Penne Rose Pasta

4.75 from 8 votes

Penne Rose, also called Pink Sauce Pasta, is a veganized version of a traditional creamy tomato pasta recipe. Made with a few simple ingredients, this easy pasta recipe is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. The pink pasta sauce is oil-free and nut-free, so give this vegan version of an Italian Penne Rose a try!

Prep Time5

Cook Time13

Total Time18

Course: Entrees

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Diabetic, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 145kcal

Author: Kathy Carmichael

Ingredients

8 ounces Penne Pasta whole grain (or gluten-free)
1 small red onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 ½ cups tomato passata or substitute tomato sauce or tomato puree
1 Tablespoon fresh basil
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning I used Trader Joe's Chickless Seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional, but I highly recommend
1 cup oat milk unsweetened and unflavored or any plant milk of choice
⅓ cup nutritional yeast

Garnish Optional

¼ cup vegan Parmesan cheese
Extra Basil leaves

Instructions

Prepare the Pasta

According to the package instructions for al dente pasta (1 minute shy of recommended cooking), cook the pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining cooked pasta in a colander.
Cook the pasta while preparing the sauce.

Preparing the Penne Pasta Sauce

In a large skillet, saute the diced red onion and minced garlic until the red onion and garlic brown and begin to stick to the pan.
Then add the fresh basil and poultry seasoning; stir in wilting the basil.
Reduce the heat to simmer, and add the tomato passata or tomato sauce, stirring with a spoon or whisk, combining the onions and garlic, and removing from the bottom of the pan.
Combine the oat milk and nutritional yeast by blending in a small cup bender; this is so the nutritional yeast does not clump in the sauce.
Add the milk mixture slowly to the sauce, stirring with a spoon or whisk as adding.
Keep the temperature on simmer, and continue to stir. The sauce thickens as it cooks.
Now, add the cooked, drained pasta and reserved 1 cup of pasta water.
Stir until the noodles are coated, and the sauce continues to thicken
Remove from heat.
Serve with vegan parmesan cheese, and basil leaves for garnish.

Notes

Forgetting to salt your water will make for flavorless pasta, and you’ll have to overcompensate by over salting your sauce—not a good move.

I have found that most mass-marketed pasta tells you to cook your pasta for a short time. So test eat your pasta before cooking the whole time.

Please feel free to reserve a little pasta water. Pasta water is the glue that will hold your final dish together; learn to use it.

Since you are eating this pasta dish hot, don't rinse the pasta. Rinsing your pasta with water in a colander strips it of its starch.

Instead of pouring the sauce on top of the noodles, finish your dish by cooking your pasta and sauce together with a bit of that pasta water you reserved.

Nutrition