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 :)
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.
Notes
I added green peas to this to up the protein a bit and add some color. My 9 year old and 5 year old demolished it and asked for seconds!
Love it. Love love love it. We’ve made this recipe half a dozen times and it’s a whole family pleaser. (Although I do add the mushrooms from your stroganoff recipe). 🙏🏻
I made this with broccoli and spinach, I didn’t have any onion so I used onion powder. I also used almond butter instead of tahini. It turned out really creamy and tastes great. Even my son who’s not vegan said it was really good. I really enjoyed this recipe and will definitely be making it again. Thank you for sharing,
This saved my diet and my fat a** ! Thank you so muchh😂 Very delicious and I’m happy I didn’t have to break my diet ☺️
This is my second Rainbowplantlife recipe today and I don’t think I’ll ever bother looking at anyone else’s recipes again! Another triumph 🏆 I mixed in some cooked veggies and topped with toasted pine nuts – delish 😋
This was absolutely delicious! It was so creamy and smooth. I added spinach and leftover sun-dried tomatoes I had in the fridge and it was tasty. As a new vegan, I would say this is definitely a top favorite recipe and will be making regularly.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make
This recipe is fantastic! It is so tasty on its own yet customizable. I added some sautéed mushrooms and diced tomatoes this time around, yummy!
Definitely a staple for us!
I actually did have these ingredients in my pantry and just made myself such a tasty dinner after work! It was so decadent… can’t wait to eat my leftovers!
This recipe is so so easy to make yet so delicious and flavor packed. Makes for a simple yet delicious 15 minute meal!
Oh. My. Gosh. I JUST made this dish and it is amazing and so quick and easy. NISHA…thank you!! I’ve recently become much more plant-based due to recent health issues. I have also had to go gluten, dairy, and for now, egg-free, so many of these cooking ingredients are rather new to me. I have made 3 or 4 of your dishes now and I am in heaven. Even my red meat and dairy loving husband is blown away by the deliciousness of your recipes. I cannot thank you enough for all you do. I will be picking up your book from the library where it’s waiting for me but I’m already certain I will end up purchasing a copy of my own. Again, thank you. Not only are you an amazing cook but you are adorable and a delight to watch. I love your YouTube channel as much as your recipes! : )
This recipe was delicious. I added a few sun dried tomatoes over plant based protein pasta. Thanks so much!
delicious and so easy to make! A family favorite!
A new back-pocket recipe favorite, for nights when you just need to get something on the table. Delicious!
Quick, easy and delicious! Love that this pasta takes full advantage of pantry staples. Excited to make this again!
Holy moly this was easy and super delicious! I wish I had a bigger stomach so I could eat more. Added some cooked mushrooms to the leftovers and it was divine.
Made this using the gluten free substitutions and it was very delicious. My husband who usually doesn’t like my vegan gluten free food enjoyed it. I topped it with a ton of lemon juice and red pepper flakes.
Not gonna lie, I was skeptical of how good this would taste based on how simple the recipe is..but ITS SO GOOD!! It can be easily adapted to include veggies as the other comments indicate (I added frozen broccoli). And I whipped it up in 15 mins and used lemon juice in place of mustard. I will definitely be adding this to the rotation. :)
Delicious! Made the pasta last night and we literally licked the pot :) I doubled the portions and it worked great.
Thanks for a delicious recipe! I added mushrooms to it, and swapped out the milk for plain yogurt made from coconut milk. The noodles were all coated so nicely and packed with flavor, I will start making this every week – YUM!!!