Make this creamy pasta with coconut milk sauce, tomatoes, and basil. This vegan recipe requires just a few ingredients, but it's full of comfort and flavor.
This simple pantry recipe is ready in no time and is so satisfying. This dish of pasta with coconut milk sauce has quickly become a staple in our kitchen. Why not? It is incredibly delicious and healthy, and I always have noodles, coconut milk, canned tomatoes, and basil. There is no need to go shopping, especially not nowadays.
If you are looking for more delicious and vegan pasta dishes, check out Pasta Guacamole or Pasta Lentil Soup.
Featured comment:
Stephanie: Delicious recipe! Perfect for our protein penne. My 1-year-old couldn’t get enough of it, tomatoes and all! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! It will definitely be in our rotation:)
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Recipe ingredients
Pasta: Regular or whole wheat. I had pappardelle this time, but I also cooked the dish with spaghetti, tagliatelle, fettuccine, and so on.
Tomatoes: Chopped tomatoes from a can or fresh, ripe, juicy tomatoes.
Coconut milk: I prefer the full-fat version; it is creamier and more flavorful. However, if you prefer the light version, it works as well. In this case, you might want to cook the sauce slightly longer to help it thicken, or you can thicken it with starch.
Basil: Fresh is best; I always have it on my window sill. However, you can use frozen. You can substitute it with dried oregano, which imparts the dish a slight pizza flavor; my kids love it.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Additions
For vegan cheesy flavor, add 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
Add 1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach to the finished sauce and just let it wilt for a minute or so.
Add one small drained can of chickpeas or small white beans for an even more filling dish. You can leave them whole or roughly mash them with a potato masher.
Try more coconut milk dishes: Asparagus Curry, Chickpea Apple Curry, Vegan Peanut Soup with Whole Peanuts, or Vegan Ginger Carrot Soup.
How to make pasta with coconut milk?
Start cooking the water for the noodles. When boiling, add salt generously and cook according to the package instructions.
Step #1: Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the grated garlic cloves and stir for 30 seconds, but don't let them burn.
Step #2: Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for about 2 minutes.
Step #3: Pour in the nut milk and vegetable broth and boil for 10 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened and creamy.
Step #4: Add the chopped basil, salt, and pepper generously.
Step #5: Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and mix them immediately with the sauce.
Good to know!
You could thicken the sauce with starch if you like it thicker. It is recommended to do it if you cook the sauce with light coconut milk.
However, a word of caution: cornstarch might make the dish slightly slippery. I've heard tapioca starch might do a better job, but I cannot say for sure; I've never had that.
In any case, I prefer to let the sauce thicken naturally on the stove; medium-high heat and no lid should do it.
What to serve with it?
I serve the pasta in coconut milk, mostly with a light green salad with vinaigrette.
Do you like this recipe?
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Pasta with Coconut Milk Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta of choice Note 1
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4-5 large garlic cloves to taste
- 1 can chopped tomatoes 14 oz/ 400 g
- 1 can coconut milk 14 oz/ 400 g, Note 2
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- small bunch of fresh basil Note 3
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Start cooking the water for the pasta. When it starts to boil, add salt generously and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. In the meantime, make the coconut milk sauce. 1 lb pasta of choice
- Saute garlic: Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the grated garlic cloves and stir for 30 seconds; don't let them burn or get too much color. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for about 2 minutes. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + 4-5 large garlic cloves + 1 can chopped tomatoes
- Pour in the coconut milk and vegetable broth. 1 can coconut milk + ½ cup vegetable stock
- Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat (without a lid) or until the sauce is slightly thickened and creamy. If the sauce is not thick enough, increase the heat to medium-high and let it boil for a few more minutes or until it achieves the desired consistency.
- Add the chopped basil, salt, and pepper generously.small bunch of fresh basil + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- Combine: Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and mix it immediately with the coconut milk sauce.
Notes
- Pasta: I had pappardelle this time (a wide pasta sort), but pretty much anything goes. Whole wheat or spelt pasta is great as well.
- Coconut milk: Preferably full-fat (creamier, more flavor), but a lighter version should be fine as well. In this case, the sauce might need longer to thicken or you might want to help it thicken with some starch. Cornstarch makes the sauce slightly slippery.
- Herbs: Substitute fresh basil with frozen. If you don't have fresh basil, try dried oregano, it imparts the dish a lovely flavor as well. I don't like using dried basil, but you can if you like it.
Gill says
Excellent easy sauce which I spooned over spinach tortellini. My boys really enjoyed it. I don’t keep fresh basil in, but used a couple of spoonfuls of pesto instead, which worked for us. A great store cupboard recipe for a very snowy day. Thank you Adina!
Adina says
Pesto sounds great, Gil. I am happy your kids enjoyed the dish.
Neil says
The juxtaposition of flavors is, for me, always the attraction to any new tongue adventure!
Mariah says
So yummy!! I had canned coconut cream so I used that instead of milk, and I had canned diced tomatoes so I used that!
And I didn’t have basil so I left it out! I ended up adding nutritional yeast bc I like the cheesy flavor and ooooo it was good!
I added frozen peas to the sauce at the end for the last 2 minutes
Such a good recipe for a pantry and freezer night!
Adina says
I am so happy to hear it, Mariah. This recipe is really a savor when you don't have time for grocery shopping. Nutritional yeast sounds great, it does adds a lot of flavor.
Stephanie says
Delicious recipe! Perfect for our protein penne. My 1 year old couldn’t get enough of it, tomatoes and all! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! It will definitely be in our rotation:)
Adina says
I am so happy to hear it, Stephanie; thank you for the feedback. I will try protein pasta as well; sounds great.
Lindsay says
My family (including the 3 kids) loved this and it really hit the spot for a creamy vegan dish! I used the whole wheat linguine I had on hand. I heated up some frozen veggies (Normandy blend) and added them towards the end, but I like the idea of adding spinach. I'll try that next time because I'm definitely making it again! I also doubled the sauce because I was adding a lot of vegetables. When doubling, I do not recommend doubling the broth bc it took a long time to thicken up. Next time I will add just slightly more broth than the original recipe calls for and will watch and add a bit more if it is too thick. I can't tell you how excited I was to have my kids praise this dish. I feel like they never like anything! I may have to start making this once a week! lol, Thank you!
Adina says
Hi Lindsay. So happy to read your comment! It's great that your kids loved it; mine do too. Spinach is excellent, I added it a few times myself, and both kids love it despite the dish being a bit too green then. 🙂 But then again, they are growing up; they get less resistant with age.
Yve says
That was easy and SO YUMMY! Thank you!
Adina says
So happy to hear it. Thank you for the feedback.
Rosie says
Delicious,very light and easy meal for busy single person took leftovers to work ?
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Rosie. 🙂
mjskitchen says
Just the type of recipe I've been looking for. Love the idea of using coconut milk in place of a heavy cream. This would be a great dish to use up some of my garden tomatoes that are in the freezer. Definitely would finish it off with a handful of fresh spinach. Great dish!