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!
Just made this today with protein pasta and it was delicious! Used oat flour and it thickened pretty good. Add it some spinach as well-very good. Will definitely try again!
Awesome, Sarah. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Don’t sleep on this one! It’s now a staple in our house when we need something quick and delicious for dinner or a sunday lunch. Thank you so much for this recipe which I will likely make every week for the rest of my life 😂
Thank you for your lovely comment, Sarah! It makes us happy to know that you enjoyed the recipe.
How much spinach did you add?
Why the yeast?
Hi Natalia, nutritional yeast is not the same as active yeast! But the reason we add it here is for a cheesy, umami flavor!
I made this last night for my brother and son who are vegan. Wow! It tasted absolutely amazing! It was so easy to make too. It tastes good cold too, by the way. Will definitely be making it again. I used protein pasta rigatoni.
I agree this recipe is a real winner, Lisa. I’ll have to try it with protein pasta rigatoni soon. Thanks for the comment!
Soo delicious! Paired it with some broccoli for a bit more veggies. I added some spicy Italian sausage with fennel seed. Definitely pairs well with the somewhat spiced sauce. Thank you for sharing! This is going to be a new staple in my meal rotation.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Victoria! It makes us happy to know that you enjoyed the recipe.
Made this last night and my daughter took one bite and looked at me and said “This is good!” Couldn’t agree with her more. Delicious.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Steve! It makes us happy to know that you two enjoyed the recipe.
Easy and delicious! I’m working my way through all your recipes but am temporarily having to follow a low residual diet so I was glad to find this one.
It’s a very exciting day in our household when a new recipe is added into our regular rotation! Quick, easy, delightful- what more could you ask for? A real winner!
We’re so happy that the pasta turned out well for you, Gemma. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
I made it for dinner today and it’s awesome. Excellent share.
Hi Maria, thank you so much for your kind review!
Yummy and very easy to make. I had some steamed broccoli on the side. Will add more chili flakes next time.
Thank you for another well-done recipe 🙂
Hi Carolin, thank you so much for your kind review!
Added broccoli, a red bell pepper and frozen peas, and a little extra of all the sauce ingredients. AMAZING!! Thank you. New staple for me
Love those additions, J F! Thanks for sharing 🙂