I have been very busy in the kitchen experimenting and I'm super excited about the dishes that I have been creating lately. Most of them are unique but full of flavor, like my Jamaican Jerk Butternut Squash Fries and Gluten-Free Black Bean Pizza.
This Vegan One Pot Taco Spaghetti recipe also has a special ingredient and it is pigeon peas. Pigeon peas is a legume that is popular in Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.
Pigeon peas are very nutritious and they have a lot of health benefits., They are high in protein, fiber, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and calcium. They contain important amino acids namely methionine, lysine, and tryptophan.
- Methionine - Important for cell function, fights free radicals in the body, improves wound healing and protects the liver.
- Lysine - Known to treat cold sores, reduce anxiety, prevent herpes.
- Tryptophan - Known for its beneficial relief of depression, anxiety, irritable bowel disease, insomnia.
Growing up in Jamaica, my mom always planted pigeon peas. She would use it to make traditional rice and peas similar to my Jamaican Rice and Peas recipe.
Fortunately, it can be found in most mainstream supermarkets here in the US in the International aisles. It is sold canned, frozen or dried. I’m happy that pigeon peas can be grown here in Florida. I hope to grow some this year.
Somehow the taste reminds me of brown/green lentils. So you can substitute cooked brown or green lentils in this recipe.
I used the pigeon peas with walnuts as a meat substitute, I then sauteed onion, garlic and added seasonings with tomatoes. Spaghetti with water was added and cooked to create this delicious recipe.
Cooking Time
- Preparation:
- 10 min
- Cooking:
- 20 min
- Ready in:
- 33 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup pigeon peas, black eyed peas or lentils (cooked) and liquid drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper, (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos, coconut aminos or Tamari sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1-14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 41/2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounce spaghetti, (I used brown rice)
Instructions
- Place walnuts and cooked pigeon peas in a food processor, pulse until crumbly but not smooth.
- Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add walnut/pigeon peas mixture, cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne, salt and liquid aminos.
- Cook until mixture begins to brown, about 5 minutes, while stirring periodically.
- Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, spaghetti, and water. Cover pot, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until spaghetti is aldente., about 20 minutes. Stirring in occasionally
- Delicious served warm with salad.
Notes
Have made this a couple of times now, my autistic son who rarely speaks actually said more when I served this up, that’s only ever happened once before! Very tasty meal
Wow Carolyn, that’s great to hear. I’m so happy your son says more when you serve him this spaghetti dish. Thank you very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it.
Been making this at least once a month for the last year. Definitely our favorite recipe!
Ian, thank you so much for your feedback, that’s fabulous so good to know. It is definitely a family favorite.
This was very good. I subbed bulgur for the walnuts, omitted the oil and used lentils. I will be keeping this recipe for sure. Thank you!
I doubled the recipe and used gf rigatoni pasta instead. I also used mixed nuts (that’s what I had) with cooked lentils, and I added ground flaxseed and turmeric to my seasonings, . It was great!!!
Oh I couldn’t find the Aminos in the store so I used low sodium Chinese soya sauce
Thank you Liz for your feedback, love how you made the recipe your own. Sorry, you couldn’t find the Aminos. I just ordered coconut aminos on Amazon from the same company, I can’t wait to try it.
How much water? Is it 4 and 1/2 cups? I feel like it can’t be right….. it came out soupy.
If it came out soupy then cook it longer until liquid evaporates. It all depends on your pasta. I will post the live video of me making it now
The live video is up, my recommendation is to cook it a little longer, the finished product shouldn’t be too soggy. I used brown rice spaghetti so if you use regular then you may need less water.
Made this a few weeks ago used brown rice instead of spaghetti it was delicious brought some to work and my friends and I ate it with tortilla chips now she’s requesting I bring it to her party Saturday I will be make it!! Thank you.
Wow that’s amazing Karen, love how you used brown rice instead. So happy your friend loves it, thank you for your feedback.
This dish was phenomenal. I’m not actually a vegetarian but do not eat much meat. This meal was so delicious, my son noticed me eating it, and stole a portion too! We then had the other 2 portions the next evening. I made it exactly as the recipe and it was SO easy to make. Thank you, definitely a choice that I will be making often
Aww, thank you Carolyn. You made my day, I appreciate your feedback, your son made me laugh!
Great dish. I will definitely make this again. Only made one change. I used veggie crumbles in place of the pigeon peas and walnuts. Turned out great ??
Thank you for your feedback Edward, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, the veggie crumble makes the prep faster.
What if I don’t have a food processer? Would a blender still work?
Asia, personally I would place the walnuts in a ziplock bag and mash it on the counter with my hand or a bottle. I would mash the lentils or pigeon peas with a fork.
This came out great! I only used 2 tsp of tamiri instead of 2 tbsp to try and cut some of the sodium.
That’s wonderful Christine, so happy it turned out great and you were able to use less tamari!
This looks amazing! I prefer to cook the pasta separately, so is there still a need to add a little water and cook longer? Thanks!
Helen there shouldn’t be a need to add extra but I only cooked it as a one pot!
Hi Michelle,
If using the canned pigeon peas, do you drain them first?
Yes please do.I’ll edit the recipe to make it clear.
Thanks for the response, I was making them when I posted the comment and did not drain, so I will definitely have to make again to see if there is a noticeable difference.
Hi Michelle, I want to try this recipe so badly! I was wondering if canned pigeon peas work okay? Thanks!
Hello Madeleine, yes can pigeon peas are fine.
Just made this and the family loved it! My toddler ate it with some crushed tortilla chips and we all added avocado on top.
Awesome, so happy you and your family loved it. It’s one of my family’s favorite as well!
This was wonderful! First recipe of yours that I’ve tried and it was a hit. My omni husband and mother approved this recipe for repeats. Never had pigeon peas before but they are kinda awesome and look forward to using them in other recipes for that meaty texture.
Hi Jennifer, I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed! It is actually a favorite of my family as well. Try my Jamaican rice and peas recipe with pigeon peas, that’s also a great recipe. Thank you for your feedback!
We just tried this. We used spaghetti squash. Very good! Thank you.
That’s wonderful Gretchen, thank you for your feedback! I will have to try it with spaghetti squash.
Did you drain the can of tomatoes?
Hello Lauren, sorry I didn’t see your comment earlier. No I didn’t drain the tomatoes.
This tasted amazing, just like minced meat but actually better!
Thank you Liz, so happy you loved it!
Looks great, how much spaghetti did you use?
8 oz spaghetti, thank you.
I stumbled across your website looking for vegan recipes. This looks yummy. How much spaghetti should be added? Can’t wait to try it over the weekend.
Hi Nancy 8 oz spaghetti. I used brown rice spaghetti.
Thank you so much Michelle!
You are welcome Nancy!
This is perfect! Making this for dinner soon! <3 #365Recipes
Awesome, enjoy!