National Spaghetti Day is January 4th!  And Explore Cuisine has sent over some recipes that any foodie can enjoy to celebrate this holiday or any day of the year.

With delicious spaghetti made from chickpeas, lentils, black beans, edamame and more, Explore Cuisine helps take the guilt out of your favorite pasta meals…all products are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and jam packed with nutrients.  Find out where you can get these on the locator page.

Simple Vegan Chickpea Spaghetti

Ingredients
1 box Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
1 cup organic pasta sauce

Instructions
Cook the spaghetti until soft according to the packet directions. Drain the water from the pasta, and stir in the pasta sauce. Add more if you like more sauce. Serve in bowls and then sprinkle the nutritional yeast on each one. Season with salt and extra nutritional yeast if desired.

Roasted Vegetables with Pasta
Recipe by Cindy Gordon of Vegetarian Mama

Ingredients
1 box of Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti
1 c of yellow squash, diced into ½ inch pieces
1 c of zucchini squash, diced into ½ inch pieces
1 c of red onion, diced into ½ inch pieces
1 c of red bell pepper, deseeded, diced into ½ inch pieces
1 c of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 t garlic salt OR salt and pepper as needed
1 T olive oil
1 c of fresh parsley
lemon

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss your veggies (excluding parsley) with olive oil and your choice of either garlic salt or salt/pepper.
Put your veggies into an oven safe roasting pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
While your veggies are cooking, prepare your pasta per the directions on the box.
When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside.
When veggies are cooked, toss with pasta. Top mixture with the juice from one lemon half.
Top with parsley and serve!

Southwestern Black Bean Spaghetti
Recipe and Image Credit: Lee Tilghman (Lee From America)
Serves 1 person
Preparation 30 minutes + 10 minutes cooking

Ingredients
1/4 box Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti
1/2 zucchini spiralized into “noodles”
1/4 Red Bell Pepper
2 handfuls Baby Spinach
1/4 cucumber
1/4 cup corn (canned in water works great- just rinse them)
1/4 avocado mashed with fresh organic lemon juice
1 tbsp. vegan cheese (I used Leaf Cuisine Plain Cream Cheese) pumpkin seeds + dill for garnish

Directions
Start by boiling a big pot of water for your black bean spaghetti. Once boiled, add the spaghetti and let cook for 6 minutes.
Once done, remove from heat, rinse under cool water and set aside.Prep your veggies! Finely dice your cucumber, bell pepper, mash your avocado, spiralize your zucchini.
Next, add a spicy adobo chipotle sauce to your noodles and zucchini noodles. Combine the ancho and guajillo chiles in a large bowl and add plenty of cold water to cover. Let them soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Place the soaked chiles in a blender along with the ginger, cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend until very smooth. Stop the motor a few times to scrape down the sides with a spatula and give things a stir, just to make sure everything’s getting puréed. Don’t be tempted to add liquid—you want the final sauce to be thick. Scrape the purée into a small bowl if you plan to use it soon, or into a jar with a tight fitting lid if you want to save it for later. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for 3 months. Add a few handfuls of baby spinach to a big ‘ol bowl. Add some noodles, guac, then add cucumber, red bell pepper, vegan cheese, pumpkin seeds, and freshly chopped dill!
Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Alfredo Edamame Spaghetti
Recipe and Image Credit: Cindy Gordon (Vegetarian Mamma)

Ingredients

4 cups of cauliflower florets
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 oz vegan cream cheese
1 t smoked paprika
Garlic cloves (optional, see info in post)
2 c vegetable broth
1 box of Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti
Fresh Parsley, for garnish

Directions
Toss cauliflower with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.
In a blender combine roasted cauliflower, vegan cream cheese, smoked paprika, garlic (optional) and vegetable broth. Blend until smooth.
Warm sauce in sauce pan on stove.
Prepare spaghetti per directions on box.
Combine sauce and spaghetti. Gently toss to coat.
When ready to serve, place spaghetti onto plates, top with more smoked paprika and fresh parsley.
ENJOY!

Pesto Spaghetti with Seared Tuna
Recipe by Svitlana Flom of Art de Fete
Serves 4

Ingredients
8 oz. Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti

Seared Tuna:
1-pound center cut ahi tuna
1-teaspoon ground coriander
1-teaspoon mildly spicy red pepper (Aleppo or Marash or just black pepper)
Dash of vegetable oil
Salt

Kale-Walnut Pesto:
2 cups baby kale
½ cup basil
¼ cup walnuts
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup olive oil
Pinch of mildly spicy red pepper (Aleppo or Marash or just black pepper)
Salt

Garnish:
½ large carrot, peeled
½ hot red pepper, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon lemon zest
10 tiny basil leaves
Flaky sea salt
Mildly spicy red pepper (Aleppo or Marash)
Olive oil

Directions

Make pesto: Place kale, basil, nuts and garlic into food processor. Sprinkle with salt and pepper liberally. Pour ¼ cup over the greens. Blend by pouring the rest of olive oil in a slow stream, until pesto is nice and chunky. Squeeze lemon on top, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Sear tuna: Pat tuna dry with paper towels. Season tuna with salt, red pepper and coriander. Drizzle with olive oil on top and rub spices with oil into its flesh. Heat medium size stainless steel sauté pan until very hot. Pour just a dash of oil and place tuna in the pan. Cook on all sides for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until it releases easy and all sides have a crust. Slice tuna against the grain into ¼ of an inch slices with a sharp knife.

Slice carrot into ribbons with vegetable peeler, and then make thin long strips with a sharp knife. Set aside. Cut hot red pepper into thin slices. Cook Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti according to packaging instructions, transfer to large bowl. Add ribbons of carrot, hot pepper slices and 5-6 tablespoons of pesto to the pasta and toss to combine. Drizzle more olive oil if pasta looks too dry.

To plate, divide pasta between bowls by twisting it with a folk. Drizzle lightly with good quality olive oil, sprinkle with salt and red pepper. Top with 3-4 tuna slices, sprinkle with salt and red pepper again. Scatter some lemon zest and tiny basil leaves over each bowl. Serve at room temperature.

Photo (above): Macro photography of uncooked spaghetti noodles
All other photos provided by 5W PR