Description
Creamy, luscious, and delicious, this Vegan Savory Coconut Pasta is an incredibly easy 20 minute dinner, perfect for weeknights or date night.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Sauce
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/2 - 1 cup lite canned coconut milk (or see note 1)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (see note 2)
- 2 tbsp of arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Pasta
- 16 oz pasta of choice (use Gluten-Free if needed)
- 2 cups fresh broccoli or broccolini, chopped
- 8-10 oz mushrooms of choice (I like white button or baby Bella for this), chopped
- A few tablespoons of water OR low sodium soy sauce (use GF tamari if gluten-free)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Start your pasta water (preferably salted) boiling before you do anything else. This is key to making this dish as fast as possible. Keep an eye on it, and throw in the pasta when it’s come to a boil. Cook according to package directions and drain (do not rinse) when cooked.
- Chop the veggies: Give your veggies a quick chop. I include the stems of my broccoli/broccolini. If they’re tough, try peeling the outer layer off and then chopping them small so they get tender. Totally delicious!
- Cook the veggies: Now, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and saute your mushrooms for about 5 minutes, letting them stick to the pan a bit before you add any liquid. Once they start to stick, you can deglaze either with water or a little low sodium soy sauce for more flavor. Add in the chopped broccoli, a few tablespoons of water, and turn down the heat to medium low. Cover and steam for about 5-7 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. If anything has stuck to the pan, you can add a tad more water or low sodium soy sauce to deglaze it.
- Make the sauce: Drain the cooked pasta and leave in the colander a moment. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, spices, and nutritional yeast to the empty pasta pot and whisk to combine. Heat over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes until hot. In a measuring cup or small bowl, add the water and arrowroot powder or cornstarch, and whisk together until the powder dissolves. Then whisk this mixture into the coconut mixture in the pot. Stir in for about a minute, then turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Combine: Add the pasta back to the pot and stir to combine the sauce and pasta. You can either add your cooked mushrooms and broccoli/broccolini straight to the pot or just add them to your plate of pasta.
- Serve: Serve immediately and enjoy! Tip: for a cheesy flavor, add a bit more nutritional yeast to your plate or a bit of my easy 2-minute vegan Parmesan topping.
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Note 1: If you want a super rich pasta, I’d go with ALL full fat coconut milk. Want a lower fat option? Try either light or lite canned coconut milk, or use half the amount of regular coconut milk and the other half a bit of non-dairy milk from a carton (such as soy, almond, or oat milk).
- Note 2: I used unfortified nutritional yeast to keep the sauce light in color.
- Note 3: See a great list of under 30 minute vegan pasta recipes at the end of the article above this recipe card.
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Coconut Pasta, Coconut milk sauce for pasta