Creamy Tomato Vegan Pasta Recipe

The creamiest vegan pasta starts with soaked cashews, roasted tomatoes, and plenty of garlic. Blend those ingredients with a little starchy pasta water and olive oil to make a rich, velvety sauce, then toss with your favorite pasta and finish with fresh basil.

This creamy vegan pasta is a popular plant-based meal. It’s full of flavor, nutrient-dense, and easy to make with simple ingredients.

Seriously the BEST Vegan Pasta Recipe

This recipe produces a saucy, satisfying vegan pasta that many readers have rated highly. The cashew-based sauce balances tomato brightness and garlic richness, making it a great go-to dish any time of year—especially when tomatoes are at their peak.

Simple Ingredients for Vegan Pasta Sauce

All the ingredients are easy to find and work beautifully together. Roast the vegetables to concentrate flavor, then blend with soaked cashews for a luscious, dairy-free creaminess.

• Tomatoes: medium or large tomatoes are best for roasting, but any variety will work.
• Yellow onion: adds savory sweetness.
• Garlic: roasted garlic mellows and sweetens; use as much as you like.
• Olive oil: helps roast and enrich the vegetables.
• Pasta: any shape you prefer—the recipe works with traditional or gluten-free noodles.
• Raw cashews: the base for the creamy sauce; soak before blending.
• Fresh basil: adds bright, herbaceous freshness at the end.

Do I have to use raw cashews?

Either raw or roasted cashews will work. Roasted cashews can add a slightly sweeter or smokier note, but the final texture of the sauce will still be creamy if the nuts are well soaked and blended.

Can I use a different kind of nut?

This recipe was developed for cashews. Other nuts vary in fat content and flavor and have not been tested here, so cashews are recommended for best results.

Why no nutritional yeast?

Many vegan sauces use nutritional yeast for a savory, cheesy note. This sauce is intentionally made without it and still delivers a rich, satisfying flavor from the roasted vegetables and cashew cream.

Is this vegan pasta gluten-free?

The sauce itself is gluten-free. Use a certified gluten-free pasta to make the whole dish gluten-free.

How to Make Vegan Pasta

This section covers the key steps: soak the cashews, roast the vegetables, blend the sauce, and toss with pasta. Each step is simple and builds layered flavor.

Soak Cashews Until Squishy

Cashews become the creamy backbone of the sauce when soaked and blended. Soak them either overnight (12–24 hours) in cool water or use a quick method:

1. Overnight: Cover cashews with water and let them soak 12–24 hours.
2. Quick soak: Pour boiling water over the cashews and let them sit at least 15–30 minutes until softened.

Roast Veggies

Roasting concentrates the tomatoes’ sweetness and softens the garlic and onion. Toss the tomatoes, chopped onion, and smashed garlic with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400ºF for about 20 minutes, then remove the tomato skins and roast an additional 10 minutes to deepen the flavor.

Blend Sauce

Transfer the roasted vegetables and their juices to a high-speed blender. Drain the soaked cashews and add them to the blender along with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and about 1/2 cup of reserved starchy pasta water. Blend until smooth, adding more starchy pasta water a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Save up to 1 cup of starchy pasta water when cooking the pasta so you can thin the sauce if needed.

Serve and Top

Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce while still hot so the flavors meld. Reheat the sauce slightly on the stovetop if needed and add extra starchy pasta water to loosen the texture. Serve with torn fresh basil, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, and vegan parmesan if you like.

Creamy Tomato Vegan Pasta

A rich, cashew-based tomato basil sauce blended with roasted vegetables and tossed with your favorite pasta.

Author: Lee Funke

Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 30 mins | Total: 45 mins | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 6 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided (or more to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, plus more for serving
• 1 cup starchy pasta water (reserve from cooking pasta)
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 6–8 servings pasta (we used bucatini)
• Fresh basil, for serving
• Red pepper flakes and vegan parmesan, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Place cashews in a bowl and pour boiling water over them so they are fully submerged. Let sit for 30 minutes, then drain before blending.
2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with foil.
3. Arrange the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat.
4. Roast at 400ºF for about 20 minutes.
5. While the vegetables roast, cook the pasta according to package directions and reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water.
6. Remove the baking sheet and carefully peel the tomato skins; they should lift off easily after roasting. Return the vegetables to the oven and roast 10 more minutes.
7. Place the roasted vegetables and their juices into a high-speed blender with the drained cashews, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup reserved starchy pasta water, and lemon juice. Blend on high until very smooth. Add more starchy pasta water as needed to reach the desired consistency and adjust salt to taste.
8. Toss the hot cooked pasta with the sauce. If the sauce has cooled, gently rewarm it and add more starchy pasta water if necessary.
9. Serve topped with fresh basil, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, and vegan parmesan if desired.

Tips & Notes

• You can add fresh basil to the blender for a more herb-forward sauce.
• The starchy pasta water and a splash of lemon juice help the sauce blend smoothly and brighten the flavor.
• If short on time, use the quick soak method for cashews by pouring boiling water over them for 15–30 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 333 kcal; Carbohydrates: 51 g; Protein: 9 g; Fat: 10 g; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 6 g. Nutrition values are approximate.