17 Vegan Pasta Recipes We Are Highly Obsessed With (2024)

Working at a food publication changes the way you read cookbooks. Which is to say, you don’t so much read them as you chat with them via sticky notes that say things like, “Ooh! November?”

I blew through a lot of Post-its reading I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I flagged the tempeh beet reuben and fennel-seed sausage (a total dream on polenta, as I soon discovered). I also flagged the pasta chapter. Like, the entire pasta chapter.

Below are three of the recipes—penne vodka, ’shroom and white bean scampi, and chickpea alfredo—plus 14 other just-happen-to-be vegan pastas from our community that are always on my wishlist for dinner.

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1. Penne Vodka

I will give a million dollars to whoever takes a bite of this, then cries out, “Aha! This isn’t cream, it’s cashew cream!” As Moscowitz notes in the cookbook, the two are utterly “indistinguishable.”

Vegan Penne Vodka

2. Shroom and White Bean Scampi

All the goodness of shrimp scampi (white wine, lemon juice, parsley, red pepper flakes), just without the shrimp (who needs it, anyway?). Instead, you have chewy oyster mushrooms and plump white beans.

3. Chickpea Alfredo

This fettuccine is ultra-creamy thanks to a few ingredients, none of which are cream or cheese. Enter: almonds, white miso, nutritional yeast, and chickpeas.

4. Spaghetti With Charred Scallion Sauce

Spaghetti aglio e olio (aka garlic and oil) is a classic Italian pasta that just happens to be vegan. This version ditches the garlic—I know, I know—and swaps in scallions. Lots of scallions.

Spaghetti Pasta with Charred Scallion Sauce

5.

Springy instant ramen noodles take a break from soup broth and turn to a Sriracha-honey peanut sauce instead. Tempeh skeptics, you’re welcome.

Peanut Noodles with Seared Tempeh and Fried Shallots

6. Vegan Chicken Pho

This Genius recipe comes by way of Andrea Nguyen’s The Pho Cookbook. All the comfort of chicken soup (with none of the chicken). Nutritional yeast adds tons of meaty roundless to the broth.

Andrea Nguyen's Vegan "Chicken" Phở

7. Pasta Con Ceci

Odds are, most of this ingredient list is already in your kitchen: pasta, chickpeas, tomato paste, pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil, and, uh, water. Red wine alongside highly encouraged.

Victoria Granof’s Pasta con Ceci

8. Cauliflower Alfredo Bake

Instead of cream, this creamy pasta bake turns to cauliflower. Some florets get pureed into a rich sauce, while the rest get to hang out with the noodles.

Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Bake

9.

When the author of our vegan cookbook, Gena Hamshaw, says this is her favorite vegan mac and cheese, you listen up. A combo of white beans and soaked cashews serve as the base for the cheesy sauce.

10. Sesame Noodle Salad With Seared Mushroom Scallops

The winner of our lettuce-free salad recipe contest uses soba noodles instead of leafy greenery—a swap we’re very, very into. If you can’t find king oyster mushrooms, feel free to swap in portobellos, shiitakes, or creminis (not as scallop-esque, but still delicious).

Sesame Noodle Salad with Seared Mushroom "Scallops"

11. Lentil Bolognese With Cashew Parmesan

Many of the ingredients here mimic a classic bolognese: onion, carrots, celery, red wine, tomatoes, and herbs. But instead of beef, we’re using equally meaty mushrooms and lentils. Now pass the cash Parm.

Vegan Lentil Bolognese with Cashew Parmesan

12.

Consider this your ticket to falling in love with romanesco, the most dramatic brassica in town. (Pro tip: This combo of capers, chiles, and golden raisins is great with broccoli and cauliflower, too.)

Pasta with Romanesco, Capers, and Chiles

13. Spicy Eggplant Pasta

This simple pasta leans hard on eggplant’s buttery, meaty personality—and gets a kick of spice from red pepper flakes. Feel free to swap in anything else spicy that you love, like chile crisp or Calabrian chile paste.

Spicy Eggplant Pasta

14. Tahini Noodles

This tahini sauce (soy sauce, ginger, garlic, Sriracha) gets along with all sorts of vegetables, from green beans and carrots to sweet potato and avocado. Some crispy tofu would be great, too.

Tahini Noodles

15.

This pesto batch is bigger than you’ll need for dinner tonight—and that’s a good thing. It freezes well and is wonderful on all sorts of noodles beyond soba.

Soba with Parsley-Pea Pesto and Kale

16. Sesame Noodles

The secret ingredient in these Genius sesame noodles? Water. Don’t hold back with the crunchy-fresh toppings—think: bell pepper, sugar snap peas, carrots, and onion.

Patricia Yeo's Sesame Noodles

17.

Boiled-then-blitzed asparagus turns into a delightfully creamy pasta sauce, while extra asparagus spears and chopped walnuts add crunchy-munchy texture.

Creamy Asparagus, Lemon, and Walnut Pasta
This post contains products that are independently selected by our editors, and Food52 may earn an affiliate commission. What's your favorite vegan pasta recipe? Share in the comments!
17 Vegan Pasta Recipes We Are Highly Obsessed With (2024)
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