Are you busy on weeknights and looking for an easy recipe to make in under 20 minutes? With this yummy vegan creamy one-pot pasta, it is much easier to fill your tummy and save hours of cleaning up after. Make this easy peasy one-pot pasta recipe in under 20 minutes tonight.
I’m a frugal wife but first, I’m a lazy wife. I would prefer if you call me a frugal lazy wife, I won’t mind.
I am all for fresh, homemade spaghetti sauce. It’s healthy, it’s frugal and it’s yummy. But, when you are busy on the weekdays, an easy weeknight recipe for two is all you need to stop ordering in. In that way, a lazy wife’s super simple one-pot tomato pasta dinner is perfect. And it is packed with flavors.
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Vegan Creamy One-Pot Pasta Recipe Secret
If you are a busy person or a busy family with kids who also work full-time or part-time, you’re already physically and mentally exhausted from the whole day’s work by dinner time. This ultra quick-and-easy pasta meal is perfect for everyone on those days.
Vegan creamy pasta is also a frugal recipe because it’s vegan and only needs a few ingredients. You may already have them in your pantry.
It’s a perfect substitute for a busy meatless weeknight dinner. We often cook it on Monday night as we both are busy doing our courses at night and on Weekends have some kind of meat recipe. This is a lightly creamy and healthy recipe.
The ready-made pasta sauce is here for us people. Make the most of this food revolution. Choose the best quality organic pasta sauce with very few natural ingredients and use this recipe to elevate boring pasta sauce in the jar.
The secret ingredients are fresh herbs and creamy coconut milk.
Vegan creamy pasta ingredients:
- 2 cups of dried pasta. Any kind will do. I used the organic pasta from Garofolo
- ½ cup pasta sauce (homemade or store-bought. My favorites are “Classico“, “Newman’s Own” is pretty good. Bertolli sauces are just as great if you are looking for a frugal version of pasta sauce.)
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1/2 cup of dairy free creamer such as coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon oregano (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder (if you have fresh garlic, get 2-3 cloves garlic minced- they give nice fresh flavor to pasta)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon parsley ( more if you like the flavor)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast in place of Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves to garnish (dried basil leaves will work too but use them while preparing the sauce)
Note- if you don’t have the dried herbs- use 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
** Adjust the heat level by reducing or increasing the paprika. If you have kids at home eating this recipe, remove paprika and black pepper.
Raw Garlic boost the immune system protects brain health and stabilizes blood sugar levels. Even if the pasta has carbohydrates, adding garlic promotes a healthy metabolism.
Material needed
– a large cooking pot
– colander for draining the past- stainless steel colander is perfect as hot pasta can damage the plastic ones or worse plastic may leach into food. yikes.
Vegan Creamy One-Pot Pasta Instructions:
Boil water in a large pot of water. Add salt to it. Then add dried pasta and cook it until it’s al dente. It may take about 9-10 minutes on medium-high heat. Do not overcook the pasta. When it’s ready, drain it well in the colander.
To avoid pasta from sticking to each other, add some butter. Then toss pass in the colander so the butter gets all over the pasta. Keep a bowl under the colander, just in case the butter drips from the colander.
Now in the same pot, we will cook the pasta sauce. Heat the pot over medium heat. Make sure it has no water content.
Add vegan butter. At this time, do not do anything else as I did ( no checking emails, no searching for the notepad). Butter will melt soon. If you’re not around, the whole house will smell buttery and if you are too late butter turns black. Your fire alarm may smell it and start disturbing the whole family.
Then add minced garlic. Saute it for about a minute. ( at this point, you can also add any veggies you want to add).
After about a minute or so add tomato sauce and all the dried herbs. Also, add the can of coconut milk. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes until you see the desired consistency.
At this stage, taste the sauce. I gave that job to my husband. If he wants more punch in the sauce, I amp it up by adding some more seasoning such as red pepper flakes, more basil, or more parsley.
Season the sauce with salt & pepper as needed.
Then add the drained pasta to hot pasta sauce.
Switch off the flame.
Add the vegan Parmesan cheese when you serve it.
I skipped it because this lazy wife is watching her waistline and was happy with the butter in the recipe.
Special Tips:
Add the fresh herbs towards the end of the recipe so that you will still be able to taste the fresh flavors.
If you have trouble eating the chunks of tomato in ready-made pasta sauce, add it to the blender and purée until smooth. Add this purée to your pasta.
Garnish with freshly cut cilantro and green onions
Related Recipe: One-Pot Turmeric Coconut Rice Recipe
Quick Recipe: Air-Fryer Cauliflower ( Indian Style)
Vegan creamy One-Pot pasta recipe variations
Add in cooked meat or vegetables such as chicken, olives, mushrooms, zucchini, or broccoli
Onions, garlic, and bell peppers – the whole trinity of veggie lovers are also great to add.
Want to make your pasta more creamy? add a splash of cream at the end!
Don’t like tomato taste as much, cut the acidity by adding about 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup. Don’t worry, your pasta will not taste sweet, it just helps reduce acidity in the tomato.
Substitutes
- In place of coconut milk, you can use cashew nut cream as well. It will be more nutty in flavor
- If you do not like butter, replace it with organic extra virgin coconut oil. Make sure you add the coconut milk towards the end.
- Fresh garlic is always a great way to add flavor to canned tomato sauce
- Want to get a spicy version? add jalapeno pepper or green chilies
- Too spicy? go for hot pepper flakes
- Like to have an easy dinner for two on a romantic date night? add a little wine to the canned sauce while it’s getting ready for the pasta. Don’t go all crazy with wine as you are not cooking this recipe for long. just add 2 tablespoons. Have that big glass of wine while eating pasta if you want.
- Don’t like to add raw garlic to the pasta? Well, then this aint the recipe for you. Classic Italian recipe needs garlic. It’s life giving, immune boosting and oh so powerful herb. Please develop a taste for it. Ok just kidding! If you like just a hint of garlic but not strong flavor, boil your pasta with a raw garlic clove and salt. you will still get the flavor of garlic in the pasta but it will not be overpowering. Remove it before transferring to the cooked pasta sauce
What are good sides with this Vegan creamy One-Pot pasta?
- Serve pasta with the garlic bread
- Eggs on the sunny side are also good
- Fresh healthy salad is always great too
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Want to cook another recipe in under 30 minutes? Check our vegan vegetable soup here.
Vegan Creamy One Pot Pasta- {in 20 minutes}
When you are busy on the weekdays, make this ultra quick-and-easy one-pot vegan creamy pasta meal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of dried pasta. Any kind will do.
- ½ cup pasta sauce (homemade or store-bought.
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1/2 cup of dairy free creamer such as coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon oregano (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder(if you have fresh garlic, get 2-3 cloves garlic minced- they give nice fresh flavor to pasta)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon parsley ( more if you like the flavor)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- ¼ cup vegan Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves to garnish ( dried basil leaves will work too but use them while preparing the sauce
- Note- if you don't have the dried herbs- use 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot of water. Add salt in it. Then add dried pasta and cook it until its al dente. It may take about 9-10 minutes on medium-high heat. Do not overcook the pasta. When it's ready, drain it well in the colander.
- To avoid pasta from sticking to each other, add some butter. Then toss pass in the colander so the butter gets all over the pasta. Keep a bowl under the colander, just in case the butter drips from the colander.
- Now in the same pot, we will cook the pasta sauce. Heat the pot over medium heat. Make sure it has no water content.
- Add vegan butter. Butter will melt soon.
- Then add minced garlic. Saute it for about a minute. ( at this point, you can also add any veggies you want to add).
- After about a minute or so add in tomato sauce and all the dried herbs. Also add the can of coconut milk. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes until you see the desired consistency.
- At this stage, taste the sauce. I gave that job to my husband. If he wants more punch in the sauce, I amp it up by adding some more basil or more parsley.
- Season the sauce with salt & pepper as needed.
- Then add the drained pasta in our hot pasta sauce.
- Switch off the flame.
- Add fresh basil and vegan parmesan cheese when you serve it
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