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!
Love, love, love this dish!!
This is third recipe of yours I’ve made in the past couple weeks and they all have been over-the-top delicious!
I’m a huge fan of yours Nisha, and will continue to follow you and try more of your fabulous recipes!! You are so adorable and I love how relatable you are in your videos! 😊
Oh, and I added two huge handfuls of fresh spinach I had in the fridge to the sauce before adding the pasta. So good!
So good to hear you love the recipes! Thank you for the wonderful review, Elizabeth 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight! My husband gave it 5 out of 5 stars. Super creamy and delicious. Added red pepper flakes, roasted broccoli, cremini mushrooms and spinach!!! Your the absolute best. Please keep those recipes coming.
Thanks for sharing, Sandy! And thanks for following 🙂
I just made this for lunch and it was so good! I saw on a different site where someone suggested sun dried tomatoes. I had some on hand so I added those during step 4. I didn’t have any tahini but I subbed with toasted sesame oil. This pasta was so full of flavor! It will definitely be added into our weekly rotation.
Awesome, Rebecca. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Delicious recipe that’s so easy. Even my non-vegan family members loved this pasta. Paired wonderfully with roasted broccoli. Thank you!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Carolyn!
Love this recipe and how easy it is to modify with extra additions (mushrooms, spinach, nuts, vegan meat, whatever I have lying around)! Have made it many times and it will continue to be a go-to!
Erin, So glad to hear you love this recipe!
This was amazing (just like all of your recipes)! I added crumbled tofu to it and sprinkled some fresh basil on top! Your recipes are DIVINE!!!! but my favorite part of this was how quick it was. Thank you for doing what you do!!!!!
Hi Kirsten, we’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for the wonderful compliments! 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. Thanks!
I am starting to cook more and more vegan reciepies and this one is my favorite. Also my one year old kid enjoyed it. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Eveline!
Just excellent. So yummy. Even the non vegan in the family said he would eat it without the meat I had to add for him.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Jen! 🙂
I make this recipe a lot—it’s an awesome go to recipe. Tonight I added mushrooms and spinach and used half a can of regular coconut milk instead of lite. Was really creamy and delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Bethany!
5 star!
Awesome, Ann. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!