Lately I’ve been trying to eat better; not necessarily get all crazy with getting on a “diet” (mostly because that word freaks me out), but just by trying to modify some of my favorite foods so I’m not eating bacon cheeseburgers, whole fat cream pastas, loaded pizzas, and rich and creamy pate everyday. One of the things I’ve been doing lately is trying to modify some of my favorite pasta dishes. I absolutely love pasta of all kinds and especially love a great, flavorful cream sauce to toss it all together. Unfortunately my waist and thighs don’t love it as much as I do, so today we have a lightened up version of a creamy pasta sauce, that’s still packed with loads of flavor, really hits the spot and is WAAAYYY healthier!
Today we have our Farfalle with a Creamy White Bean and Roasted Garlic Sauce! That’s right, the delicious creaminess in this sauce comes strictly from Progresso White Beans! They’re so rich and cream, but also very good for you! The addition of roasted garlic really takes this sauce over the edge. It’s sooo good! You can even turn this sauce vegan-friendly by swapping the chicken stock out for Progresso’s Vegetable Stock. This sauce is also quite versatile! You can reduce the amount of liquid you add to create a creamy, white bean soup instead! Or you can thin it out even more and drizzle it over steamed vegetables or even a simple rice bowl! Enjoy!
Here are more vegan / vegetarian friendly recipes you might like:
- Cacio E Pepe
- Our Garlic and Lemon Capellini Pasta
- Chili Oil Garlic Noodles
- Creamy Vegan Spaghetti Squash Bake
- Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli Alfredo
Farfalle with a Creamy White Bean and Roasted Garlic Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- ½ pound dry farfalle
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon minced thyme
- 2 teaspoons minced sage
- 1 (15oz) can Progresso White Beans
- 2 ½ to 3 cups Progresso Chicken Stock OR Progresso Vegetable Stock
- 1 head roasted garlic**
- salt and pepper to taste
garnish
- minced parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a handful of salt, followed by the pasta and boil until the pasta is al dente, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Drain pasta, transfer to a large mixing bowl and lightly toss with olive oil. Set aside.
- Pour oil into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, thyme, and sage and continue to sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add white beans (with their juices) and roasted garlic and season with salt and pepper. Sauté mixture for 2 to 3 minutes before adding 2 cups of stock and reducing temperature to medium-low. Simmer mixture for 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a blender, removing the center top of the lid and replacing it with a clean towel. Once the steam has dissipated a little bit (5 to 10 minutes), blend mixture until smooth, adding a little more stock to thin the pasta sauce out, if needed.
- Pour sauce over the cooked farfalle and toss together. Adjust seasonings and serve topped with minced parsley.
NOTES
- **For roasted garlic: cut the top 1/2 inch of a head of garlic off (and discard) and place the garlic over a small piece of foil. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic in the foil and roast in a 375˚F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. Allow garlic to cool before squeezing the roasted cloves out.
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Great recipe! Subtle but not bland, it felt like comfort food, but genuinely healthy. I took everyone’s advice from the comments and doubled the recipe, but halved the vegetable stock. It was so creamy and worked well, I just had to stir it in the blender to keep it moving. It’s a great “base” sauce, you could add or change a couple of different ingredients and have multiple recipes instead of one. I sauteed the garlic instead and also added a 1/4 cup of roasted sweet bell peppers from a jar, 2 tlb of ajvar (a bell pepper and spice spread) and a squeeze of lemon.
The sauce is very watery. I needed to tweak the recipe by using two cans of beans and increasing the chicken broth a bit. Cooked 1/4 c onions for about 6-8 minutes and used dried herbs because thats all I had. But I stirred the herbs into the onions for about 2 minutes to bring out the flavor, a trick they use in Indian cooking. I also sautéd garlic because I didn’t start cooking in time-so didn’t have time to roast the garlic. My family likes this healthy meatless dish.
Can you freeze the sauce for easy meal prep?
Pretty good! Mine turned out rather thin so I added some faro and Parmesan which nicely thickened it up! Would also recommend adding some lemon juice.
This sauce is tasty and delicious! Thank you for sharing it! I put it over mushroom ravioli.
Are the thyme and sage measurements for fresh or dried herbs?
For fresh herbs!
Delicious, but I had a similar first impression to Elizabeth’s comment. The sauce was quite soupy after blending it, and didn’t thicken up until it had cooled noticeably. Granted, I only waited a couple minutes before blending it, but perhaps a note in the recipe reassuring folks that it’ll thicken up as it cools.
I made this and to be frank, it tasted like nothing. The “creamy” sauce was a soupy mess. I used all fresh ingredients and measured everything out and made sure to follow the recipe. I’m not sure what I did wrong. The only way I was able to salvage this was to douse it in sriracha. Very frustrating considering how much time and effort this took to make.
Hi Elizabeth! Apologies for the delay AND for you not enjoying this recipe! You’re totally right about the spice pictured. I originally used smoked paprika only then added in some coriander to boost the flavor. I forgot to add the paprika to the ingredient list and will update the recipe shortly! As for the consistency, I’m sorry you didn’t like it!! I give a stock range for that very purpose! And I think the flavor thing is a preference! I really love the subtle flavor of the roasted garlic with the smokey cumin, but it’s totally not for everyone! You can also try boosting up the flavor by adding a bit more of the spices and even a little more roasted garlic! I’m sorry you weren’t a big fan, but I promise we have some really great flavor packed recipes we hope you’ll try!! xx
Looks so good! cant wait to try!
This was amazing timing. I made Ruth Reichel’s Tuscan bean soup earlier this week and was tired of eating it. It easily converted into your recipe with some pasta absolutely delicious with the cumin and coriander! Thank you!
i’m game! the beans sound like they would add such a nice creaminess, and hey, roasted garlic makes everything 4359084x better.
Lol, yes roasted garlic certainly does!!
Yes! I am doing the same thing these days. I don’t like the whole cutting things out kind of diet. I just redid a Mac and cheese recipe with cauliflower sauce. I cannot wait to give this one a whirl!
Question: the pasta is cooked first and allowed cool while the sauce is made. Is this dish intended to be served at room temperature? Thanks.
Not exactly. The bean sauce is still quite hot, even after you purée the mixture, and I find the heat of that generally enough to warm the pasta back up. If you’d prefer your pasta piping hot, you can always pour the sauce back into the saucepan and simmer it over low heat for about 3 minutes before adding the pasta to the pan and tossing them together.
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Looks so tasty and yummy!
We are OBSESSED with anything roasted garlic! Also always on the hunt for new pasta sauces, so love this idea!