Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
With sweet, chewy sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and a fabulously creamy sauce, this sun-dried tomato pasta recipe tastes like it came from your favourite restaurant—but it’s easy to make at home!
Vegan sun-dried tomato pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner if you ask me. It brings restaurant-quality flavour to the table with minimal effort on your part—here, sun-dried tomatoes are a heavy-hitter that gives this easy pasta notes of sweetness and umami. Plus, they have that irresistible chewy texture!
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how short the ingredient list is for this recipe. Like lemon pasta, each item on the list plays an important role in the dish, and when you put it all together, magic happens!
Why You’ll Love This Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Recipe
- Creamy without cream. This sun-dried tomato pasta is completely vegan, but still has that creamy, indulgent texture without any dairy thanks to a roux and the starchy cooking water.
- Restaurant-quality taste at home. Sun-dried tomatoes add a concentrated burst of flavour that takes this pasta to the next level. Combined with spinach, fresh parsley, and cheesy nutritional yeast, you’ll feel like you’re having dinner at a high-end restaurant.
- Quick and easy. With just a handful of basic ingredients, you can have this delicious pasta on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Bowtie pasta – Or another shape you like.
- Vegan butter – You can use homemade vegan butter or store-bought.
- Red onion – This adds some depth to the flavour of this dish.
- Salt
- Garlic
- Sun-dried tomatoes – Buy oil-packed tomatoes; you’ll need both the sun-dried tomatoes themselves and the oil from the jar for this recipe.
- Flour
- Plant milk – Use an unsweetened, unflavoured plant milk.
- Nutritional yeast – For cheesy flavour.
- Spinach – Baby spinach wilts into the pasta without having to add a lot of extra cooking time.
- Fresh parsley
How to Make Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
- Cook the pasta. Follow the package directions and cook the pasta in a pot of salted water. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
- Sauté the veggies. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the sun-dried tomato oil, followed by the onion. Season with salt and cook until translucent. Stir the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute.
- Build the sauce. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the plant milk. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the nutritional yeast and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts. Remove from the heat.
- Put it all together. Stir the pasta into the sauce, adding the cooking water a little at a time, if needed.
- Serve. Divide the pasta onto plates or into bowls and serve warm with the fresh parsley for garnish.
Tips for Success
- Don’t forget to save the cooking water. The starch in the pasta water will help thicken the sauce and make it adhere better to the noodles.
- Make sure the flour is golden brown. If you add the plant milk before the flour cooks, your sun-dried tomato pasta will have a raw flour flavour.
- Cook the pasta al dente. The pasta will continue to cook and absorb liquid when added to the sauce, so be sure to cook it al dente (slightly firm) so it doesn’t become too soft.
Variations
- Add a protein. Vegan chicken, white beans, or chickpeas are all great options to add some protein to this sun-dried tomato pasta.
- Make it cheesy. For extra cheesy flavour, serve this pasta with grated plant-based Parmesan or homemade vegan Parmesan cheese.
- Add veggies. Feel free to get creative and add additional vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, or zucchini.
- Spice it up. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat.
- Make it gluten-free. This recipe can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta and a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this vegan sun-dried tomato pasta with a simple green salad and creamy vegan avocado dressing to keep things light, or opt for homemade roasted garlic bread to soak up any sauce at the bottom of the bowl!
How to Store Leftovers
Transfer leftover sun-dried tomato pasta to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of plant milk to bring back the creamy texture.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Freezing pasta can make it a bit mushy, but if you don’t mind this, you can freeze sun-dried tomato pasta in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat according to the instructions above.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
- Vegan Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Miso Butter Pasta
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
- Green Goddess Pasta
Enjoy friends! If you make this sun-dried tomato pasta, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces bowtie pasta, 340 grams
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter, 42 grams
- 1 tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomato jar, 15 ml
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt, 6 grams
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped, 180 grams
- 3 tablespoons flour, 21 grams
- 2 cups plant milk, 473 ml
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast, 15 grams
- 2 cups spinach, 60 grams
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, 15 grams
Instructions
- Cook the pasta per the package’s instructions (don’t forget to salt the pasta water). Reserve 1 cup (237 ml) of pasta water and then drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the sun-dried tomato oil. Add the onion, season with salt, and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the plant milk. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the nutritional yeast and spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has wilted. Turn off the heat.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce. Stir until the sauce coats every noodle. If the sauce is too thick and/or is having a hard time adhering to the pasta, stir in a bit of pasta water, 1/4 cup (59 ml) at a time, to loosen it up.
- Serve warm garnished with fresh parsley.
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
This was delicious !!! Teen approved ! Great new recipe to put into the fun of pasta rotation
Thanks
So happy to read this! We’re honoured to make the rotation.
WOW! NEXT LEVEL!
When you said restaurant quality I thought let’s see how that goes. I followed your directions exactly using all organic products (sun dried tomatoes could find non gmo) and Italian made bow tie pasta. I used my favorite coconut unflavored milk. The sauce was a great consistency as I stirred in the pasta, but decided to add 1/4 cup pasta water!
My husband and I loved it (he doesn’t want to go vegan and loves meat and pasta and he said it was wonderful) This is better than any of the Italian restaurants within 50 miles of me. I’ve been to 5 star restaurants, had dinner in Little Italy in NY and had dinner in many places in Italy like Florence, Rome, Sorrento and this pasta is as good as any restaurant or better!
Thank you!
Hi Susan,
Oh wow what a great compliment! Thank you so so much for your comment wow!! So happy you and your husband enjoyed, I think you just inspired me to make this for dinner again tonight!! You’re so incredibly welcome!