Vegan Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

This simple vegan sun-dried tomato pasta features a garlicky cream sauce filled with chewy and bold-in-flavor sun-dried tomatoes with soft spinach and al dente pasta. A perfect quick meal to make on a weeknight and it fits many diets, such as vegan, vegetarian and dairy-free.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: creamy pasta, healthy, pasta, quick, Vegan, vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 471kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Ingredients

8 oz pasta of your choice I used small rigatoni
1 small onion diced
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (or 4 oz) packed in oil or not
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cups plant-based milk plain and unsweetened, I used Oat milk from Oatly
3-4 cups baby spinach or kale
salt to taste

Instructions

Cook the pasta al dente accordingly to the packaging. You can reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water aside in case you need to thin out the sauce later, then drain the pasta.
In a small mug or bowl, add the flour, nutritional yeast and pour the milk over. Use a whisk to combine until smooth. Set aside.
Also, if using oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, then drain them well and then pat dry using paper towels. If using sun-dried tomatoes not in oil, then cover them with hot water and let them soak for at least 20-30 minutes (2 hours is better), then drain and pat them dry as well. Then, roughly chop the tomatoes.
In a large pan, cook the onion with a little oil and a good pinch of salt on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until tender and slightly browned. Then, add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, dried basil and oregano. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes stirring often (make sure the garlic does not burn).
Give another whisk to the flour-milk mixture and then pour over in the pan. Stir right away and bring to a simmer. Then, keep cooking until the sauce thickens. Add the spinach, adjust salt to your liking and add some pasta cooking water if the sauce gets too thick. Cook until the spinach is tender and wilted. Then, add the cooked pasta, stir to combine and warm up, then serve.

Video

Notes

Storage: keep the leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can add an extra splash of milk to loosen up the consistency and use the microwave or the stove to reheat.
You can add extra veggies to the pasta sauce, such as asparagus, pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. Other flavorful ingredients you can add are lemon juice, red pepper flakes, miso paste, harissa paste, etc. Check out the blog post for more details!
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition