Tuscan Pasta with Cannellini Beans

I don't know about you, but I no longer have an abundance of food and pantry staples in my fridge and cupboards like I am used to. My husband has been making sporadic trips to the grocery to stock up for the week, but I keep finding myself needing this or that....I'm now making a lot of my regular recipes with quite a few ingredients missing. 

Tonight I wanted to do a pasta dish, so I took a peek in my pantry. I had marinara sauce, I had cannellini beans, an onion and some carrots in the fridge. Okay, I thought, I can make this work. The most exciting part of all is I had some Beyond Sausage! I thought, "Now this will be a feast!" HA! Normally, I would have used fresh herbs, but even with dried herbs, this quick, hearty meal was quite tasty! I had some leftover pizza dough and made garlic butter knots to serve along with it. Everything was yummy and everyone was happy! 

Ingredients:

1- 2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, evenly diced

3 garlic gloves, peeled and diced
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinse
24 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I like Rao's)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 oz long pasta, like bucatini, linguini or spaghetti

1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water or broth to thin the sauce, optional

2-4 links of sausage, I used plant-based Beyond Sausage (my fave!), cooked and sliced

Parmesan

Directions for the Sauce:

Add olive oil to a large pan and set to medium low. Add diced onions and carrots. Cook for 10-15 minutes, adding a little water, 1 Tbl at a time, to the pan as needed to prevent sticking. Carrots should be soft when ready. Add garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add beans, spices, salt, and pasta sauce to pan. Give it a good stir. Heat until warmed through. If you like, add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of the pasta water or broth to the sauce to thin it a bit. 

Scoop pasta sauce over cooked noodles. Arrange cooked and sliced sausage on top. Sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with a side salad and good bread. Enjoy!