Two full disclosures: this recipe is delicious and the kids ate three helpings a piece, and also…we didn’t make the vegan version of this recipe.

We know, we know. We used only the ingredients we already had, and we didn’t have the vegan ground meat the recipe called for, and we ended up sprinkling some cheese on the kids’ portions, BUT you could easily just follow the recipe like you’re supposed to and make it completely vegan.

It’s such an easy dish to make and the best part is you’ll likely have most of the ingredients in your pantry already. We have a ton of cans of black beans and corn so we were looking up yummy dinner recipes that included both and came across this one on VeganHeaven.org. We used an entire can of crushed tomatoes and different pasta, and we left out the peppers since the kiddos don’t care for them much, but followed everything else and it was SO GOOD. Here’s what you’re going to need…

Ingredients:

12 oz vegan ground meat
9 oz ditalini or other small pasta shapes
1 orange or red bell pepper
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
1 teaspoon regular paprika powder
red pepper flakes, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup crushed tomatoes
juice of one lime
Additional ingredients:
1 avocado, cut into stripes
2 green onions, cut into rings
fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions:

Cut the bell pepper into medium-sized pieces.
Combine all ingredients (including the uncooked pasta) in a large pot and cook on medium heat without a lid for 20 minutes. Stir the pasta every few minutes.
In the meantime, slice the avocado, cut the green onions into slices, and roughly chop the fresh cilantro.
Once the cooking time is over, add the lime juice and season the pasta again with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with the avocado, the green onions, and the cilantro on top. Serve immediately.