easy vegan pasta sauces

This week on the channel, I whipped up 3 delicious and easy vegan pasta sauces so you can have dinner done in the time it takes to boil noodles!

easy vegan pasta sauces_hot for food

It’s super easy to make easy vegan pasta sauces from scratch and I’m about to show you how!

Plus I’m basically always on a comfort food kick (have you seen the title of my cookbook?!), and these recipes are especially comforting if it’s chilly outside. Wherever you are in the world, you’ll love cozying up with a plate or bowl of these pastas! 

I’m pretty sure there’s something for all kinds of pasta lovers here. A lot of store-bought pesto has dairy in it, so vegans who miss it will be pumped for the first recipe.

The second has a fiery pepper sauce for those of you who like a lil’ bit of heat!

And last but not least, for my pumpkin fanatics, I’ve got something for you too! Of course, feel free to use whatever pasta noodles you have laying around. I just thought the linguine, rotini, and bowtie went well with these flavor profiles!

Watch the video below or keep scrolling for the full recipes.

avocado pesto pasta vegan recipe

avocado pesto pasta_hot for food
4.73 from 18 votes
Print Recipe

avocado pesto pasta

This creamy green avocado pesto is super easy to whip up and it’s packed full of flavor!

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, pasta, pasta sauce, pesto
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

avocado pesto

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1 1/2 C packed basil leaves
  • 1/4 C nutritional yeast
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tbsp roughly chopped chives
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 C olive oil

pasta

  • 400 g linguine (or pasta of your choice)
  • 1 C diced vine tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp hemp hearts

Instructions

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook linguine to al dente. While noodles are cooking make the pesto.
  2. Scoop the flesh of the avocados into a food processor and add basil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, chives, sea salt, and ground pepper. Run the machine to get the ingredients smooth while drizzling in the olive oil.
  3. Drain pasta but do not rinse. Toss in the avocado pesto until well combined and all the noodles are well coated. Plate and top each serving with diced tomato and hemp hearts or vegan parmesan.
roasted red pepper pasta_hot for food

roasted red pepper pasta_hot for food
4.6 from 10 votes
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roasted red pepper pasta

This simple roasted red pepper sauce will satisfy all your saucey pasta cravings!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword pasta, pasta sauce, red pepper
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

roasted red pepper sauce

  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 C low-sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 1/4 C flame roasted red peppers (drained from the liquid in the jar)
  • 1/4 C nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 C finely chopped fresh basil

pasta

  • 400 g rotini
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • vegan parmesan (to taste)

Instructions

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook rotini to al dente. While noodles are cooking make the sauce. 

  2. Heat a large pan over medium heat with olive oil and sauté onion, garlic, chili flakes, smoked paprika, sea salt, and ground pepper for about 5 minutes until softened. While cooking if it starts getting a little dry use about 1/4 C of vegetable stock to deglaze the pan. 

  3. Add this mixture to a blender along with another 1/4 cup of vegetable stock, roasted red peppers, and nutritional yeast. Blend on high until very smooth. 

  4. Drain cooked noodles and add to the pan over medium low heat along with all of the sauce. Stir and heat through for about 2 to 3 minutes and toss in fresh basil during the last minute.

  5. Top with extra ground pepper and vegan parmesan if desired. Serve immediately!

creamy vegan pumpkin sage pasta_hot for food

creamy vegan pumpkin sage pasta_hot for food
4.72 from 14 votes
Print Recipe

creamy pumpkin sage pasta

This super creamy pumpkin sage pasta sauce will satisfy all your carby cravings!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword pasta, pasta sauce, pumpkin, sage
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

pumpkin sage cream sauce

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 C pure pumpkin pureé
  • 1/4 C nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 a lemon, juiced

pasta

  • 450 g bowtie pasta
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • fresh sage, finely chopped (as garnish)
  • vegan parmesan, to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook bowties to al dente. While noodles are cooking make the sauce.
  2. Heat a large pan over medium heat with olive oil and sauté onion and garlic, for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, sea salt, and ground pepper and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Add coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. 

  4. Add pumpkin pureé, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. 

  5. Drain pasta and add to the pan. Toss to coat the noodles in sauce and heat through for 2 more minutes. 

  6. Top with more fresh sage, ground black pepper, and/or vegan parmesan. Serve immediately!

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17 thoughts on “easy vegan pasta sauces”

  1. Made the pumpkin sage sauce tonight! I used light coconut milk and dried sage, since that was what I had on hand. It turned out great! I also threw on a ton of fresh spinach.

  2. That pumpkin sage cream sauce is amazing, even without fresh sage. I used dried sage because that’s all I had on hand, and it was so, so good. It’s honestly one of the best pasta sauces I’ve ever had, vegan or not!

  3. the pumpkin sage cream sauce was DISGUSTING, i apologize. the taste was horrific. idk if it was the fact that i made it wrong, but the combination of seasonings and sauces did NOT work for me. 1/10

    1. I agree, just made it as an attempt at a first vegan recipe and it was NOT good. Maybe it’s the nut yeast? But it tastes gross, to the point where I think I’m going to have to waste an entire box of pasta.

  4. I made the pumpkin sage pasta tonight because I had some sage laying around that I was worried about wasting. It was delicious! I left out the nutmeg and added miso (for extra salt and umami). It was great! I will definitely be making the sauce again!

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