Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta with Coconut Milk

Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta with Coconut Milk is a super easy pasta recipe using tomato paste and coconut milk. The sauce only uses 6 total ingredients (including the oil, salt, and pepper!). Toss the sauce with your favorite pasta and don't forget the crispy breadcrumbs on top!

This tomato pasta with coconut milk is easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner! It's great on its own, or you can serve it with a veggie side dish like air fryer garlic parmesan broccoli (you can omit the parmesan to make it vegan) or some air fryer garlic bread.

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• ⭐Why I Love It:
• 🥘Ingredients
• 📖Variations
• 🔪Step by Step instructions
• 🍽Leftovers and Storage
• 👩‍🍳Recipe FAQs
• 🍝Related Pasta Recipes...
• Recipe
• Reviews

⭐Why I Love It:

• Only 6 Ingredients - All you need is a little oil, garlic, tomato paste, can of coconut milk, salt, and pepper to make the creamy vegan tomato sauce.
• Less Than 10 Minutes of Cook Time - The sauce comes together so easily while the pasta cooks.
• No Chopping Required -The only knife work that this recipe calls for is mincing the garlic but you can use pre-minced garlic if you don't want to do even that.

🥘Ingredients

• Olive Oil - You can certainly sub a different oil if you don't have olive oil on hand, but I love the flavor that olive oil adds.
• Minced Garlic - Either fresh cloves that you mince or crush yourself, or you can use the pre-minced stuff in the jar.
• Can of Tomato Paste - We use the entire 6oz can, so no food waste here! Also try making this copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni recipe that uses tomato paste as well.
• Can of Coconut Milk - Either reduced fat or full fat. The coconut milk is what makes the sauce creamy without using dairy. For other recipes using canned coconut milk try this Korean Chicken Coconut Rice Bowls, Vegan Chickpea Tikka Masala, or Instant Pot Curry Lentils.
• Salt and Pepper
• Pasta of Choice - I prefer a short pasta like penne or rotini, but use what you have on hand! Make sure you save a little bit of the pasta cooking water.

Ingredients for the Crispy Garlic Breadcrumbs

• Olive Oil - similar to the sauce, you can substitute a different fat if you'd like. But, I prefer the flavor of the olive oil.
• Minced Garlic - Either fresh cloves that you mince or crush yourself, or you can use the pre-minced stuff in the jar.
• Panko Breadcrumbs - You can use regular bread crumbs as well if that's what you have on hand. I like the extra crispiness of panko breadcrumbs.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

📖Variations

• Optional Spices -  I often make the sauce using just salt and pepper to season. But, if you have other spices on hand, you can certainly add some to mix it up. Dried herbs like dried parsley, oregano, or basil are great choices. Red Pepper Flakes are great to add a little kick to offset the sweetness from the coconut milk, and dried herbs like dried parsley are great to add more flavor as well.
• Make it Spicy - Red Pepper Flakes are great to add a little kick to offset the sweetness from the coconut milk. You can also try sautéing some diced Calabrian Chile peppers, if you have them on hand, before you sauté the garlic.
• Add a Protein - If you don't want to make this recipe vegan, it pairs well with many protein additions. Such as roasted or sautéed shrimp or cubed and cooked chicken.

🔪Step by Step instructions

1. Cook Pasta - Start by getting a pot of water boiling to cook the pasta until al dente. Make sure to reserve a cup or so of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
2. Sauté Garlic - Start by sautéing the garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet or pot. I like to use a deep skillet that's large enough to add the pasta to later.
3. Add Tomato Paste - Add the entire can of tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the paste is dark red.
4. Add Coconut Milk - Stir in the can of coconut milk. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is smooth and simmering. I like to toss the pasta right in the sauce and add a little bit of pasta water as needed to achieve the right consistency.
5. Optional - Crispy Breadcrumbs - In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, bread crumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and toast until golden brown and fragrant.

🍽Leftovers and Storage

Leftover pasta can be stored in the fridge for 4 days. The breadcrumbs will lose some of their crispness in the fridge but still taste fantastic. I like to store the breadcrumbs separately so I can reheat them in a skillet to crisp them up again.

👩‍🍳Recipe FAQs

🍝Related Pasta Recipes...

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