Cashew Cream Mushroom Stroganoff – Gluten Free!

This cashew cream mushroom stroganoff is a delicious spin on a comfort food classic! Made with wholesome ingredients and the creamiest mushroom sauce – a flavorful meal that the whole family will love! Perfect for weeknight cooking or meatless Monday. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free.

The best dairy free mushroom stroganoff

Mushrooms, pasta, and a super creamy, flavorful sauce. What more could you want for a cozy meal in?!

This dairy free mushroom stroganoff is such a delicious recipe that is satisfying and also so easy to make.

You can go wild picking out a variety of mushrooms or keep it simple with crimini / white mushrooms. Grab some fusilli pasta as pictured in this post or another pasta shape you love – the options are endless and the flavors irresistible! No meat required!

Cashew cream is our go to starting point for most dairy free sauces! If you’re new around here and love the idea of this stroganoff recipe you’ll also want to check out our Creamy Vegan Vodka Pasta, Dairy Free Fettuccine Alfredo, or a vegan version of this Cajun Pasta!

Why you’ll love this pasta

It is:

• Super flavorful
• Cozy + comforting
• Filling
• Full of savory flavor
• Creamy
• Rich
• Dairy free + gluten free
• Made with wholesome ingredients
• So tasty!!

Ingredients and substitutions

The ingredient list for this plant based pasta might seem a little long but they are mostly pantry ingredients and once you’ve gathered everything you need it comes together quite quickly!

• Raw cashews – Raw cashews are used to make the super creamy base for the sauce.
• GF pasta – I used fusilli to make this stroganoff, but you can easily swap it out for your favorite pasta shape! Bow tie, penne, or linguini would all be delicious.
• Olive oil – Olive oil is used to sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. You could use avocado oil or coconut oil in its place.
• Mushrooms – The mushrooms are the fun part! You can go wild and pick out a few different types of mushrooms or stick with tried and true cremini.
• Garlic and onion – Sautéed garlic and onion help create a flavorful base for the creamy mushroom sauce.
• Paprika and thyme – Paprika and thyme are two classic spices that are typically used in traditional stroganoff recipes. If you don’t like them or don’t have them on hand feel free to leave them out.
• Mushroom broth – Mushroom broth is the natural choice for making mushroom stroganoff, but you could also use veggie broth.
• Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce (tamari) add a savory umami quality to the cashew cream sauce.
• Dijon – Dijon mustard adds a bit of punch and zip to the sauce.
• Nutritional yeast – Nutritional yeast is a powerhouse of umami flavor. An excellent ingredient to use in all kinds of vegan recipes for some of the same flavors you’d get by using dairy.
• Lemon juice – Because traditional stroganoff recipes are made with sour cream, a little lemon juice mimics the acid from sour cream without adding any dairy!
• Salt and pepper – To taste.
• Fresh dill or parsley – Optional, but fresh dill or parsley add a nice flavor and touch of green to the finished pasta dish!

How to make creamy vegan stroganoff

This easy stroganoff comes together in a few basic parts.

Here’s the step-by-step

• Soak cashews. Before you start cooking – in a heat proof bowl, cover raw cashews with just boiled water to soak.
• Cook pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until underdone by about 3 minutes – it will continue to cook with the sauce later in the recipe. Drain and set aside.
• Sauté mushrooms. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic, and sauté until mushrooms are tender and onions are soft and caramelized. Add dried thyme and paprika and sauté for another minute or so. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Make cashew cream sauce. Drain soaked cashews and add to the blender with broth, coconut aminos, mustard, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend on high for at least a minute – until entirely smooth and creamy.
• Add sauce to the pasta and mushrooms. Return skillet to the stove top over medium low heat. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet along with the cashew sauce. Warm pasta, tossing occasionally, and scraping up any brown bits form the bottom of the pan. The sauce will seem thin at first but will quickly thicken. Gently simmer until heated through and sauce is thickened slightly. Add reserved pasta water a little bit at a time to thin the sauce if needed.
• Serve and enjoy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with dill or parsley if desired and serve!

How to clean and prep mushrooms

Mushrooms are one vegetable that you don’t want to wash before cooking. They are porous so if they get wet they will absorb a lot of the water and turn sort of slimy. They’ll still be usable but will water down your final dish.

The best way to clean mushrooms is by using a soft brush, a paper towel, or your fingers to wipe them off. If there is dirt on them you should be able to sort of gently brush it off.

If the stems look rough you can just give them a little trim. The entire stem should be pulled from shitake mushrooms since they’re too tough to eat when cooked.

Then they can be cut into equal sized pieces, or even torn into chunks if they’re a more delicate mushroom like maitake or oyster!

Serving suggestions

This pasta is a delicious meal all on it’s own, but if you want to add something extra a chunk of crusty bread or a green arugula salad would be delicious!

Storage and re-heating

Refrigerator: This vegan stroganoff will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in a sealed container.

Freezing: I would not recommend freezing this pasta. I haven’t tried it but I think that the texture of the pasta, sauce, and mushrooms would not hold up well once thawed.

To re-heat: The cashew cream sauce will thicken as it sits in the refrigerator. To re-heat, warm the pasta on low in a skillet or in the microwave, and add a little water or broth to the sauce a bit at a time, stirring in between, until desired consistency is reached.

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

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