This creamy coconut milk pasta sauce is full of rich flavor that is the perfect balance of sweet & savory. It's easy to make and comes together in just 30 minutes.
I love that this recipe is so simple yet full of the best flavors and is SO creamy.
It's perfect for an easy weeknight meal, date night, or meal prepping for the week ahead.
This recipe is delicious when served with my Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing.
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Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- Vegan: This coconut pasta sauce is made without any dairy, meat, or eggs, making it vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based.
- Quick & Easy: This recipe has easy to follow steps and uses simple ingredients. It takes just 30 minutes from start to finish to make the entire meal.
- Full of Flavor: We get an incredible balance of sweet and salty flavors in this creamy coconut cream pasta sauce. It will wow all of your dinner guests and have everyone coming back for seconds.
Ingredient Notes
Pasta: This recipe works best with a thick pasta rather than a thin pasta like angel hair pasta. Any thick option from penne to spaghetti will work great.
Tomatoes: I used San Marzano tomatoes in this sauce recipe. I pour them into a large bowl and break them up with my hands before transferring them to the sauce pan.
Onion: You can use yellow onion/sweet onion in this recipe.
Coconut Milk: I like to use full fat coconut milk from a can. You might need to stir it to make sure its well mixed before measuring out what you need and adding it to the sauce.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
Top Tip: Don't pour the coconut milk into the sauce until the end of cooking. Coconut milk can act a little funny when heated so I like to stir it in after removing the sauce from the heat.
Substitutions & Additions
Make it spicy: Increase the crushed red pepper flakes by ¼ teaspoon at a time to get to your perfect level of spice.
Add protein: You can add any type of protein you like best. Vegan meatballs or sausage, chickpeas or beans, or even swap the pasta for a chickpea or lentil pasta.
You can also add red lentils and a little extra water and/or broth to the sauce for a boost of protein.
Make it gluten-free: The sauce is already gluten-free so just swap the pasta for a GF option to make the entire meal gluten-free.
Add veggies: You can stir in kale or spinach at the end of cooking if you want to get an extra boost of your daily greens.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Start by cooking the pasta according to package instructions. At the end of cooking the pasta set aside one cup of the pasta water for later.
Prep all of your ingredients according to the recipe card. Mince the garlic and crush the tomatoes. I like transferring the San Marzano tomatoes from the can to a bowl and then crushing them up with clean hands.
Step 2: Pour the olive oil into a sauce pan and warm it over medium-low heat. Once it's warm add the onion and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes until soft, stirring it frequently.
Next, add the garlic and allow it to cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Pour in the tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and half of the basil. Allow it to cook for about 3 minutes then cover and reduce it to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Step 3: Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the coconut milk until well combined. Gently stir in the pasta and decide at this time if you want the sauce to be any thinner.
If you're good with the consistency (I usually like it this way) leave it as is. If you want it to be any thinner just add ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water at a time until you've reached your desired consistency.
Step 4: Garnish the pasta with the remaining fresh basil and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Prep the ingredients before starting: This is important because you want to be able to add the tomatoes at the right time so the garlic doesn't burn. If you have to prep the tomatoes while the garlic is cooking you might run out of time.
- Stir in the coconut milk at the end: Coconut milk tends to thicken and curdle when it is heated. Make sure to remove the sauce from the heat or turn off the stove before stirring in the coconut milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes it does. This is why we stir it into our sauce at the end of the recipe after we've removed the sauce from the heat source. This will prevent the coconut milk from curdling.
For this recipe I recommend using full fat coconut milk from a can. Just be sure to stir the coconut milk well to break up any clumps before measuring it out and adding it to your sauce.
Storage & Reheating
There are several methods of storing this dish for later. As always, this recipe is best when served fresh but never fear it is still delicious when reheated and served later.
Store the sauce on its own: If you're making this in advance your best option would be to store the sauce by itself in a jar or container. You can make the pasta fresh or toss the cooked pasta in a little olive oil and store it in its own container.
Store the sauce & pasta together: You can absolutely store the pasta with the sauce mixed in. If you do this make sure you allow everything to cool completely before covering and storing it.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe on the stovetop or in the microwave (this is the easiest option). You might need to add a splash of water when reheating because the pasta tends to soak up some of the sauce when stored.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes You'll Love
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Coconut Milk Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ pound pasta
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 28 oz San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Start by boiling a large pot of water and cooking the pasta according to package instructions. At the end of cooking the pasta set aside 1 cup of the pasta water before draining/straining the pasta.
- Prep the ingredients according to the ingredients list. I like to pour the tomatoes into a bowl and break them apart/crush them with my hands.
- Pour the olive oil into a large sauce pan and turn the stove on to medium-low heat. Once the oil is warm add the diced onion and allow it to cook & soften for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the minced garlic and allow it to cook for about 30 seconds or until it becomes fragrant.
- Once the garlic is fragrant pour in the crushed tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, and half of the basil. Stir everything well and continue to cook on medium-low heat for about 3 minutes then reduce to a simmer, cover, and allow it to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from heat and stir in the coconut milk until well combined. Gently stir in the cooked pasta at this time. If you need to thin out the sauce you can add the reserved pasta water ¼ cup at a time. Garnish with the remaining fresh basil and enjoy.
Tricia Hakenson says
Great recipe! Thank you!!! at the end I added tofu to the sauce and doubled the red pepper to give it a kick. De...lish
Kelsey says
Hi Tricia! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for the great feedback. I LOVE those additions, great ideas!!!