Easy Vegan Pasta

An easy, 20-minute vegan pasta! You are going to love this healthy, easy vegan pasta!

And I’m including my chef’s trick to creating glossy, restaurant-style pasta. This recipe is a must-save for quick dinners. 

This vegan pasta is my go-to meal for so many dinners. It’s vegan, loaded with vegetables, and delicious. Plus, it’s ready in less than 20 minutes, perfect for any I’m so hangry moments. 

I don’t know about you, but most days, I am completely exhausted from the many home, parent, and work responsibilities, and getting a healthy dinner on the table sometimes feels like just one more thing on the to-do list.

Well, not so with this easy vegan pasta! It’s a simple meal that you don’t need a recipe for once you’ve made it a few times.  

Why I love this recipe

This is the pasta recipe that I grew up eating. It’s the pasta recipe that my mom made almost weekly, a riff on aglio e olio– pasta with olive oil and garlic.

She added spinach to hers for extra nutrition and a serving of vegetables, and I do the same for my family. It’s a back-pocket recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes.

Once you make it, you’ll be making it over and over again!

Ingredient Notes:

The real beauty of this simple weeknight pasta is how few ingredients you need to put it together. 

• Shallots and garlic cloves: The combo is really what makes this vegan pasta recipe shine. In a pinch, you can just use one or the other, or you can substitute white onion.
• Fresh spinach leaves: This easy vegan pasta is an aglio o olio pasta (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil) along with fresh spinach wilted in. The spinach really adds to the pasta and I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can sub in another green, like kale.
• Linguine or other long pasta: The type of pasta does matter here. A long noodle, like spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, is best here. The sauce doesn’t work quite the same with a short noodle like an elbow or a shell.

How to Make

The easiest vegan pasta dish!

Step 1: Bring Water to a Boil

To start, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Salting the water before adding the pasta ensures that your pasta will have enough flavor before adding to the sauce. 

Step 2: Cook the Garlic

Next, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic and shallots until soft, then add in the red pepper flakes. Blooming the red pepper flakes in the olive oil makes for a more flavorful pasta sauce.

Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, then add in the undercooked pasta. Yes, undercooked! See the next step to explain why this is so essential.

Step 3: Finish cooking the pasta in the Sauce

Forget the directions on your box and cook for a little more than 1/2 of the recommended cooking time. For instance, if the spaghetti will be ready in 10 minutes, cook it for 6.

Then, add your not-quite-cooked noodles to the pot, along with a ladle or two of pasta water. Increase the heat to high and keep stirring as the noodles absorb the water. Add more water, a ladle at a time, until the pasta texture is cooked al dente.

This ensures that every strand will be coated in the yummy shallot garlic sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as needed. 

Step 4: Add in the vegan butter and finish

For the ultimate creamy vegan pasta sauce, I recommend adding in a pat of dairy-free butter at the end to keep things glossy and smooth. It’s optional, but it’s good this way and I recommend trying it.

Top the finished pasta with vegan parmesan cheese and serve.

Expert Tips

I like adding in a little parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan cheese to the finished pasta dish. I prefer my homemade vegan parmesan to sprinkle on just about everything. Made with cashews, almonds, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder, It’s amazing how much it tastes like regular parmesan cheese. 

Nutritional yeast can be found in most co-op/Whole Foods-like places (check the bulk section) or online. This is not brewers yeast, it’s nutty, sharp and very similar to cheese. You can store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

You can use any store brand if you don’t want to make your own. My preference is Violife for vegan parmesan, but any parmesan will work. Or, omit it altogether.

For more flavor, you can consider topping with chopped fresh basil or other fresh herbs like chopped parsley. A swirl of vegan pesto at the end is also delicious if you have it in the fridge.

Serving Suggestions

This is a full meal to me– with a single serving containing 13 g of protein and 5 g of fiber per serving. I eat a bowl of it as is, but if you want to make a more well-rounded meal, then I recommend serving with a vegetable side, like my simple broccoli or my easy kale caesar salad.