This one pot creamy garlic pasta is probably the closest recipe I’ll share to a vegan fettuccine alfredo*. Also, sorry in advance for a couple more pictures than usual today. (Now with a recipe video!)
The classic fettuccine alfredo recipe is made with fresh cooked pasta tossed in butter and cheese. The butter and cheese melt together to form a sauce. But nowadays in my neck of the woods, as American takes on dishes are wont to do, our version has managed to evolve to also have the additions of heavy cream, garlic, and more. Regardless, my vegan version has none of those things; but I’d say it’s closer to the bastardized American dish than the authentic original.
The one pot creamy garlic pasta recipe I have here is what I personally find to be an ideal preparation for a creamy vegan pasta dish. Because of the one pan method that cooks together the pasta and the sauce all in one pot, the sauce coats the pasta exceptionally well. Fettuccine is especially suited to coming out to a lovely al dente texture in the final product. Thankfully, if you prefer your pasta cooked differently it’s also easy to adjust.
As I was taking these photos, I was wondering to myself, is it about time for me to finally buy a tripod? Holding the camera in one hand, trying to look through the viewfinder and snap the photo, while maneuvering tongs with my other hand, was a pretty ridiculous exercise in balance. I would say that I was sad nobody was around to help me, but uh… I didn’t have to share this one pot creamy garlic pasta with anyone. Miraculously, the photos came out okay too.
When it comes to nondairy milk, my preferences have changed over the years. The only store-bought nondairy milk I buy nowadays is soy milk, and that’s simply for the reason that I can’t find any other products in my neck of the woods made without processed ingredients or sweeteners. I sometimes make almond milk and oat milk at home. My local grocer sells a soy milk that’s made with only soybeans and water, and in my mind the fact that I tried differently-produced soy milks in the past was why I thought I didn’t enjoy the flavor. Soy milk is also very creamy and thick which makes it a great choice for uses like this, but I understand that it’s not everybody’s cup of tea (milk?).
So while I recommend using an all-natural soymilk in this recipe (<- link is for informational purposes – I buy that brand but not in a 12-pack!), if you already know you dislike soy milk, then obviously don’t use it. Other choices with a higher water content may affect the cooking time and amount of liquid needed, but luckily with this recipe it’s fairly easy to adjust as you go. If you choose something other than soy, I recommend starting with just 1 cup of it and adding more as needed from there. And let me know how it goes!
This one pot creamy garlic pasta recipe is great with spinach or kale added, or served alongside other veggies and sides of choice, and can easily accommodate the addition of your favorite “cheezy” ingredients too, so make it your own, but know that I also love it in its basic form printed here.
One Pot Creamy Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (see notes)
- 1 and 1/2 cups plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk (see notes)
- 1 tsp salt plus more to taste (reduce if using a salty broth - mine is low-sodium)
- 8 oz dry fettuccine
- black pepper, dried oregano and red pepper flakes to taste
- chopped fresh basil or parsley for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. If possible, choose a skillet that is wide enough to completely fit the fettuccine. Smaller pans will work, but require a bit more fuss to stir and submerge the pasta as it cooks.
- Add the garlic and shallot to the pan along with a sprinkle of salt, and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the garlic is softened and the shallot is turning translucent; avoid browning.
- Add the vegetable broth, nondairy milk, and salt, and stir. Add the dry pasta and gently prod it around to submerge it under the liquid. If not all of it fits now, you will need to gently push it into the pan after the submerged portion has softened later.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally, gently separating any pasta that starts to stick together. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened onto the pasta and the texture is to your liking. If too much of the liquid is cooking off, reduce the heat a little bit, and add more nondairy milk.
- Adjust seasoning to taste, and serve with fresh herbs and other toppings if desired. Best served immediately, but leftovers will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge (cool completely to room temperature before boxing up and refrigerating).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
*Never say never, of course. Recipe adapted and veganized from Damn Delicious.
If you loved the ease of this dish then you’ll love these other recipes too:
Or check out my whole gallery of 32 vegan one pot meals!
Kelley says
I made this recipe for dinner and it was so good!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Joie says
This was awesome!!! Last night, after an unusually stressful day, I realized I had nothing planned for dinner. I wanted something quick and had plenty of pasta. I searched “quick vegan pasta sauce” and came across this recipe. I am so glad I did! I made it per the directions except I used rotini, unsweetened rice milk and an extra clove of garlic since I didn’t have a shallot. I used vegan chik’n broth powder in water in place of vegetable broth and put in plenty of nutritional yeast and oregano. I could not believe how delicious this was! So quick, easy and simply perfect! This is going to be a regular recipe in my house from now on, the whole family loved it! Thank you!!!
Bree says
I just made this recipe for an easy Friday night dinner and my oh my is it delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing this amaxing recipe!!!
I also added roast sweet potato and cherry tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms and it was vegetable bliss!
Definitely saving this bad boy
Sarah says
The flavour turned out so well! If I hadn’t cooked it myself, I wouldn’t believe there wasn’t any cream or butter in it. I found it a little difficult to cook the noodles perfectly in the skillet but maybe that’s just my lack of skill 😛 otherwise I thought boiling the noodles right in the sauce made it extra tasty. I added fresh basil, nutritional yeast and extra soy milk at the end. Definitely filled me up! Will be making again for sure.
Gates says
It tastes incredible- this coming from someone who doesn’t love Alfredo sauce! I used some fake chicken bouillon for my broth, and I loved the flavor it added so I barely spiced mine. It never thickened up like these pictures, maybe because I used almond milk? But I could care less because it tastes AWESOME! 🙂
Tess says
I’m guessing that’s because almond milk is pretty ‘watery’ compared to soy – maybe a good way to thicken it would be to use the almond milk with a stock cube instead of liquid broth, and then not add any additional water – that would give you the flavour without as much volume? Or you could simmer the liquid for a while before adding the pasta, so it’s thicker without the pasta getting over-cooked. (I made it with some leftover roasted pumpkin added in near the end, delicious!)
Christy says
This was a big hit at my boyfriends !!! Thank you!
Matilda says
Hi Shannon, I just made this one pot Fettucine dinner, and from my taste testing I can hardly wait to dig in.. I added some of the no meat balls from Jennifers Kitchen and will , as I said hurry to dig in when it is ready. Thank You so much for the lovely recipe.
Patricia says
How is this so ridiculously delicious with such easy and simple ingredients?! My husband made this last night and I kept asking “so, how much cashew cream?” or “how much vegan half and half?” None! So, not only scrumptious, but also pretty low-fat, etc.
The most amazing part, though, was that our super-picky, stubbornly omnivorous teen LOVED it. My husband and I are 100% plant-based, but we let her eat whatever when she’s at school or out. At home, though, we only have vegan food so it’s a daily struggle to get her to eat. I think she’d eat this every day if we let her! Thanks so much. 🙂
Camille says
This was great! We are vegan about 20% of the time, but this was the first vegan cream sauce I have made. I am really impressed and will continue to use it even on non-fasting days. We added a spinach/kale mix towards the end of cooking and next time will add sundried tomatoes and artichokes.
Aya says
I’m very excited to try this! It’s so simple and easy, and a good “broke food” that I need right now. Thanks!
Nattie says
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I added more garlic because im a garlic lover, and i also added yellow squash, spinach, and corn and it was phenomenal. Easy and delicious is always a win in my book, keep up the good work 🙂
Cammy says
Total novice cook here and I made this for dinner! So great and so easy! Added nutritional yeast, broccoli, and peas. YUM
Dana Pidherny says
i was wondering what type of spices or seasonings do you add to the sauce?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Dana,
The recipe as written, seasoned with salt, is already designed to be delicious… but some other nice additions can be red pepper flakes; dried oregano/thyme/rosemary; black pepper; a touch of mustard or miso; nutritional yeast; or perhaps vegan cheese that you enjoy. So I encourage experimentation 🙂
Becky says
Speaking of vegan cheese, I just made vegan Parmesan and it was sooo good! Even my picky 10 year old loved it! I can’t wait to try this recipe with vegan Parmesan. It seems like the perfect match!
Amanda says
Made this tonight using gluten free linguine, I wasnt sure how it would work with the GF pasta but it was perfect! A huge hit. I did up the garlic to 6 cloves since we LOVE our garlic and tossed with sauteed mushrooms, zucchini and veggie chick’n. Thanks for the great recipe!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Glad you liked it, Amanda! I appreciate you sharing your experience with making it gluten-free!
Athena says
This recipe was fantastic! I made it the other day and followed the recipe almost to a T. The only “change” I made was that I used sweetened rice milk instead of unsweetened because the grocery store was out. I will admit, that I knew I would be messing up the recipe with the sweetened milk and I was right. It had an annoyingly, overly sweet after taste, but surprisingly tasted better the next day. It was also delicious when eaten cold. I will admit that I had my doubts about the amount of liquid used, but as you promised, it cooked off quickly and thickened the sauce nicely. I will continue to make this recipe in the future, as it’s an easy, simple recipe with ingredients I usually have on hand already. Thanks!
Meg says
Hi there. Do you know if this recipe will still work out if I use whole wheat noodles?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Meg,
I haven’t tested this specific recipe with whole wheat noodles, but I have made other one pot pasta with whole wheat and it worked out, however I recommend reducing the liquid by about a cup, as whole wheat pasta doesn’t release as much starch as regular.
Barbara says
I just had this and its sooo good and so easy. Had a bad day at work so didn’t want to spend too much time cooking 😉 thank you
Helen Fletcher says
Wow! I am very impressed. I’ve been vegan for a year and have not been successful in making anything creamy, easy, and yummy. Your photos look amazing and my dish, having followed your quick and easy instructions, is to die for! I was licking my plate afterwards. Husband very happy too. Can’t wait to make this for non-vegan friends and family. Thank you so much. PS I had to make tweaks as I wanted to use up my spinach and watercress, and I only had spaghetti not fettuccine 🙂 yum yum Helen from New Zealand.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
That’s so great to hear, Helen! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Romany says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit with both me and my two children 4 and nearly 2. Will definitely be adding this to our rotation. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Gab says
Do you by any chance have a substitute for the vegetable broth? Or maybe instructions on how you made yours? ? im still 16 and a beginner in cooking and i basically know nothing. And i really really wanna try this out ? hope you respond…thanksss
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Gab, thanks for your comment. It would help if I understand the reason why you can’t use store-bought veggie broth? It should be sold at most stores. I actually used an instant vegetable broth powder that I bought at a natural food store (no funky ingredients), which I mix with hot water to create broth before proceeding with the recipe.
In a pinch, you can literally throw roughly chopped onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and other vegetable trimmings you have around, into a pot with water, bring it all to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it cook like that for an hour or so, to infuse the flavor of those veggies into the water. Then use a strainer to remove the solids and what you have left is basic homemade broth.
You can try just making this recipe without it, I believe it will still be good, but I think you get the best, most balanced flavor if you do include broth.
Patricia says
We used Better Than Boullion and it worked great.
Lily says
You just have to make sure that your canned veggie soup doesn’t have beef or chicken broth. (Campbells does, d’know why) I have been cooking and vegan since I was 15, and I follow recipes exactly. I figure someone spent a lot of time and were nice to share! Unless you have an allergy, just follow the directions!
Someone asked about making sure pasta is vegan too, maybe they were thinking of EGG noodles? Some kinds of pasta have eggs, no clue why. One thing you learn as a vegan is to really read labels. I’m allergic to dairy (and it makes me sad) and accidentally bought this “vegan”cheese (it was literally in a display of Vegan Cheese at that fancy market ) it said “lactose free”. But contained casein, which is the protein in milk, IIRC. But just follow the recipes and practice! Cooking and baking are fun!
Emily Means says
I just used this recipe and it was amazing. Thanks for an incredible creamy recipe.
Robin Vosika says
Instead of using cloves of garlic why can t I use the minced garlic in the jar. How much is equivalent to 4-5 cloves of garlic. I want to make this sounds really good.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Robin,
Unfortunately I’m not sure what the conversion would be. I would go ahead and use whatever amount you would normally substitute for 4 cloves of garlic, but I do think you will get the most reliable and tasty results if you mince the garlic fresh. Hope you enjoy!
Marie says
Just want to share that the majority of minced garlic in jars on the market have formaldehyde in it to preserve it. My friend who owned a health food store did research, made calls, and was told this. That is
why it will keep so long. It’s best to mince your own fresh with a garlic press. 🙂
Dianna says
Thanks for this recipe! We made it tonight and loved it. I added a 10-ounce bag of spinach in the last few minutes and lots of spices. The one-pot aspect of the recipe worked perfectly for me. I’m going to teach my 9-year-old to make it soon.
Alanna says
I cooked this with cashew milk and added peas. It was incredible!
April says
I really enjoyed this recipe. I found the cooking liquid cooked off to quickly, so I had to keep adding the soy milk and adjusting the spices. Next time I would probably boil the noodles separately. It did have to be seasoned aggressively, but that’s fine, the recipes states as much. Grape tomatoes and steamed asparagus were a great addition. Thank you!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks for your feedback, April! I should have added a note to the recipe to add more soy milk if it cooks off too much. It can depend on the exact cooking temp and the surface area of the pan. If you do cook the noodles separately, I would recommend reducing the liquid in the sauce, and draining but not rinsing the pasta, reserving some of the pasta cooking liquid to thicken the sauce if needed.
Diana M says
I should have read this comment before I started. I’m cooking now with the amount noted but I cooked my pasta separately.
Gabrielle says
Hi! Looks really great! Since you mentioned it would taste good with spinach, I was wondering when you would be the best time to add it?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Gabrielle, I would stir in fresh spinach right around the end of cooking, when the pasta is aaaaalmost done to your liking, and simmer until pasta is done and spinach is wilted.
Rebecca August says
Yummy! Simple, easy and fast! I added corn and mushrooms, cuz I’m like that. Thank you!
Tommy J. F. says
Just made this recipe! It was delicious!
Though I took a few liberties like using fusilli pasta instead of fettuccine because it was all I had. It still worked out perfectly, it was so creamy!
Tania says
I’m so excited to try this. I’ve been looking for a creamy pasta recipe for a while. Many involve some sort of home made nut milk, and I just want something simple that can be put together with little fuss. I think this definitely fits the bill. Just one question,
Did you use any particular type of pasta to keep it vegan?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Tania, I hope you enjoy the recipe. No particular type of pasta. Just plain (not whole wheat) dry fettuccine. I have never seen dried pasta sold at the store that isn’t vegan, at least in areas where I have lived.
Diana M says
How do you get the pasta sauce to thicken? Can you cook without the pasta? Sauce alone?
margot e mcburney says
I used a tablespoon and a pinch of cornstarch to thicken it. I also added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and garlic powder, montreal steak seasoning, garlic powder ,italian seasoning, cayenne, chili’s and fresh parsley and coriander and fresh tomatoes rolled in right at the end. It was pretty good! Go nuts on the spices!
arlene says
really? pasta is made of flour and eggs, and eggs are not vegan
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Please see my numerous previous comments, 99% of dried pasta sold in stores is made from durum wheat and water with no egg.
Ann says
Doesn’t pasta have eggs?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Dried pasta almost never does.
Sarah | Well and Full says
This looks so amazingly creamy! Way better than its dairy counterpart 😉
Sarah says
Right!yummm..