This creamy vegan pasta is coated in a luscious sauce that's entirely dairy-free! It's a tangy blend of white beans, lemon juice & nutritional yeast.
This creamy vegan pasta is my favorite recipe to make when I’m craving comfort food but don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen. From start to finish, it takes just over 20 minutes to make, so it’s the perfect weeknight meal. All you need to do is boil the pasta, blend up the sauce, sauté onion and broccoli, and toss it all together. Then, you can sit down to devour warm bowls of noodles and veggies coated with this super creamy vegan pasta sauce. While this sauce looks like a rich cream or cheese sauce, it’s actually a tangy, luscious blend of white beans, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. So this recipe is not only quick & comforting, but it’s also healthy!
Vegan Pasta Recipe Ingredients
Of course, this creamy vegan pasta sauce is totally dairy-free, but it’s also different than many vegan pasta sauces I make. Often, I turn to raw cashews or coconut milk in these recipes, but this time, I went in a different direction. Here’s what I used:
- White beans are the secret ingredient that make this sauce thick, smooth, and creamy! They also add a good amount of plant-based protein. Use canned beans, or cook your own.
- Lemon juice brightens it up.
- Olive oil adds richness.
- Nutritional yeast fills this vegan pasta with yummy cheese-like flavor.
- Onion powder & garlic amp up the savory, umami flavors in this recipe.
- Vegetable broth (and pasta cooking water, if you like) loosens the sauce as needed.
- Pasta. I used small shell pasta, but use what you have on hand. Orecchiette, bow ties, or rigatoni would all be great. Read the label on your pasta to make sure it’s vegan – most dried pastas are.
- Broccoli and chopped up broccoli stems. This recipe is a great way to use up the whole vegetable. If your broccoli still has leaves attached, toss those in too!
- And pine nuts add a delicious crunch!
One note about this recipe – it’s not mac and cheese. I know it looks cheesy, but this sauce isn’t meant to recreate cheese (head over to this vegan mac and cheese recipe if that’s what you’re looking for). Instead, it’s a tangy, comforting garlic pasta that’s delicious in its own way.
Easy Vegan Pasta Recipe Variations
This vegan pasta is a great recipe to play with! The creamy, luscious vegan pasta sauce is a fantastic starting point for different combinations of vegetables, noodles, seasonings, and more. Here are a few ideas for changing it up:
- Switch the vegetables. Sautéed broccoli and onion are my go-to veggies here, but roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower or Brussels sprouts would also be delicious. In the summer, stir in roasted tomatoes. In the spring, add market-fresh asparagus.
- Skip the actual pasta. Instead of regular pasta, serve this sauce over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
- Spice it up. I love adding a few pinches of red pepper flakes to my bowl. Pickled jalapeños would be another fun, punchy addition.
- Get creative with flavor add-ins. Amp up this creamy vegan pasta with chopped sun-dried tomatoes, dollops of vegan pesto, or fresh basil leaves.
If you love this vegan pasta recipe…
Head over here to find more of my favorite plant-based recipes, or try one of these delicious pasta dishes next!
- Pasta pomodoro with creamy vegan tomato sauce
- Roasted vegetable pasta
- Carrot tomato tagliatelle
- Easy baked ziti
- Roasted vegetable lasagna
- Fettuccine Alfredo with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Creamy Vegan Pasta
- 2½ cups small shell pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 5 cups broccoli florets, chopped stems, and leaves (keep stems separate)
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- lemon wedges, for serving
- 1½ cups cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup vegetable broth, more as needed
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast*
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Make the sauce: In a blender, combine the white beans, broth, lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package, cooking until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped broccoli stems and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add the broccoli florets and leaves and a splash of water or vegetable broth. Cover and turn off the heat.
- Allow the broccoli to steam for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender but still bright green. Add the pasta, then stir in ¾ of the sauce, adding more broth if the sauce is too dry.
- Season to taste with more salt, pepper and lemon juice, as desired, and portion into bowls. Divide the remaining sauce onto each bowl. Top with the pine nuts and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Made this last weekend and LOVED it! Thank you.
The beany sauce certainly is flexible for other adaptions too.
I made this tonight and both hubby and I LOVED it. I used gluten free quinoa noodles and a good pecorino instead of nutritional yeast, and honestly I think this could sub in for Mac and Cheese for us! It is lemony, creamy, filling, warming and delicious! The perfect antidote to this gloomy day. My one note is that I didn’t like the garlic blended into the sauce and found it too garlic-y as a result. Next time, I will add the garlic in with the onions and broccolini to cook a bit. Thank you for this awesome riff on a cheesy fav!
Looks delicious! Can the sauce be prepared beforehand and stored? Thank you!
yes – the sauce will last about 5 days in the fridge. I’d wait to cook the pasta until you’re ready to eat!
Wonderful, thank you!
Hi! This recipe looks delicious 🙂 Do you have any suggestions on a substitute for bean ingredients…possibly cashews? Would love to make this in a way that avoids a bean (& almond) allergies.
Thanks so much!!
Hi Ashley – there’s a cashew sauce in this recipe that would be delicious here: https://dailycove.info/creamy-vegan-shiitake-kale-pasta/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI hope that helps!
Loved the taste and texture of the sauce. I subbed Parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast and found it still had nice light taste. I also subbed in some zucchini noodles to lighten it up. I would make this again.
Has anybody tried this cold? Want to take to a potluck lunch but need to make the night before as no time that morning. Usually I know the answer because I have had a chance to cook stuff ahead and because I love left overs always eat them cold the next day.
Is there anything that would work in place of pine nuts?
I think some crushed up toasted walnuts (since they’re also a soft nut) would be great! You can also skip them if you like, they’re not essential to the recipe.
Couldn’t resist this. I added a few little items I found hiding away in the fridge that were begging to be included – green pepper, spring onions, cottage cheese. Sprinkled some grated cheese on top too. Delicious, thank you for the inspiration.
Hello. Can you explain the use of nutritional yeast in your dish?
I am not familiar with its usages in cooking. Thanks
Nutritional yeast gives the sauce that cheesy flavor, even though it’s not cheese at all. It’s a common addition to vegan sauces, it’s incredible on popcorn, and great on potatoes and probably a lot more things that I’ve never used it for. It’s a staple in my kitchen! Get it cheapest at Trader Joe’s.
Making this recipe right now. I haven’t added all the parts together yet, but so far it’s very tasty!
I love pasta!!! In fact pasta is my whole life. So this dish is definitely gonna be on my must do list. thanks for sharing this recipe. Please do share more pasta recipes. And add Eggs On Cloud recipe too https://goo.gl/N8xB3P
I love how simple and delicious this looks!
We just had this pasta, I was so sure I had broccoli in the fridge but I didn’t so I used two medium zucchinis just sautéed in the olive oil with the onion. It was very good, I really liked the sauce, even my picky teen ate and liked it ??
Great recipe! Love this hearty meal!
This looks fabulous!!!
This makes me happy. I have a severe tree but allergy and it’s hard to find “cheese” sauces that aren’t made with nuts. I can’t wait to try this.
This is delicious! I gave it a shot and love it! The only issue I had was making the sauce creamy enough.. I tried adding more broth like suggested but it didnt quite work. Regardless, the flavor is still top tier!
Once my pasta is cooked, al dente, I add it to the pan (of whatever I’ve sautéed), then I add a dollop of organic Earth Balance and a 1/2-1 cup of pasta water from the pot. I did that with this with this lovely recipe and it came out thick and creamy. I also followed the suggestion to add more lemon juice, salt and pepper which really kicked up the flavor.
Love this hearty meal!
This looks absolutely PERFECT 🙂 Must-make!
I bet this recipe tastes as good as it looks!!
Looks delicious!! Can the sauce be prepared ahead of time and stored?
Oh now I really want to organize my pantry, too. It very quickly gets out of control! Lol. Love this dinner idea. Can’t wait to try the sauce!
Omg, this looks fabulous!!!