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Creamy Spiced Vegan Pasta

This pasta sauce is the best baseline recipe for a creamy vegan sauce. It uses coconut oil, flour and plant milk, and after that the spices are up to you. You can follow this recipe for a unique, spiced pasta dish inspired by Indian flavors, or you can mix it up and make it your own!
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion, Indian
Keyword: pasta, sauce, turmeric, vegan

Ingredients

For the pasta:

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 small zucchini sliced
  • 1 medium shallot sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 16 oz. orecchiette pasta or your favorite pasta shape!

For the creamy sauce:

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil room temperature
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups plant based milk or milk of choice
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Set your oven to 425F.
  • Slice the cherry tomatoes, zucchini and shallot. Spread the vegetables out evenly on a pan and drizzle with olive oil.
  • Toss them on the baking sheet until they are covered in the oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Roast the vegetables for 10-12 minutes or until the tomatoes have burst and the zucchini and shallot are slightly charred.
  • While the vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a liberal amount of salt to the boiling water.
  • Add your pasta to the water and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until it is toothsome but still cooked (just below al dente). Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, and then drain the pasta.
  • Set a large skillet to medium heat. Melt the coconut oil and add the ginger to the skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds and then add in the turmeric, coriander, cumin and red pepper flakes. Bloom the spices for another 30-60 seconds.
  • Add the flour to the skillet and cook in the oil for 2-3 minutes, forming a thick paste. What you are doing here is cooking out the flavor of the flour, as well as letting the spices saturate the flour with flavor!
  • Gradually add the plant milk to the skillet, about 1/2 cup at a time. Constantly stir until a thick and creamy sauce begins to form. You might need to lower the heat on the skillet to medium-low, because heat will increase the speed that the sauce thickens.
  • Taste the sauce and add salt or pepper as you see fit.

To assemble the pasta:

  • Leave the cooked pasta in the pot it was originally boiled in.
  • Pour in the sauce and stir, add the reserved pasta water to help emulsify the sauce.
  • Add in the roasted vegetables and toss again.
  • Top with pepper to taste and serve!