What if I don’t like to cook with oil?

I get it! I usually don’t cook with oil either. As I said earlier in this post, I received a beautiful Le Creuset Enameled Dutch Oven as a gift and I love cooking in it though it does require oil otherwise everything sticks. If you prefer to cook oil-free, I recommend a really good quality nonstick pot. I LOVE my All Clad Nonstick 4 Quart Pot, and I also have it in the skillet version. I’ve never needed oil in those pots. When I saute my garlic (and onions in most cases, just not this recipe), I usually just use a splash of broth or water if things start to stick a little.

What kind of pot should I use?

I recommend a large (at least 4 quarts) pot with a heavy bottom. As stated above, if you like to cook oil-free, use a nonstick pot. If you and oil or vegan butter are friends, anything from an enameled or cast iron pot is fine. Or if you’re bros with your stainless steel pots, go with that!

I am intimidated by cooking one pot vegan pasta—help?

It’s a little scary at first, I get it! I promise it gets easier once you do it. If you still want to try my creamy vegan mushroom pasta, you can make the pasta separately. I recommend salting your pasta water (bring water to a boil, add a generous amount of kosher salt, let it come back to a boil and add your pasta) and cook until al dente, then drain. In a separate pot, melt vegan butter (or cook oil-free), saute some garlic and cook the mushrooms as mentioned. When fully cooked, add the full fat coconut milk (or whatever substitution you picked) and vegan parmesan cheese, stir that in, then simmer for a few minutes. Combine with drained al dente pasta and simmer on low for a few minutes until it comes together.

Did this recipe change? I'm looking for an older version.

We recently updated this recipe because of user feedback we received. Here is the original recipe if you're looking for it: Ingredients: One small onion, sliced 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced (optional) 16 oz crimini/mini Bella mushrooms (white mushrooms will also work) 4 cups pasta of choice 4 cups vegetable broth 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt (I like Himalayan Pink Salt because of the flavor) 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika Juice of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1/3 cup cashew butter or tahini (or the heavy portion of a can of full fat coconut milk--or if you're watching overt fats, try blending 1/2 cup white beans with water) Splash of unsweetened nondairy milk Chopped fresh parsley to garnish Instructions: 1. In a large pot, saute your onion in a splash of water over medium-high heat until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute for one minute more. 2. Add broth, pasta, and mushrooms. Turn the heat up and bring it to a boil. 3. Lower heat to medium-low and let cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender. 4. Remove from the heat and add the spices, nutritional yeast, lemon, vinegar, and cashew butter or tahini. Stir it well. Add a little nondairy milk if the sauce needs to be thinner. If it needs to be thicker, add a little bit more nutritional yeast. 5. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

Name: One Pot Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta Recipe
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Pasta
Ingredients: 3 - 4 tablespoons vegan butter or olive oil (see note 1 to cook oil-free); 4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced (or less, to taste); 16 - 24 ounces crimini / baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (see note 2); 16 ounces pasta of choice (see note 3); 4 cups vegetable broth (see note 4 for other options); 1 cup canned full fat coconut milk (see note 5 for substitutions); ⅓ cup vegan parmesan cheese, finely grated (see note 6); Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste; Fresh parsley or thyme for garnish, optional

Description

This delicious, cozy Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta takes just 30 minutes and one pot to make. A super easy meal to make no matter your skills.

Ingredients

Units Scale

3 - 4 tablespoons vegan butter or olive oil (see note 1 to cook oil-free)
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced (or less, to taste)
16 - 24 ounces crimini / baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (see note 2)
16 ounces pasta of choice (see note 3)
4 cups vegetable broth (see note 4 for other options)
1 cup canned full fat coconut milk (see note 5 for substitutions)
1/3 cup vegan parmesan cheese, finely grated (see note 6)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley or thyme for garnish, optional

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Instructions

Heat a large heavy bottomed pot (use a good large nonstick pot if cooking oil-free) over medium heat and add the vegan butter (if using). Let it melt, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Now add the sliced mushrooms and cook 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have released their liquid and most of it has cooked off. The mushrooms should darken and soften considerably. The edges may begin to brown and the mushrooms may shrink quite a bit as well.
Add the pasta and broth to the pot now, and stir gently. It’s fine if not all of the pasta is covered with the broth, but try to stir it enough that all the pasta gets wet. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn up the heat to medium high, and let the liquid come to a boil.
Remove the lid, give everything a good stir, and replace the lid. Lower the heat to medium low and cook 8-10 minutes or until most of the liquid has absorbed into the pasta and the pasta is cooked and soft. Make sure to stir occasionally (every 2-3 minutes), and always replace the lid immediately after stirring.
There will be a small amount of liquid remaining when the pasta is cooked--that’s great, we’ll use that. Pour in the canned full fat coconut milk (or whatever substitute you’re using, see the notes section) and stir well, then add in the vegan parmesan cheese and stir well once more.
Season the creamy vegan mushroom pasta with salt and pepper if you’d like and serve immediately. Add a little chopped fresh parsley or thyme leaves for garnish if you’d like. My husband loves this with some vegan garlic bread, whereas I like it with a fresh vegan Italian salad and some vegan creamy Italian dressing. Or do both, especially if you want to impress some guests or have a large family to feed!
Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat in a pan with a little extra broth and a splash of non-dairy milk--and maybe an extra sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese.

Notes

Note 1: This is for cooking a rather large amount of mushrooms. If you prefer to cook oil-free and have a good nonstick pot, by all means do that. I usually cook oil-free, but I wanted to use this beautiful dutch oven I was given as a gift and it does require vegan butter or oil. FYI, oil will also work for this process.
Note 2: I like to use 24 ounces of mushrooms for this dish but you can use a bit less if you prefer. You can use any mushrooms you like for this. We prefer to use crimini or baby bella for our creamy vegan mushroom pasta. But you could use white button mushrooms or even shiitake mushrooms for a more umami flavor. I recently learned it’s better to clean mushrooms with a tea towel or paper towel, rather than wash them.
Note 3: I feel that short pastas are easier to make vegan one pot pasta with, though I have to admit I used fettuccine so I could be fancy. And it was a little harder to work with but it turned out fine. If you need to use gluten-free pasta, please do so. And if you feel one pound of pasta is too much (this recipe makes about 12 cups of food), please feel free to halve the recipe entirely; it works just fine that way.
Note 4: You can use any broth you like. Use mushroom base for an even more intense mushroom flavor if you’d like.
Note 5: I use this to add creaminess at the end. It does not give a strong coconut flavor. This is also what I used in my similar recipe, vegan cream of mushroom soup. Alternatives include unsweetened unflavored non-dairy creamer, or plant based heavy cream if you can find it. Or even a thick homemade nut milk (from the carton tends to be too thin in my opinion).
Note 6: We like the Violife vegan parmesan block. You can substitute nutritional yeast if you prefer, and start with 3-4 tablespoons since it is dryer and will soak up some of the sauce.
Note 7: We recently updated this recipe because of user feedback we received. Here is the original recipe if you're looking for it:
Ingredients:
One small onion, sliced
1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced (optional)
16 oz crimini/mini Bella mushrooms (white mushrooms will also work)
4 cups pasta of choice
4 cups vegetable broth
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I like Himalayan Pink Salt because of the flavor)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/3 cup cashew butter or tahini (or the heavy portion of a can of full fat coconut milk--or if you're watching overt fats, try blending 1/2 cup white beans with water)
Splash of unsweetened nondairy milk
Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions:
1. In a large pot, saute your onion in a splash of water over medium-high heat until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute for one minute more.
2. Add broth, pasta, and mushrooms. Turn the heat up and bring it to a boil.
3. Lower heat to medium-low and let cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender.
4. Remove from the heat and add the spices, nutritional yeast, lemon, vinegar, and cashew butter or tahini. Stir it well. Add a little nondairy milk if the sauce needs to be thinner. If it needs to be thicker, add a little bit more nutritional yeast.
5. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Entree
Method: Stove Top
Cuisine: Pasta

Keywords: Vegan, 30 Minute One-Pot, Pasta, oilfree