Garlic Butter Pasta
Quick garlic butter pasta that is creamy, rich, and comforting! This weeknight dinner can be tossed together in about 20 minutes, with minimal effort. The recipe is vegan, super easy, and can be made gluten-free!
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pepper sliced (e.g. red bell pepper)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt or less/more to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce or more to taste (optional)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) plant-based milk (see notes)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 10 oz (280 g) pasta of choice, gluten-free if needed
- Fresh herbs to garnish (e.g. parsley)
- Nutritional yeast to taste (optional)
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Cook your favorite pasta (regular pasta, gluten-free pasta, or grain-free pasta) in a pot according to package directions. Then, drain most of the pasta water but reserve 1/2 cup (120 ml) in a separate bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat vegan butter (or oil) in a large skillet and add garlic and sliced pepper. Sauté for about a minute, stirring frequently. Add all spices and stir to combine.
- In a bowl combine plant-based milk and cornstarch. Whisk until there are no lumps and pour the mixture into the skillet.
- Let simmer for a few minutes until thickened, then add lemon juice, hot sauce (or red pepper flakes), and also the cooked pasta. Stir to combine.
- Taste it and adjust seasonings. Add more salt/pepper/spices/lemon juice to taste. Add some reserved pasta water if you prefer a thinner sauce.
- Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and garnish with fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Notes
- Milk: Any plant-based milk like almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, etc. is fine! You can also replace 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60-80 ml) of the milk with white wine. If you do, I would recommend leaving out the lemon juice.
- Cornstarch: Any starch can be used (potato starch, arrowroot flour). Regular flour should work too. You can also use less and cook the sauce longer until it thickens.
- More tips/variations and step-by-step photos are above in the blog post.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving (1/4 of the recipe).
Nutrition Facts
Garlic Butter Pasta
Amount per Serving
Calories
350
% Daily Value*
Fat
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
1
g
5
%
Carbohydrates
61
g
20
%
Fiber
3
g
12
%
Sugar
3
g
3
%
Protein
10
g
20
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.