A Healthier, Dairy-Free Arrabbiata
- Easy, healthy dinner that’s still rich and comforting.
- Add ground turkey or more vegetables to change it up!
- Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Quick for weeknights but impressive enough for entertaining.
- Perfect meal prep recipe that tastes even better as leftovers!
If you enjoy cooking with Italian recipes, we have plenty of pasta and noodle dishes for you to try. Other hearty, savory pasta dinners we love are this butternut squash and spinach lasagna and creamy steak pasta alfredo.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Arrabbiata pasta sauce: With no added sugar.
- Cashews: Raw and unsalted.
- Gluten free penne pasta: There are many different brands of gluten free pasta to choose from, but my favorites are Ancient Grains or Banza Chickpea Pasta.
- Ground turkey: This is optional. Without it, this can still be a great vegetarian dish.
- Sea salt, garlic powder, olive oil, and water
How to Make Creamy Arrabbiata Pasta
Cook pasta. Add 3-4 quarts of water to a large pot of salted water over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the penne pasta and allow to boil for 9-11 minutes, stirring frequently. Check the time on your pasta box as cooking time could vary.
Blend sauce. While pasta is cooking, add the arrabbiata pasta sauce, cashews, salt, and water to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend on high for at least 3 minutes until cashews are completely broken up and the sauce turns a lighter color. Sauce should be mostly smooth. Set aside.
Cook meat. If using ground turkey, heat olive oil over medium heat and add ground turkey. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and garlic powder. Brown and stir until cooked completely through. Set aside.
Combine everything. Drain pasta water from pasta and add pasta back to the large sauce pan. Add the pasta sauce and ground turkey to the pan and stir well to combine.
Garnish and serve. Top with more chili flakes, chopped fresh basil leaves, or fresh parsley.
Recipe Variations
- Substitute the ground turkey with chicken breast, chorizo, or meatballs.
- Change up the type of pasta, using spaghetti noodles or farfalle.
- Serve it with a glass of red wine and fresh garlic bread.
- Use some of the reserved pasta water to thicken the finished sauce.
- Make your own arrabbiata sauce with whole tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic cloves, and chili flakes. Spicy food lovers, give it as much heat as your taste buds can handle!
Adjust the Spice Level
Although this is a spicy pasta recipe, if you don’t love spicy things don’t be scared of this recipe! I don’t love spicy at all and have a pretty low tolerance for spice, but I love it! The cashews cut the spiciness as well so that definitely helps. And if you love a creamy pasta recipe but don’t want to the spice, you can definitely buy regular pasta sauce and add red pepper flakes!
Storage & Freezing
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze the sauce separately in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Leave it out on the counter to thaw and warm it on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Cook the pasta fresh when you are ready to add the sauce to it.
More Pasta Recipes
Creamy Arrabbiata Pasta
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Ingredients
Creamy Arrabbiata Sauce
- 1 (24 ounce) can arrabbiata pasta sauce with no added sugar
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup water
Pasta
- 8 ounces gluten free penne pasta my favorites are Ancient Grains or Banza Chickpea Pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Add 3-4 quarts of water to a large sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the penne pasta and allow to boil for 9-11 minutes, stirring frequently. Check the time on your pasta box as cook time could vary.8 ounces gluten free penne pasta
- While pasta is cooking, add the arrabbiata pasta sauce, cashews, salt and water to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend on high for at least 3 minutes until cashews are completely broken up and the sauce turns a lighter color. Sauce should be mostly smooth. Set aside.1 (24 ounce) can arrabbiata pasta sauce
- If using ground turkey, heat olive oil over medium heat and add ground turkey. Sprinkle with sea salt an garlic powder. Brown and stir until cooked completely through. Set aside.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Drain pasta water from pasta and add back to the large sauce pan. Add the pasta sauce and ground turkey to the pan and stir well to combine.
- Top with more chili flakes or chopped basil.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQs
Arrabbiata sauce is known for its spiciness, which comes from the addition of red chili flakes or fresh chili peppers. Marinara sauce is typically not spicy, and is characterized by a simple and mild tomato flavor.
Arrabbiata technically means “angry” in Italian and refers to the spiciness of the sauce. It definitely has a kick!
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Super simple and tasty pasta recipe! I had never had Arrabbiata sauce before and we loved it.
We love the kick it has! But the cashews are a nice balance:) Thanks for taking the time to share!
Hello Molly – where do you find Arrabbiata sauce? If I can find it here in Iowa is there a substitute?
Hey Lyn! You can find arrabbiata sauce in the Italian section by all the other pasta sauce! It’s just a spicier version of pasta sauce:) If you can’t find it you can use a traditional marinara sauce and if you like heat you could add some red chili flakes!
xo
Molly