Perfect rainy night meal alert! I came up with this idea after I saw Clinton Kelly making a white bean and spinach pasta on The Chew last week. I was really excited to see a vegan option on their show because I usually have to ignore most of the things that they make now. Minus the parmesan, it was vegan! Thanks Clinty! I decided to take their idea and run with it and come up with my own recipe. Adding baby bella mushrooms is always a good idea, and I blended the white beans to make a creamy sauce to coat the brown rice pasta and vegetables. I make a rosemary white bean dip for appetizer sometimes and love the flavor combination so I thought I would make a rosemary, lemon, white wine, cannellini sauce. It’s a nice feeling knowing everything you are putting in your body is healthy and you’re doing the best for yourself, and making a creamy sauce out of white beans instead of dairy is a great option. It’s lighter and doesn’t weigh you down, yet it’s still a comforting pasta dish.

Mushroom and Spinach Pasta with Rosemary White Bean Sauce

12 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

6 oz bag of baby spinach

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 red onion, diced

1/2 c vegetable broth, low sodium

1/4 c white wine, use the cheap stuff

1 tsp dried rosemary, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb brown rice pasta, TJ’s bag has only brown rice and water, no fillers!

1 lemon, zest and 1/2 juice

few splashes of Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

vegan parmesan to top

1. Spray olive oil in a large skillet and saute red onion, mushrooms, spinach, worcestershire, and garlic until tender.
2. In a high speed blender (I used my Nutribullet) put the beans, veggie broth, rosemary, salt and pepper and blend literally less than a minute until just smooth and thick.
3. Cook rice pasta very al dente because it will continue to cook when combining.
4. Add wine to the veggie mixture and cook for a few minutes then add the white bean mixture to make a creamy sauce.
5. Pour the pasta in to combine, and then add the zest of one lemon, and half of the lemon’s juice.
6. Serve with a sprinkle of veggie parm on top.