I am often in the mood for a creamy comforting pasta, and this 10-Ingredient Creamy Vegan Pantry Pasta is the easiest option that actually tastes amazing.
It’s made with just pantry ingredients, is quick and simple to make, and is packed with flavor. It’s also easy to customize, so you can round it out with your favorite vegetable or protein.
This recipe is straightforward, but if you want a few cooking tips (including the proper way to dice an onion and peel garlic) or want to see me cooking in action, I’ve included the video down below.
If you love the sound of a pantry-friendly pasta, you should also try my 10-Ingredient Lentil Bolognese and my Italian White Bean and Pasta Stew!
And for even more pasta-recipes, check out my round-up of 30 amazing vegan pasta recipes right here!
Watch: How to make Creamy Pantry Pasta!
Why you’ll love this vegan pantry pasta
10 main ingredients. Okay, not counting water, oil, salt and pepper. But yeah, just 10 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).
Budget-friendly. In addition to being a pantry meal, it’s budget-friendly!
Weeknight-friendly. It takes 20ish minutes to make, from start to finish.
Comfort food heaven. It’s creamy, cheesy, and smoky, and incredibly indulgent. It tastes like a slightly smoky version of fettuccine Alfredo! It was inspired by my Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff, which is one of my most popular recipes, so you know it’s good!
Easy to customize. Feel free to make this your own meal. Toss in frozen peas at the end, pair with a side of roasted broccoli, bulk up with some beans or tofu or your favorite protein source. I personally love it with roasted broccoli or charred zucchini and smoked tofu.
Substitutions for this recipe
Gluten-free? Use gluten-free soy sauce (aka tamari), use gluten-free flour or cornstarch, and use gluten-free pasta.
Plant milk. Canned lite coconut milk is the most pantry-friendly option, but I typically use oat milk because I always have it on hand. Any creamy plant-based milk such as oat, coconut, cashew, or soy will work—just make sure it’s a plain / unsweetened variety.
No tahini? The tahini adds extra richness and creaminess, so you can omit it, though at least one reader subbed almond butter with delicious results.
No Dijon or coarse-grain mustard? Add a splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. The acidity at the end helps balance the creamy richness.
If you give this recipe a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please rate and review the recipe below 🙂
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
10-Ingredient Creamy Vegan Pantry Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 generous tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for mild heat)
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) vegetable broth or water
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour*
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) canned “lite” coconut milk or unsweetened oat milk (ideally a creamy full-fat version)**
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 6 ounces (170g) linguine, fettuccine, or any pasta of choice (including gluten-free)
- Optional garnishes: chopped flat-leaf parsley or vegan parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat a deep sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and season with a pinch of kosher salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned around the edges. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using), and stir to combine for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- While the onions are cooking, pour the vegetable broth (or water) into a measuring cup or bowl and add in the tamari or soy sauce and flour. Whisk to combine until all the flour is dissolved.
- Pour the vegetable broth-flour mixture into the onion-garlic mixture and whisk to combine, ensuring there are no flour clumps. It should thicken almost immediately. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the coconut milk or oat milk, tahini, nutritional yeast, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes***, or until the sauce is thickened and very creamy, whisking occasionally.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard, and taste for seasonings, adding more salt as needed. Turn on the pan with the sauce to low heat and add the hot cooked pasta. Use tongs to toss the pasta until it's well coated in the sauce and it's all heated through. Garnish with parsley and/or vegan parm, if using.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
I made this tonight (omitting the Dijon mustard) and it was delicious. It hit the spot!
Hi Lisa, thank you for sharing 🙂 Glad it hit the spot!
Hi Nisha! What is the exact noodles you used for this recipe?? They look like the perfect texture for this creamy sauce! thanks 🙂
Hi Nikki, I used linguine here 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. Just made it for lunch. Didn’t have smoked paprika (wish I did) so used regular, and only had soy milk so I cooked the sauce a bit longer. Sprinkled more nooch on my serving. Next time I’m adding non-meat crumbles.
Such a tasty and easy recipe to make!! Full of flavour, thank you 🙂
Thank you Sitara! So glad you liked it!
Made this today and the whole family lived it! So easy and I only had to by 2 or three of the ingredients. Thanks!
Hi David, that’s great to hear that the whole family loved it 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
I don’t have Yeast. Is that okay?
Hi Saloni, if you don’t have nutritional yeast, that’s fine! It won’t have a subtle cheesy flavor but will still be good 🙂
We had no plans for dinner tonight and we’re looking for something easy, with ingredients already on hand. This was the perfect option. So full-flavored and a perfect pair with roasted brussels and a glass of wine. Thank you for yet another delicious dinner Nisha!
Hi Elyse, so happy you had all the ingredients on hand – this is definitely a pasta for the current times haha. I’m glad you loved it and with a glass of wine, even better 🙂
Just tried this and it’s bursting with flavours and the best part is it’s sooooo quick and easy ! Nisha has the best hacks 🔥 perfection !
YAY, happy to hear that, Lynn. Thank you for stopping by and for the lovely words 🙂
One of my very favorite dishes! It’s so easy and the ingredients are so simple. The ending result is just an explosion of flavor in your mouth! I’ve made this a few times now and will continue to do so!
Hi Gaby, so nice to hear that this is one of your favorite dishes. I also love the simplicity of this recipe and how flavorful it is 🙂 Glad it’s going into your regular rotation!
is there a replacement for tahini? or can it be skipped?
Hi Sana, you can try a tablespoon of unsweetened creamy almond butter or cashew butter, or just omit it. The tahini adds an extra creaminess to the sauce, but it’s still tasty without it.