This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner! Al dente pasta tossed with a homemade cream sauce, tender spinach, chopped artichokes, and a toasted breadcrumb topping for a golden crunch. All you need is a little over 30 minutes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cream Sauce
- Silken tofu: Gives the cream sauce a smooth, velvety consistency without any dairy. It also gives this vegan pasta sauce a nice plant-based protein boost, helping to keep you feel full and satisfied.
- Vegan cream cheese: Adds richness and a tangy flavor. This recipe works well with our Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese recipe as well as store-bought versions. Feel free to use your favorite.
- Vegan parmesan cheese: Gives the cream sauce a salty, umami flavor boost. Feel free to use our Homemade Vegan Parmesan Cheese, or your favorite store-bought cheese.
- Tapioca starch: Essential for thickening the sauce. We don’t recommend substituting this ingredient!
- Nutritional yeast: Adds additional cheesiness and color to the sauce, without any dairy. Just make sure to pick up a bag of nutritional yeast, not brewer’s yeast – the two are often confused!
- Non-dairy milk: Any unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice. Our Homemade Almond Milk is great for this, but feel free to opt for oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk, cashew milk, etc! The more creamy, the better.
For the Pasta
- Pasta: Any pasta shape of choice will work. If you are gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- Vegan butter: Adds a rich, buttery mouthfeel to the pasta and helps to infuse the pasta with the flavor in the aromatics. If needed, opt for olive oil or avocado oil instead.
- Aromatics: Yellow onion and fresh cloves of garlic create a flavorful foundation for the pasta dish. For the best flavor, fresh is best!
- Artichoke hearts: For this recipe we used one 14 ounce jar of artichoke hearts, but canned artichoke hearts work great as well.
- Spinach: We used fresh spinach, but frozen spinach would work well too. To use, thaw the spinach in advance and squeeze out the extra moisture to keep the sauce from being watered down.
- Lemon juice: Adds brightness and acidity to the overall dish, counterbalancing the richer flavors in the cream sauce.
- Garlicky breadcrumbs: Optional, but the perfect crunch for the top of the pasta. To make rich and golden, you’ll need vegan butter, garlic, panko breadcrumbs, and salt!
How to Make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta
- Prepare the breadcrumb topping. In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter. Once melted, add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the breadcrumbs and sauté for another 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make the cream sauce. Add the silken tofu, vegan cream cheese, vegan parmesan cheese, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, and non-dairy milk to a high-speed blender. Blend until very smooth. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain.
- Sauté the aromatics and artichokes. Add the vegan butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and salt and sauté until soft and fragrant, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and artichoke hearts, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the blended sauce and spinach. Stir together until the spinach is wilted.
- Add the cooked pasta, ½ cup of reserved pasta water, and lemon juice. Stir together until the pasta is evenly coated in the sauce. Taste and add salt and black pepper to taste. Add more pasta water as needed.
- Serve. Enjoy while warm with the breadcrumb topping.
Find the full printable recipe here: Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta
