This creamy vegan pesto pasta sauce is incredibly quick, easy, and delicious! You can whip this sauce up in less time than it takes the pasta to cook. You'll have a rich and creamy gourmet tasting dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes! The fresh taste of basil and garlic in this creamy sauce will have your family licking their plates!
You'll love this vegan pesto sauce because it's
- dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free so nearly anyone can enjoy it.
- quick and easy to make in less time than it takes to boil your pasta!
- rich, creamy, and satisfying!
- simply delicious.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pasta - any type of pasta works well. You can also use a gluten-free pasta of choice. (I used gluten-free Tinkyada fettuccini for the pasta in the pictures).
- Plant-Based Milk - for the creamy base of the pasta sauce. You can use any PLAIN flavored soy, rice, cashew, or hemp milk. If you want a richer creamier sauce, you can also use a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk plus 1/2 cup of water.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Tapioca Starch - to thicken the sauce. It gives it a thick stretchy texture that doesn't get gloppy when it starts to cool. You can also use corn starch or potato starch, but they tend to make the sauce harden on the pasta once it cools down a little.
- Nutritional Yeast - for a rich cheesy flavor. (optional) Aka nooch is a cheesy tasting yellow powder sold in most health food stores and big grocery stores.
- Pesto - any vegan pesto will work. Sometimes you can find vegan pesto at the store, but it's also super easy to make your own vegan pesto.
How to make creamy vegan pesto pasta
- Make some vegan pesto if you don't have any pre-made.
- Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, measure out all the sauce ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan and whisk together.
- Once combined, turn the heat to medium, and cook stirring frequently until it starts to boil.
- Allow to boil slowly for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Pour over drained and rinsed pasta.
Pro Tips
- Make sure to mix the starch in with the milk while it is cold so it will dissolve. (If you add starch to hot liquid it will get lumpy).
- Stir frequently while heating. The starch will settle to the bottom and get lumpy if you walk away from it.
Additions
- cherry tomatoes
- toasted pine nuts
- steamed broccoli
- vegan "chicken" strips.
- fried tofu - see this recipe to show you how to make perfect crispy fried tofu every time.
Make this gluten-free
The sauce is gluten-free, so all you need to do is use gluten-free pasta. You can also serve it over zoodles for a low carb gluten-free meal.
If you like creamy pasta sauces, you'll love my alfredo sauce with coconut milk or my ultimate vegan mac and cheese recipe.
Where to buy vegan pesto
Vegan pesto can be a little hard to find, but I usually find vegan versions at Whole Foods. Trader Joe's also has a vegan cashew pesto in their refrigerated section by the hummus. You can also order it on Amazon.
But seriously, it is so easy to make your own vegan pesto you really don't need to purchase it!
It's actually much easier to make your own pesto at home than buy it. You just need to put some basil, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt into a food processor and blend into a sauce. You can throw in some pinenuts, walnuts, or cashews for a creamy nutty flavor too.
Check out my recipe for vegan pesto with instructions on how to freeze it.
I make up a big batch and freeze it to always have on hand for meals like my Vegan Tofu Scramble with Pesto, my Vegan Minestrone Soup, or my Vegan Pesto Hummus.
More vegan pasta recipes
Subscribe to my email list to get my free eBook “The Beginner’s Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples” or if you are ready to fully dive into making your own vegan cheese, butter, yogurt, and more check out my cookbook, “The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples!”
A quick and easy pesto cream sauce to pour over pasta!
- 1 16 oz pasta
- 2 cups plant-based milk plain flavored (or 1 can coconut milk plus 1/2 cup water).
- 3 teaspoons tapioca starch or potato or corn starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/4 cup vegan pesto
-
Make vegan pesto if you don't have any pre-made.
-
Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
-
While the pasta is cooking, measure out 2 cups plant-based milk, 3 tsp tapioca starch, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast and 1/4 cup vegan pesto into a medium-sized saucepan and whisk together.
-
Once combined, turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until it starts to boil.
-
Allow to boil slowly for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
-
Pour over rinsed and drained pasta.
Pro Tips for perfect pesto sauce:
- Make sure to mix the starch in with the milk while it is cold so it will dissolve. (If you add starch to hot liquid it will get lumpy).
- Stir frequently while heating. The starch will settle to the bottom and get lumpy if you walk away from it.
