Make this creamy vegan pasta recipe for week nights, date nights, or family Sunday dinner. The garlicy sauce comes together in just 5 ingredients, with no eggs required!
Why you’ll love this vegan pasta recipe
- Tastes like a fancy Italian restaurant dish. Trust me, you are going to dream about this vegan garlic pasta. It’s one of those recipes you will make over and over again.
- Impossibly creamy sauce. You’ll be running back to check the ingredients, because it’s almost unbelievable. How can a recipe so thick and smooth contain no heavy cream???
- Easy to make. You need just a handful of pantry staple ingredients.
- Dinner will never be boring. The pasta works great as a main meal or a savory side dish. Stir in roasted vegetables or grilled tofu, and serve for a hearty plant based dinner. Bonus: you can heat up leftovers for lunch the next day!
- Omnivore friendly. My non vegan Italian family ask for this recipe at least once a month.
You may also like this Vegan Mac And Cheese
Step by step video
Above, watch the vegan garlic pasta recipe video
My favorite dairy free pasta dinner
Readers often tell me that they would love to eat healthier or try more meatless recipes, but they just do not have time to cook elaborate from-scratch healthy food every night.
As a new mom, I completely understand. And it’s why I am a huge fan of comforting, easy meals that take longer to eat than to cook.
This homemade pasta may just be my all-time favorite. The entire preparation takes under 10 minutes, from start to finish.
It’s totally vegan, and you will want to put the sauce on pretty much everything.
Noodles, rice, veggies, french fries, Vegan Meatballs, nachos, chocolate bars…
Maybe not that last one. Please do not mix chocolate bars and garlic sauce. It is probably not a good idea.
Then again, you never know.
(Seriously though, I wouldn’t recommend it.)
For dessert, try these Vegan Brownies
Key ingredients
Cashews – Look for unsalted raw cashews at the grocery store, or use raw cashew butter if you do not own a high speed blender. You can substitute unsalted roasted cashews if you want a smoky, nutty flavor. And I’ve included two nut free options in the recipe box below.
Nondairy milk – Coconut milk, oat milk, or soymilk yield an extra creamy vegan sauce. Or go with almond milk for a low calorie option. I suggest an unsweetened milk… unless you think vanilla flavored pasta sounds good. I won’t judge.
Garlic – I find it easier to buy minced garlic in a jar, but chopped fresh garlic works just as well.
Onion powder & salt – A half teaspoon of onion powder adds umami flavor to the nondairy cream sauce. Salt amplifies the garlic and balances the acidity for a rich finish.
Olive oil (optional) – Sometimes I include a tablespoon of good quality olive or coconut oil to help the sauce better adhere to the pasta and add a buttery taste. However the oil free version is still delicious so it’s your choice.
Garnishes – Feel free to top your plant based pasta with black pepper or dairy free Parmesan, fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon, or vegetarian bacon bits. I like to sprinkle on nutritional yeast, which imparts a cheesy flavor without cheese.
What type of vegan pasta is best?
The recipe makes enough sauce to cover eight ounces of dry pasta, which yields around four cups of cooked pasta. This can be any shape, really.
I love whole wheat penne, spaghetti, or even vegan ravioli.
Chickpea pasta is great if you are looking for a high protein dinner. Or choose gluten free pasta for guests avoiding gluten.
*Many boxed dry pastas are naturally vegan. However, some brands and types of noodles contain egg. Be sure to read the ingredients on the box of pasta before serving to vegans, to ensure it is egg free.
The sauce is also great over other foods besides pasta. I often whip up a keto version for my friends on a low carb diet, swapping macadamia nuts for the cashews and serving over spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or steamed vegetables.
How to make vegan garlic pasta
- If you are using raw cashews, start by soaking them in a bowl of water for six to eight hours. This step is optional but will give you a creamier, smoother sauce.
- Drain the cashews and pat them fully dry. Then blend the nuts, dairy free milk, salt, minced garlic, onion powder, and optional oil in a high speed blender (like a Vitamix) until smooth. If using cashew butter, you can skip the blender and whisk everything together by hand with a spoon or wire whisk.
- Cook pasta of choice until al dente, following the package directions. Drain but do not rinse, because rinsing noodles washes away the starch and makes it harder for sauces to stick to their surface.
- Heat the white sauce in a small saucepan or in a microwave safe dish just until it begins to boil. Pour sauce over the cooked pasta and divide among four plates or bowls. Garnish each serving as desired.
- I like to serve the recipe with a small side tomato and spinach salad. It’s also tasty if you stir in roasted broccoli, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, or a vegan protein source for a healthy and filling one bowl meal.
- If you find yourself with leftovers, store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat leftover pasta in the microwave or on the stove top, or bake it in the oven. You can also serve the recipe cold, turning it into a quick vegan pasta salad.
The vegan recipe was adapted from this Cashew Alfredo Sauce.
Creamy Vegan Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup raw cashews or 6 tbsp cashew butter (90g)
- 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (240g)
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (22g)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil (12g) (optional)
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (12g) (optional for garnish)
- 8 oz dry pasta of choice (230g)
Instructions
- 1. If using raw cashews, I like to first soak them in a bowl of water for about 6 hours. (When time is up, drain off all the water and pat dry.) This step is optional but yields a smoother vegan sauce.
- 2. Blend the nuts, dairy free milk, salt, garlic, onion, and optional oil in a high speed blender (like a Vitamix) until completely smooth. If using cashew butter, simply whisk all of the ingredients together with a spoon or wire whisk.
- 3. Cook your pasta (or pasta alternative) according to the package directions. Drain, but do not rinse the noodles.
- 4. Heat up the cream sauce in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Then pour over the cooked pasta. Garnish as desired, and serve.
- 5. Store leftover vegan pasta in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days, and reheat before enjoying.
Video
Notes
10 simple vegan pasta recipes
Creamy Red Pepper Alfredo Pasta
Lemon Pasta (One pot recipe)
Oh my gosh I am so excited to hear all about those two exciting news! Btw you look so pretty!
Thank you so much ❤?
I’m glad you’re feeling better–excited for your 2019 plans! Can you share what city you’ve moved to??
DC 🙂
You’re in my town?! I feel so privileged. 😉 Welcome!
Wow so many things for you, how exciting! I can’t wait to hear about this netflix thing!!!!!
Congratulations on your move and the project with Netflix!!! I can’t wait to hear more about both and I can’t wait to check out the documentary once it’s available 🙂 I’m so excited that you’re focusing on healthy meals again this January–thank you! I LOVE chocolate, but always feel a little sick after so many sweets over the holidays. I’m hoping to try this sauce tonight–I think it will be a hit with my 2 toddlers.
❤
I can not wait to hear about the upcoming Netflix documentary. That was I big tease!! lol
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself to help better each and everyone one of us!!
❤
I am very excited about the upcoming Netflix documentary but I have been anxiously awaiting your new cookbook, any word on when that will be released?
Thank you so much! The new cookbook’s been put on hold, and I’m not sure when it will happen (but it WILL happen!). The publisher wanted another dessert book while I am set on one that includes all meals. So I need to find another fit and haven’t really been looking again yet because of other projects… hopefully soon!
Oh, boy! So much exciting stuff going on for you – and not so much with your running accident. This recipe is coming at a perfect time. I just caught my right foot this noon, twisting it horribly, causing me to fall on my left knee so that it needed bandaging. I won’t be doing any long-term cooking tonight! I do believe this is the perfect recipe for this evening.
Can’t wait to hear about your new opportunities and where you moved this time!
I am eating this right now!! It is delicious. I added the extra salt, but think I would leave it out next time. It would be good if it was over veggies with that much salt. I also sauteed a few portabella mushrooms and added them and used a little raw onion instead of the onion powder, because I’m almost out of onion powder! I doubled the recipe and used 2 1/2 c. uncooked farfalle and it was just the right amount, imo.
Thank you so much for making it! And I’m so sorry about your injury too… sending good thoughts for a speedy recovery 🙂
just made up a double batch of the creamy vegan garlic pasta and i LOVE it.
i added more garlic, included the olive oil and also the nutritional yeast.
we’re having this tonight for dinner
thank you!
Thank YOU for making it!
I did the same and added some miso paste, celery salt instead of onion, doubled the soya milk and added a little oats to thicken.
My comment was a reply to Pat Thomas 8 Jan, 2019 and a thank you to Katie for the basic recipe. Creamy and delicious served with wholewheat pasta, sauteed broccoli and onions.
Just made this for lunch and it was delicious!! Thank you, so quick and easy I’m sure is going to be eaten pretty regularly in my house. Greetings from Valencia, Spain ?
I made this and it was sooo good! I went ahead and soaked my Cashews while I was at work since i knew I was going to make it for dinner. The gluten free pasta I made to go with it turned out to be a bust so I used the rest of the sauce as a ‘cream’ in some quinoa soup I made. It really gave my soup some extra flavor and some wonderful creaminess! I will definitely make this again. I’ve been loving your savory recipes. I can’t wait for the next one! Thanks
really quite simple and delicious….
Any thoughts on how long this sauce would keep in the refrigerator once prepared?
3-4 days!
Can I use almonds instead?
We haven’t tried so can’t say, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
Almond flour worked so almond should be great too.
Do you think pecans would work to make the creamy sause? Would you recommend soaking them?
Thank you
We haven’t tried so honestly can’t say, but it sounds like a fun experiment! Be sure to report back if you try!
I had some delicious pasta and creamy garlic sauce tonight – thank you – just what I was in the mood for! I used four fresh green olives instead of oil and added in about six sprigs of thyme. Guess what color my sauce was? Served with diced onions, broccoli and sliced green olives over tri-color farfelle.
This is SOO delicious! And you’re absolutely GLOWING in your profile photo.