Now I know you need an easy dinner recipe, right! Well, a sheet pan dinner recipe is such a great and easy way to make a healthy meal on a busy nights. This pasta recipe is made with roasted vegetables in a creamy vegan sauce. Made with chickpeas, cauliflower, and mushrooms smothered with a simple creamy pasta sauce.

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A kid-friendly vegan recipe

What parent doesn’t struggle to get their kids to eat their veggie? I mean my kids are veggie lovers but when it comes to trying new vegetables they usually feel very strongly about NOT trying it.

But I will let you in on one of my little secrets. One trick I find super helpful is to smoother their veggie in a creamy vegan pasta sauce! It is a helpful and easy tool for helping your kiddos eat their veggies. Now I will say that this is just one of the ways I find helpful to entice my kids to eat a vegetable-rich meal.

However, As a parent it is our job to expose our children to healthy and new foods. But it is their job to decide if and how much of it they eat. So when introducing new foods I try and serve a ‘favorite’ or ‘safe’ food along side. And I keep the portions small to encourage them. that way they (and me) are not stressed about having to finish a big portion. It takes time for some kids to develop a taste for particular foods. So be patient and keep exposing them!

A Healthy family meal

Nothing makes me happier than feeding my family a nutrient-rich bowl! This roasted vegetables with pasta smoothered in a creamy vegan pasta sauce is a super healthy recipe! It reminds me of my own family dinners. When my dad woudl make us girls a big bowl of creamy pasta. He used to cover the bowl with a lid and then present it all dramatic like. So this recipe makes me think of him.

Roasting the vegetables for this pasta

The best part of this yummy vegan dinner recipe is that the vegetables are made in a sheet pan! This recipe uses mushrooms of all kinds, chickpeas and romanesco cauliflower. HOWEVER, these vegetables are what was available and in season at the time of shooting this recipe. You can absolutely use regular cauliflower and button mushrooms instead!

Now to roast the vegetables you will need to prep them first. Cut the cauliflower into florets and roughly slice the mushrooms. If using canned chickpeas drain and rinse. Save the chickpea liquid to make these killer fluffy vegan gluten free waffles. Then add all the eggie to a bowl and toss with some salt, garlic powder, oregano and olive oil.

Spread onto a baking pan and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

How to make the sauce

The creamy vegan pasta sauce is the easiest part of this recipe. It is made with chopped onions and garlic, plant milk, some nutrional yeast and spices. The sauce cooks in about 15 minutes and is jam packed with flavour.

If you like you can add in some soft vegan cheese for an extra kick. I love adding a cashew based soft cheese once in a while when I am craving a extra rich sauce.

Health benifits of cruciferous vegetables

Everyone knows that eating your vegetables is healthy right! But do you know why? Well here are some pretty great reasons to make sure you are getting enough cruciferous vegetables and mushrooms in your diet.

Cruciferous vegetables (aka cauliflower)

Cruciferous vegetables (or mustard family or Brassicaceae) are low in calories while being rich in folate, vitamin C, E K and fiber (1). Known for its cancer-fighting properties, crucifers also contain phytonutrients, which are important for reducing inflammation. And selenium, important for cognitive function.

It seems like crucifers are the ultimate gut and brain food! In addition to cauliflower, this family also includes:

• Broccoli
• Parsnip
• Brussels sprouts
• Chinese cabbage
• Radish
• Horseradish
• Wasabi
• White mustard
• Watercress.

Crucifers protect against cancer

Researchers have found a strong inverse relationship between crucifer intake and the incidence of many types of cancers. Most notably, they observed a reduction in the instance of lung, pancreas, bladder, prostate, thyroid, skin, stomach, and colon cancer (1).

The reasoning behind these cancer-protective effects is the secondary metabolites, called glucosinolates, along with other bioactive compounds found in crucifers (2). These work together to alter detoxification pathways, protect against oxidative stress, inhibit tumor growth and alter estrogen metabolism (for review (2).

High in Selenium, prevents mental decline

When grown in selenium-rich soil, crucifers, like broccoli, can accumulate good levels of selenium (3). Selenium is suggested to not only be protective against cancer, but it may play an important role in sustaining good cognitive function (4, 5).

Selenium has a powerful antioxidant role through selenoproteins, so researchers have been observing how supplementation impacts diseases affected by oxidative stress. Promising results show an improvement in certain cognitive functions following supplementation in patients with mild cognitive impairments and Alzheimers ( 4, 6).

Mushrooms are super high in vitamin D

Neat right! The connection between food and health is just so strong! Oh and since this recipe also contains mushrooms let me just say that mushrooms are super high in vitamin D! So literally the perfect food to eat in the fall and winter time!

Alright, I hope you enjoyed that somewhat sheet pan dinner recipe (the vegetables anyways). This roasted vegetables with creamy pasta is a great family dinner recipe. If you are interested in more easy and healthy recipes be sure to check out these:

• Kid approved vegan tofu finger recipe
• Finger licking good sticky orange sesame tofu recipe
• Easy vegan noodle soup with crispy chickpea and tofu
• Quick 1 pot chili made on the stove
• High protein shepherd’s pie recipe
• Meal prep high protein meatballs

Thanks for reading! If you make this recipe please like and comment, that would mean a lot to me! And tag me with your re-creations so I can share over on Instagram! Until then, tchau