauce and veggies are naturally gluten-free so you're all set there.

Is there a good substitute for tahini?

Not really as using another nut butter or seed butter would drastically change the entire flavor of the dish. If you're looking for a cashew-based sauce I'd recommend trying out my Vegan Truffle Mushroom Pasta or Mushroom Kale Gnocchi as both recipes use a cashew sauce.

I also have a Vegan Lemon Butter Pasta Recipe  that is delicious if you're looking for that lemony butter pasta without tahini mixed in.

How do I store as leftovers?

Leftover pasta can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days in a closed container or in the freezer up to 1 month.

I hope you love this simple & easy Vegan Brussel Sprout Tahini Pasta! It's a new weeknight dinner favorite and perfect for those nights you're craving a cozy and creamy pasta dish. Enjoy!

-TSG

Looking for more vegetarian pasta recipes? Check out these SGTO favorites!

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Baked Tofu Parmesan

Burst Cherry Tomato Basil Pasta

Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo

Vegan Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce