There’s just something magical about creamy comforting pasta, and we got the perfect dish to curb those cravings. Our wholesome, flavorful, and super easy Creamy Garlic Pasta is brimming with bold garlic flavor and velvety, saucey goodness. This vegan Italian classic is healthy and can be whipped up in just about 20 minutes. A perfect dish for busy days when you need dinner on the table fast, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This week’s Whip It Up Wednesdayy is our crazy delicious Creamy Garlic Pasta. Tender pasta covered with a deliciously creamy garlic sauce that is bursting with tasty flavors.
This dish is both rich and satisfying. Look no further, we got you covered with this fast and easy dish.
It’s a perfect recipe for busy week nights when you are in hanger mode and you need something satisfying that can be made in a flash.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Whip it up Wednesday
As you already know, every Wednesday, we feature a quick and easy recipe that can be “whipped up” in 20 minutes or less. This recipe can be made in about 18 minutes which really helps speed things up in the kitchen.
Comforting Goodness
We fell in love with this dish at the first bit; it is completely comforting. We cuddled up with a bowl and a fork and feasted. It has all the elements of saucey, garlicky creaminess that is coupled with delightfully tender pasta. We did a happy dance, and we hope you do too!
We hope you give this deliciousness a try. If you try this delicious pasta dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
We hope you enjoy our new Whip It Up Wednesday quick and easy ideas! If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do!
Looking for more quick and easy pasta dishes?
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Creamy Aleppo Pepper Pasta
- Veggie Lo Mein
- Tex-Mex Pasta Salad
- Italian Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta
- Vegan Linguini with Red Clam Sauce
- Oil Free Garlic Sticky Noodles
Products Used:
- Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, deep skillet, or similar large stock pot.
- Medium stock pot to boil pasta
Creamy Garlic Pasta
- Prep Time: 8 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 18 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
There’s just something magical about creamy comforting pasta, and we got the perfect dish to curb those cravings. Our wholesome, flavorful, and super easy Creamy Garlic Pasta is brimming with bold garlic flavor and velvety, saucey goodness. This vegan Italian classic is healthy and can be whipped up in just about 20 minutes. A perfect dish for busy days when you need dinner on the table fast, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 1 Tablespoon GF flour (or flour of choice)
- ¼ cup vegetable broth *
- ¾ cup water (or broth)
- 2 Tablespoons hot pasta water *
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon + large pinch sea salt (+/-) *
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Other Ingredients:
- 12 oz. pasta (of choice)
- 1 ¼ cup frozen peas (or veggie of choice)
Toppings:
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Red pepper flake
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Serving Ideas:
- Server with roasted, steamed, or boiled veggies
- Serve with a side Salad
Instructions
- Fill a large stock pot full of water. Add some sea salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Note: Pull 2 Tablespoons (or a little bit more) of hot pasta water (see notes) to use later in the recipe, set aside. Boil the pasta until el dente, drain, rinse with cold water to remove any excess starch, shake well, set aside.
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In the meantime, in a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot (or similarly large stockpot) add the almond butter, stirring constantly over medium heat for a minute to soften, then add the flour and stir constantly for several minutes to cook the flour (see notes), then add all the remaining Sauce Ingredients and Spice/Herb ingredients and simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
- Add in the cooked pasta and peas, heat the pasta through, then remove from the stove and allow the flavors to marry for a few minutes. Top with Vegan Parmesan Cheese, freshly chopped parsley, and red pepper flakes.
Notes
*TIPS: When adding the almond butter to the warm skillet, stir it around the pan. It will feel more like you are smearing it around the pan, that is OK. Then add the flour, and push it into the almond butter, stirring constantly. This helps cook the flour. It will look like a smeary mess in the pan. Next add the liquids (and other ingredients), stir thoroughly to mix the almond butter/flour mixture with the liquids. Initially it will look like it isn’t going to come together, but keep at it, mixing and pushing the almond butter/flour mixture into the liquids over a medium heat. As the mixture starts to heat up it will thicken and become homogeneous. Keep stirring until it comes together into a sauce. If you taste it, it will taste very garlicky and that is OK, as this sauce will cover 12 oz. of plain pasta. Once combined with the pasta, it will mellow out into a delicious creamy garlic sauce.
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
*Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour blend. You can use the flour of your choice.
*Hot Pasta Water: When the pasta is almost done, pull out some hot pasta water and set it aside. We used about 2 Tablespoons of the hot pasta water. The salty, starchy hot pasta water adds a little extra flavor, helps glue the pasta and sauce together, and helps thicken the sauce. Additionally, if the sauce tightens up, you can add some hot pasta water to loosen it up again.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Serving: 4
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Happy New Year Robin and Ameera! This is the year for me to make to make a commitment to “me” and your recipes will be an important part of my journey ?❤. I have a question regarding the creamy garlic pasta recipe. The only garlic I see is the 1 tsp of garlic powder in the spice blend, am I missing addition of fresh garlic or is the powder it? I’m looking forward to trying this pasta dish. Thanks for being the wonderfully special women you are and contributing to my success on my journey to better health.
Hi there Lynda 🙂 We are so thrilled to be on this Whole Food Plant Based Journey with you! Yes, you would be correct, this recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon of garlic powder for the garlicy flavor. This recipe doesn’t make a large amount of sauce, and as garlic lovers, we felt that the 1tsp of garlic powder created a delicious garlic flavor. But you can always adjust the recipe to fit your personal taste. Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We truly appreciate you, your support, and encouragement. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!… Read more »
Thank you, ladies. I am, like you ?, Italian and in my book there just cannot be “too much” garlic! However, your recipes have been perfect and although I never used a cookbook or followed a recipe prior to going WFPB (you know…it’s that Italian thing…a pinch of this, a handful of that, a scooch, a dollop, a shake) this is a whole new learning curve…WHAT DO YOU MEAN no olive oil, no cheese, no prosciutto or soppressata ?. So I will follow the recipe and expect, once again, drooling deliciousness. Thank you both for all you do…I am grateful… Read more »
Hi there Lynda 🙂
It’s our pleasure! We are so glad that you are enjoying our recipes, and we completely agree, there is no such thing as “too much” garlic. We feel you on the mind blown part of making an Italian dish without all the “traditional” Italian ingredients (olive oil, cheese, prosciutto, etc.), but it can totally be done and be just as delicious if not better because you feel better eating it too. We hope your give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This was so delicious and easy to make. Im loving your recipes!
Hi there Karen 🙂
Yaaayyy! We are so excited that you enjoyed this recipe and are loving our recipes! Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hi there, do you think peanut butter could be used in place of almond butter? Thanks!
Hi there Jenni 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We do not recommend peanut butter as a substitution as we don’t think the flavors would work well with the Italian garlic flavors of this pasta dish.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hi There,
I want to thank both of you for the amazing recipes! I made your Creamy Garlic Pasta tonite. It was so quick and delicious. Your website is my “go to” for recipes. I have made several of your recipes and they never disappoint. My family’s favorite is your Vegan Banana Bread recipe. Your tips at the end of the recipe are so helpful. Thank you both for all you do!
Hi there Susan 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words about our recipes! We a beyond thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe as well as our other recipes you have tried. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome feedback, for your continued support, and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
My whole family love this recipe and that’s saying A LOT! I’ve cooked it often. I added some left over mushrooms and red capsicum (Aussie for peppers ✌🏼) the last time and my fussy daughter still loved it. Thanks for your recipes, I visit your site often 🙏🏼💕🌱
Hi there Kristy 🙂
Yaaaayyy! We are so thrilled that you and your family enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome review with us. We appreciate you taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This was so creamy and garlicky…. Loved it. Hubby loved it. Best of all….. it was soooo easy and quick. Thanks
Hi there Cy Mtl 🙂
Woot! We are so happy you and your hubby loved this recipe and found it to be easy and quick. Thank you so much for sharing your fantastic review with us. We appreciate you taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Quick and easy for a Monday! And yummy!! Used asparagus, peas and spring onions. (I roasted the asparagus and spring onions first.)
Going in the repeat file!
Hi there Sandra 🙂
Woo hoo! We are SUPER excited you enjoyed this recipe. The asparagus, peans and spring onions sound fantastic. Love roasted asparagus! So DELISH! We appreciate you sharing your wonderful review. Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This was excellent when it was made but it didn’t reheat well at all. It was just dry and when I added water it helped but it still wasn’t good. Unfortunately I made a double batch. It was good and very easy though day 1
Hi there Janine 🙂
Sometimes some pastas really soak up the sauce more than others. We appreciate you taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂