Easy Vegan Pasta (Ready in Just 20 Minutes!)

By Alexandra Caspero on January 4, 2024
My favorite weeknight pasta, ready in just 20 minutes.
4 servings

Easy, 20 Minute Vegan Pasta! You are going to love this healthy, easy vegan pasta! With a trick to creating glossy, restaurant-style pasta, this is a must-save for quick dinners. 

This vegan pasta is my go-to meal for so many dinners. It’s vegan, loaded with vegetables, and delicious. Plus, it’s ready in less than 20 minutes, perfect for any I’m so hangry moments. 

I don’t know about you, but most days, I am completely exhausted from the many home, parent, and work responsibilities, and getting a healthy dinner on the table sometimes feels like just one more thing on the to-do list.

Well, not so with this easy vegan pasta! A simple meal that you don’t need a recipe for once you’ve made it a few times.  

Ingredient Notes:

The real beauty of this simple weeknight pasta is how few ingredients you need to put it together. 

  • Shallots and garlic cloves: The combo is really what makes this vegan pasta recipe shine. In a pinch, you can just use one or the other, or you can substitute white onion.
  • Fresh spinach leaves: This easy vegan pasta is an aglio o olio pasta (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil) along with fresh spinach wilted in. The spinach really adds to the pasta and I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can sub in another green, like kale.
  • Linguine or other long pasta: The type of pasta does matter here. A long noodle, like spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, is best here. The sauce doesn’t work quite the same with a short noodle like an elbow or a shell.
Healthy Vegan Pasta Recipe

How to make this easy vegan pasta dish

  1. Bring Water to a Boil

    To start, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Salting the water before adding the pasta ensures that your pasta will have enough flavor before adding to the sauce. 

  2. Cook the Garlic

    Next, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic and shallots until soft, then add in the red pepper flakes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, then add in the undercooked pasta. 

  3. Finish cooking the pasta in the Sauce

    Forget the directions on your box and cook for a little more than 1/2 of the recommended cooking time. For instance, if the spaghetti will be ready in 10 minutes, cook it for 6. Then, add your not-quite-cooked noodles to the pot, along with a ladle or two of pasta water. Increase the heat to high and keep stirring as the noodles absorb the water. Add more water, a ladle at a time, until the pasta texture is cooked al dente. This ensures that every strand will be coated in the yummy shallot garlic sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as needed. 

  4. Add Vegan Butter (optional)

    For the ultimate creamy vegan pasta sauce, I recommend adding in a pat of dairy-free butter at the end to keep things glossy and smooth. Top with vegan parmesan cheese and serve.

What Vegan Parmesan Cheese is Best?

I prefer my homemade vegan parmesan to sprinkle on just about everything. Made with cashews, almonds, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder, It’s amazing how much it tastes like regular parmesan cheese. 

Nutritional yeast can be found in most co-op/Whole Foods-like places (check the bulk section) or online. This is not brewers yeast, it’s nutty, sharp and very similar to cheese. You can store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can use any store brand. My preference is Violife for vegan parmesan, but any dairy-free parmesan will work. Or, omit it altogether.

For more flavor, you can consider topping with chopped fresh basil or other fresh herbs like chopped parsley. A swirl of pesto at the end is also delicious if you have it in the fridge.

20 Minute Pasta Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

What veggies can I use instead of spinach?

I used spinach here because there’s no chopping involved, and I always have it in my fridge, but feel free to sub in any green of your choice. Chopped kale, chopped broccoli rabe, or finely chopped broccoli florets will also work here. Mushrooms can also be substituted, but I’d recommend browning them in olive oil first with the shallots and garlic before adding the pasta. 

Can I add tomatoes?

This easy vegan pasta recipe is essentially my take on my family’s favorite aglio e olio recipe, so I don’t add in any tomato sauce, tomato paste, or fresh tomatoes. However, if you love tomatoes in your pasta, then I recommend halving cherry tomatoes and sautéing them with the shallots until they burst, then adding to the pasta as directed. 

Can I use penne pasta?

Long noodles like spaghetti or fettuccine are my preferred shapes for this vegan pasta recipe, but you can sub a shorter noodle like penne or rigatoni if you’d like. I’d recommend undercooking as directed before adding to the saucepan. For gluten-free pasta, you can use any gluten-free pasta of choice.

How much protein does this dinner have?

You might be surprised to know that 1 cup of pasta contains 8 g of protein. If you want to add in more pasta, you can open a can of white beans and add to the cooked spinach when you add the pasta.

Healthy Vegan Aglio E Olio Recipe

More Vegan Pasta Recipes

More Easy Vegan Pasta Sauces

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Easy, 20 Minute Vegan Pasta! You Are Going To Love This Healthy, Easy Vegan Pasta! With A Trick To Creating Glossy, Restaurant-Style Pasta, This Is A Must Save For Quick Dinners. | Www.delishknowledge.com

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Easy, 20 Minute Vegan Pasta! You Are Going To Love This Healthy, Easy Vegan Pasta! With A Trick To Creating Glossy, Restaurant-Style Pasta, This Is A Must Save For Quick Dinners. | Www.delishknowledge.com

Easy, 20 Minute Vegan Pasta

  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 23 servings 1x
  • Category: dinner, pasta, healthy, vegan
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American, Italian
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

A 20-minute dinner. You are going to love this healthy, easy vegan pasta!


  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 23 servings 1x
  • Category: dinner, pasta, healthy, vegan
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American, Italian
  • Diet: Vegan
  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 23 servings 1x
  • Category: dinner, pasta, healthy, vegan
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American, Italian
  • Diet: Vegan
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 shallots, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 8 ounces spinach leaves
  • 8ounce linguines
  • 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese (I use my homemade version to keep in the freezer)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes and pinch salt/pepper.
  3. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted.
  4. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the salted water and cook for a little more than half of the recommended time. For instance, if al dente is 10 minutes, cook for 6.
  5. Add the slightly uncooked pasta to the skillet along with 2 ladles of pasta water. The pasta water has starches to help the sauce cling to the pasta, so don’t substitute regular water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the water has evaporated. Add more pasta water, one ladle at a time (might only need 1-2 more), until pasta is al dente/cooked through.
  6. Stir in the parmesan cheese and season to taste, if needed.

did you make this?

Tag @delishknowledge on Instagram and hashtag it #delishknowledge

This post was originally posted in 2016 and updated in 2024.

Meet Alex Caspero

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Chef, and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.

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    1. Rachel
      February 12, 2023 AT 3:02 pm

      This was so delicious. I added rocket instead of spinach as that was what I had. I used ‘Parveggio’ by Green Vie (vegan Parmesan). I must admit I didn’t think it would be so flavourful based on the list of ingredients but I am so happy I tried it because this will now be a regular recipe of mine! Thank you!






    2. Petrina
      June 16, 2022 AT 3:39 pm

      Came across recipe by Google search. Wanted to make it right away so I had to sub many things. Onions,red peppers,kale cabbage.bok choy. Added lots flavor. Ginger,cumin,curry,turmeric plus other recipe suggests. I did not have parm cheese used my vegan cheese n lentil fusilli pasta. It was to die for. Even my son loved it he is not vegan. I will be making it for us from now on. I have so many sensitivities n food issues this made my day. I will try cashew parm next time when have ingredients. Thank u for such great idea. I hope to find more of your recipes I can eat. i can eat. Petrina Canada/ powergirl.






    3. Ruth stagnitta
      March 24, 2022 AT 1:50 pm

      I made for dinner now many blessings to you for sharing Alex!

    4. Rochelle
      June 23, 2021 AT 10:09 pm

      Thank you so much for connecting how our daily choices impact the world we live in. “We vote with our dollar; we vote with our fork.” In our capitalistic world our strongest voice is where/how we spend. Let’s starve those destructive industries while nourishing ourselves.






    5. Ben
      September 11, 2020 AT 5:53 pm

      Made this for a kid who needed carbs for a soccer game and his brother who has a dairy allergy. This was SO. DELICIOUS. All 5 of us loved it! Can’t wait to make it again.






    6. Alison
      August 23, 2020 AT 4:44 am

      Looks delicious! I look forward to making this, this evening ☺️ Do you know the calories per portion? Thank you.

    7. Mitzi Hallmark
      February 16, 2020 AT 5:03 pm

      This is SO good. Thank you!






    8. D. Cruz
      November 26, 2019 AT 6:34 pm

      Wow! This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever found on the internet. First of all, it’s surprisingly tasty considering how many ingredients are used and how long it cooks. Second, the time hacks are spot on…I hate it when the time takes twice as long as the recipe tastes. This is the kind of meal to cook for a non vegan to convince them that life can continue if they tradition to a vegan lifestyle. Thank you!

      1. Alex
        November 27, 2019 AT 2:21 pm

        So glad you liked it! Thanks!

    9. Barbara Nord
      June 26, 2019 AT 2:20 pm

      I think the shallots and Parmesan cheese must be very important because I used an onion and dairy free cheese (which my husband prefers) and it came out too bland, unfortunately. I did then add more spices and more garlic, and more veggies and it was good.

    10. Ashley Pupi
      June 13, 2019 AT 3:01 pm

      Just made this. So easy and super good!!! Non vegan hubby loved it too!

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