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Love the flavor of this vegan vodka sauce! I used chickpea pasta and my carnivore roommates thought it was delicious. I’ll serve with some roasted veggies next time. Thanks!
Veronica
Q: What’s creamy without cream, garlicky, rich, savory, and satisfies every carb dream in your life?
A: VEGAN VODKA PASTA, duh!
This is too simple. Chewy, dense pasta tossed and coated with a silky, garlicky sauce that sticks to every pasta curve in all the right ways. Finished off with the basics – olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes – because sometimes (always) simple is best.
And that’s it! Thank you and goodnight.
The sauce looks like this:
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Tomato Paste
- Vodka
- And the surprise ingredient: Coconut milk
I made so many versions of vodka pasta in January (I was on a real kick) – some with tomato paste, some with diced tomatoes, some with onion, some with garlic… but ALL WITH HEAVY CREAM.
All that heavy cream started to get a little intense and regrettable, even for me. I wanted a way to make vodka pasta that didn’t feel like something so rich that I should only it eat once a year.
Enter: coconut milk.
Guys, I know it’s a little bizarre. Coconut milk? In pasta? And I hear you – if you don’t like coconut, go ahead and sit this one out. Or use something else besides the coconut milk. Like cashew cream or something. Or regular cream if you don’t care about the vegan thing. Because some of the flavor from the coconut milk does come through. And I know it sounds a little weird, but the unusual-ness all just really worked for me.
I found that by playing up other flavors (looking at you, garlic) and finishing with lots of salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, a drizzle of olive oil, or even nutritional yeast if you’re the sort of legit person who keeps nutritional yeast around (I am not), I could actually even appreciate the way the mild sweetness from the coconut milk kind of laced its way into every bite.
Chewy spiral pasta coated in sauce with just the right amount of cling, dusted with salt and pepper, steaming hot off the stove and piled high in your bowl?
Hard yes. I love it. I am bringing my best sweatshirt and Netflix and ultimate lounge mode self to this vegan vodka pasta party, and I. love. it.
Okay, your turn. Tell me what you think. Am I crazy?
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Vegan Vodka Pasta:
5 Ingredient Vegan Vodka Pasta
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-ish servings 1x
Description
A creamy, tangy, luscious, and SUPER easy take on vodka pasta – and vegan!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1 pound rotini (or any pasta, but rotini is fun)
- a little bit of reserved pasta water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- season to taste with more salt, black pepper, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, etc.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic, and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and stir until the tomato paste is a deep red color.
- Add the vodka – let it sizzle out. Add the coconut milk and salt. Let the mixture simmer a bit.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with the sauce (and a little reserved pasta water to achieve desired consistency).
- Curl up with a bowl of this goodness and enjoy.
Notes
Garlic: Stir your garlic constantly, and keep the heat low! You don’t want browned garlic – it’s bitter. If you happen to step away for a minute and your garlic browns (happens to me all the time), I recommend starting over! Normally I wouldn’t be so particular, but in a recipe where there’s only five ingredients and the garlic carries so much of the flavor, you want it to be just right.
Pasta: I used whole wheat because this recipe is happening during Sugar Free January and I’m trying to limit refined grains!
Vodka: Add more if you want! I found this post really interesting when researching vodka pasta flavors, amounts, etc.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Keywords: vegan pasta, vegan vodka pasta, easy vegan pasta
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy pasta recipes. Check it out!
Wow! Amazing and delicious. Does it taste like coconut? No! Does it taste like creamy vodka sauce – yes! Amazing.
Planning to make this tonight. In case anyone else read it wrong, it is one 6-oz can of tomato paste, not a 16 oz can (which is not a thing). Don’t make the mistake I almost made 🙂
What could you use as substitute for the vodka in the recipe?
Tried this recipe last night—simple, quick, and surprisingly good. Exactly what I needed for a no-fuss dinner. Thanks for sharing!
A friend told me about this recipe and I was so curious to try it. I love the simple ingredients and that it’s unexpectedly vegan! I’ll admit that as the sauce was cooking I was dubious. Would the coconut milk really not make this taste coconutty? Will it really all come together? I was so pleasantly surprised that it was, in fact, AMAZING. We like some heat so I went heavy on some red pepper flakes. It tastes even better as it slightly cools – the sauce is so silky and luscious. Definitely adding to my faves list!
I love this recipe! I´m definitely going to give it a go in my kitchen.
I do not have vodka in the house. Can I just leave it out? Or sub something else?
Yes, you can leave it out!
This was pretty good and quick. I usually have these ingredients on hand. My coconut milk wasn’t of high quality but the sauce still tasted really yummy. I didn’t find it coconut-y at all. We served with lemon swiss chard and baked tofu to keep it vegan. This one is worth a try!
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your blog. I find your writing to be very informative and engaging,
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your blog. I find your writing to be very informative and engaging, and I always learn something new when I read your posts.
I can’t believe I’ve never thought to leave a review on this dish! I first made this recipe probably about three years ago and I am not kidding when I say it has been a weekly staple ever since. Its so delicious, very simple and quick to whip up. Because I’ve been making it regularly for so long, I have made my own tweaks to it, like adding 1/3 cup vodka instead of 1/4 and adding caramelized onions, but it’s not necessary. The recipe on its own is perfect. I can’t recommend it and Pinch of Yum enough!
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GOOD RECIPE AND POST AMAZING THANK FOR SHARING
NO Garlic or Liquor please -am very allergic
Great simple sauce recipe! I riffed a bit by using a tube of tomato paste rather than a can, and adding roasted mushrooms and kale. The coconut milk flavour might have come out a bit more since there was less tomato paste, but it tasted great and I’m looking forward to trying again!
What if I used a 1/2 container of tofutti or other bang cream cheese . I use in tomato soup and it creams ??
That should work out just fine!
Love this! I sub a little GF pasta for me and everyone is in heaven.
Do you think this vodka sauce might work over cauliflower?
Absolutely!
I’m lactose intolerant and miss creamy pasta dishes! I’ve made this simple sauce many times, it comes out perfect every time and is soooooo freaking delicious!!
Does vodka aroma’s come out from this dish?
Yes it does!
very nice … dirty even! (in a sinful delectable kinda way)
and super easy!
many thanks for this!
My very picky son loved this sauce—I loved how easy it was!
So good and easy
I used safflower oil and garlic sauce
So glad you enjoyed it, Karen!
So delicious – will be making this again and again!
Glad to hear it, Sam!
Thank you for posting a vegan recipe. The photo looked wonderful and the directions were easy. I used Barilla Hi-Protein (vegan) Pasta, Thai Coconut Milk, Barilla Tomato Sauce, and Platinum Vodka. Followed directions to a “t,” but it was inedible. Normally love the flavor of all these things but the for some reason the end result taste was awful.
Sorry to hear that, Sheri. We appreciate the feedback!