I can’t stop making/eating this vegan caramelized onion pasta. I’ve made it five times in the last two-ish weeks. Primarily because Max wonโt stop asking me to make it. And I get it – itโs really freakin delicious. It’s also made entirely with pantry ingredients (just 9 ingredients total), so you can make it almost anytime ready.
This Vegan Caramelized Onion Pasta was adapted from Alison Romanโs Caramelized Shallot Pasta. Her version looks legit delicious but it has anchovies, so I wanted to devise a vegan version that would be just as flavorful and umami-packed. Given how many times my non-vegan partner has asked for this recipe, I think itโs been a successful adaptation.
The post has pretty detailed instructions on how to make this recipe, but if you want a visual (always helpful IMO), check out the Youtube video at the end of this post. The pasta recipe begins around the 3:34 mark.
In the mood for even more pasta? I’ve rounded up 30 of the best vegan pasta recipes from around the web! There are so many great choices, though I’m partial to the Lentil Bolognese. Check it out!
If you love the sound of pantry-friendly pasta recipes, you have to also try my Lentil Bolognese and Creamy Pantry Pasta!
And if you want even more pasta, check out my round-up of 30 amazing vegan pasta recipes right here!
Why youโre going to like this recipe
9 main ingredients. Okay, not counting water, oil, salt and pepper. But yeah, just 9 main ingredients, woohoo!
Pantry staples. And all those ingredients are pantry staples (i.e., you might already have all the required ingredients in your pantry).
Weeknight-friendly. It takes 40-45 minutes to make, from start to finish, including all the prep time.
But fancy pants. Despite being easy and made with less than 10 ingredients, this pasta tastes like bougie Italian restaurant fare, so itโs fancy (and delicious) enough to serve at a dinner party.
Italian comfort food heaven. If I had an Italian nonna, I imagine this is the food she would make me. Each bite is more slurpable and more delicious than the next. The recipe says โ3 servingsโ but I could easily eat this entire meal myself. Yes, I can eat 10 ounces of pasta.
Umami explosion. This pasta is an umami-loverโs dream come true. More on that below.
Ingredient Rundown
This ingredient rundown is basically a way for me to count the ways in which this vegan caramelized onion pasta delivers on its promise of being an umami explosion.
1. Caramelized onions. When you caramelize onions, youโre witnessing the Maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction that happens when certain food is heated. Amino acids and reducing sugars react, resulting in the food browning, whether itโs through grilling vegetables or caramelizing onions. And this reaction results in a meaty flavor and savory mouthfeel, aka umami!
Tip: Slice your onions very thinly and try to get them evenly sliced as you can. No need to break out the mandoline (unless itโs handy and easy to use), but no sloppy rough slicing either. More tips on caramelizing onions are in the next section.
2. Tomato paste. Tomato paste packs in an umami punch with its bold, concentrated tomato-y flavor. But weโre not treating tomato paste as itโs often treated – simply stirred into a soup or sauce at the end as an afterthought.
No, no, no. Weโre cooking it down after the onions are caramelized, essentially caramelizing the tomato paste itself. This unlocks the full potential of the tomato paste and brings forth its boldest flavor. Think of it almost as if you would think of sautรฉing aromatics – itโs another opportunity to layer in some flavor.
3. Tamari. Also brings those glutamate-y, umami flavors, along with saltiness. I usually use reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce, but this is a recipe where the bold, salty flavor of regular tamari/soy sauce works well. Aside from seasoning the onions with salt at the start of cooking, thereโs no need for more salt thanks to the tamari.
4. Nutritional Yeast. Your vegan source of subtle cheesy, umami notes.
5. Sundried Tomatoes. One of my actual favorite foods that I do not utilize enough. They bring the most delightful chewy texture, and a salty-yet-slightly-sweet flavor. I recommend using olive oil-packed sundried tomatoes because I think theyโre more flavorful than the dry packaged ones and they work really well in this recipe.
Tips for making Vegan Caramelized Onion Pasta
1. Caramelizing onions at high heat. Typically, caramelized onions are cooked over low heat to prevent burning. But, that can take up to an hour, and given that this is a โpantry meal,โ I assume you donโt want to spend an hour caramelizing onions.
So weโre caramelizing the onions somewhere between medium-high and high heat. Every stove is different, so thatโs why I give the range. Please use your eyes as you go to adjust the heat as needed.
The trick to caramelizing onions at a higher heat is to deglaze the pan every couple minutes with a few spoons of water. If you skip this step, the onions will burn and you will be left with blackened, burned onions, not gooey, sticky browned onions.
After heating the olive oil, add the thinly sliced onions and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until some fond starts to appear. Fond is basically the browned bits that stick to the bottom of the pan. Thatโs when you start deglazing the pan with water – just a few spoons at a time. Stir frequently, and continue deglazing in this manner every few minutes.
After about 15 minutes, the onions should be deeply golden brown. Thatโs when you lower the add the thinly sliced garlic cloves (I lower the heat to medium to prevent burning). After another 5-10 minutes of stirring and deglazing, the onions will be fully caramelized and the garlic will be golden and soft.
2. Use all of the tomato paste. An entire tube of tomato paste sounds like a lot, but (1) itโs what brings the sauce together (thereโs no tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, etc.); and (2) everyoneโs always wondering what to do with a leftover tomato paste…well know you donโt have to worry about that! As mentioned earlier, make sure you cook the tomato paste for a few minutes until it turns darker in color – this caramelization is what unlocks the deepest tomato flavor.
3. Use tomato paste in a tube, not a can! Tomato pastes are NOT created equally. When you’re using so much tomato paste, the tinny metallic flavor from the canned tomato paste comes through (not great). Plus, the way tomato paste from a tube is made and preserved makes it more flavorful and gives it a brighter and truer tomato flavor. Read more here about tomato paste differences at The Kitchn.
4. How to time this recipe. Add the pasta to your boiling salted water when you add the garlic to the onions. Depending on the cook time of your pasta, the tomato-y caramelized onions should be done around the same time as the pasta.
5. Reserve the pasta water. Before you drain the pasta, save some of that cooking water. For one, the pasta leeches some of its starch into the cooking water, so itโs starchy. And two, since the water has been salted, itโs a bit flavorful. Adding some of this starchy, salty water to the tomato-y caramelized onions will help thin it out enough into a sauce.
6. Make it heartier. If pasta doesnโt seem like a complete meal too you, make it heartier by adding some cooked or canned cannellini beans at the end. And my favorite toppings are toasted pine nuts, which add this lovely buttery crunch, and freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley for some freshness.
I recommend reserving at least 1 cup of the water. I typically use ยพ – 1 cup of cooking water, but just add as much as you need to coat the sauce onto all of the noodles. This is not a saucy pasta – itโs more of a rough, chunky tapenade so you donโt want to thin it out to the point of marinara sauce.
A pair of tongs is very helpful to help twirl the noodles and coat the sauce onto each noodle.
If you give this recipe a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please comment with your feedback below.
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Vegan Caramelized Onion Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, very thinly sliced
- Water to deglaze the pan
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 5.3-ounce (150g) tube of tomato paste (not canned tomato paste)
- 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 4 - 5 large oil-packed sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 10 ounces (285g) spaghetti or linguine (can use gluten-free)
Optional garnishes
- Toasted pine nuts; chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt the water generously and add the pasta. Cook according to the packageโs instructions for al dente pasta. Before draining, scoop out at least 1 cup (240 mL) of pasta water (or several ladles) into a bowl. Drain the pasta but do not rinse it.
- Heat a 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven somewhere between medium-high and high heat. Add the olive oil, and once itโs hot, add the thinly sliced onions and season with salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook the onions until a light brown fond starts to form on the surface of the pan, about 5 minutes. Add a few spoons of water to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking the onions, adding more water every few minutes and stirring frequently to prevent burning, until theyโre deeply golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the sliced garlic cloves. Stir frequently, adding water as needed to deglaze. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the onions are fully caramelized and the garlic is golden and soft.
- Add the red pepper flakes and oregano, and stir to coat the onions, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly, or until the paste has caramelized and become darker, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tamari, nutritional yeast, and chopped sundried tomatoes and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low.
- Ladle a few spoons of the reserved pasta water into the caramelized onions. Then transfer the hot cooked pasta to the onions. Use a pair of tongs to swirl the pasta into the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed (I usually add ยพ-1 cup) until you can coat all of the noodles in the tomato-y sauce. This whole process usually takes 3-4 minutes.
- If desired, garnish with pine nuts and chopped parsley. Leftovers stay good in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
I love this recipe even more than the Allison Roman’s version – when my cherry tomatoes come on (I oven roast them and use them instead of the sundried tomatoes called for) this is all I want to make. Thank you – I am so grateful for you wonderful work and constantly use your recipes.
Hi Adchara, thank you so much for your kind review!
Hi Nisha, Do you think the sauce could be made ahead of time and frozen? I know fresh is always better, but I’d like to take it on a camping trip :)
Hi Melanie, sure. Just thin it out with a bit of water or veggie broth in a pot, and season with a dash of red wine vinegar at the end to brighten as needed.
Great recipe! I added cannellini beans, and some fresh baby spinach at the end and let it wilt, and finished off with sunflower seeds. Thank you for sharing! :)
Sounds like some lovely additions, Els! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Very flavorful, a new spin on red sauce. I added thyme in addition to oregano. Even better on day 2.
I agree, JT! This recipe rocks! Thanks for the review :)
I made this recipe for lunch for myself and my partner, and it was delicious and easy to make.
I appreciate the cooking tips. My partner said ” The food tasted as if he had s eaten in an Italian restaurant”
It is now on the weekly go-to for lunch.
Aw, what a lovely compliment, Aneeqa! Thanks for sharing :) This is one of my fave RPL recipes as well!
How much weight should we expect from “4-5 large sun dried tomatoes”? The ones I have are already sliced.
Hi Brian, In my experience, 1 ounce (~30g) of sundried tomato is about 6 sundried tomatoes, so Iโd say 20 to 25g or a scant 1 ounce is probably good.
Made this 3 times now
Always a winner when friends are over and so easy to make
We’re thrilled to hear it, Patricia! :)
Hi. I’ve tried several of your recipes and they are very tasty. The only changes I make are to saute in my homemade vegetable broth, since oil is not a whole food (and I’m trying to lose some weight!). However, I have a question about a word I’ve encountered before, and is in this recipe as well. I looked it up and there was no meaning as a noun: fond. I assume it means the color of the vegetables, but I’m not sure. Can you tell me the exact meaning and where you encountered it? Curious minds thank you!
Hi Judith, we’re glad you enjoy the recipes and are able to tailor them to fit your specific dietary preferences! As for the definition of fond, I just found this definition on an allrecipes article “Fond is the culinary term for the caramelized bits of food that are left on the bottom of a pan after cooking. These bits are full of flavor and can be used to add depth to sauces, gravies, and soups.”
I donโt believe the step of cooking the pasta is in the instructions.
Hi Saki, thanks for catching that! I’ve made this recipe myself many times and somehow hadn’t noticed that?! LOL! Well the recipe card has been updated now :)
This was really delicious and easy to make. This is a keeper recipe and I shall definitely make it again. Sadly, there were no leftovers to keep for the next day. We ate it all!
Thank you for your lovely comment, Gillian! It makes us happy to know that you enjoyed the recipe.
This recipe was a great success, hugely enjoyed by guests! Cannellini beans made a perfect addition to the dish. Thank you!
Hi Gill, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
Wow, this recipe is delicious. It packs such a flavourful punch! My 5 year old said, “thank you Mum for making the best pasta sauce EVER”, so thank you Nisha!
Aww, how sweet! This is definitely one of my favorite pasta sauces as well :) Thanks for the kind words, Fiona!
Absolutely amazing!!! This will be put on the weekly meal menu for sure
Simple and absolutely delicious. Thank you for another amazing recipe, Nisha!
Thank you for your lovely comment, Cathryn! It makes us happy to know that you enjoyed the recipe.
I swapped out the sundried tomatoes for calabrian peppers diced in oil and my god, is it the best pasta dish I’ve ever made. If you like your stuff a little spicier I can’t recommend it enough.
Sounds incredible, John! Thanks for sharing :) I’ll have to try this dish with Calabrian peppers next time! :)
Loved this recipe i made it the other day and when the kids smelt it they wanted some to so iโd suggest to others for a more kid friendly version blend it all together at the end and theyll love it
Hi Catherine, thank you so much for your kind review! :)
Just made this and it is really lovely! One of if not my favourite pasta recipe. I added sliced vegan sausage with it which was lovely. I love the flavours of spicy, meaty, tomatoey. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi W, thanks for sharing! Weโre so happy you enjoyed this recipe and weโre looking forward to you trying even more! :) Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe.
This was amazing!! Will definitely be making it again :))
Hi Alex, weโre so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving a review :)
Made this and the whole family agreed that this was hands down the best pasta recipe vegan or non
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Kns!
Hi Nisha,
All your recipes are awesome! I just want to say ‘thank you’
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Colleen! Thanks for trying them :)