19 Fall Pasta Recipes Without Any Meat Or Dairy (2024)

FAQs

What can I put in pasta if I don't have anything? ›

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

Some of the best sources in the plant world include beans, legumes, lentils, soy like tofu or edamame, seeds and nuts and some whole grains like quinoa. Certain vegetables also contain small amounts of protein like zucchini, kale and collards (think leafy greens).

Most packaged pasta—including spaghetti, penne, and more—is vegan. It's worth checking the label to be sure, as some pasta contains eggs, but most of the pasta you see on the supermarket shelves is 100% vegan!

Ground turkey

Try using ground turkey in place of other types of meat like pork or beef to give recipes, like pasta bolognese, a healthy twist.

Melt butter, toast some freshly cracked black pepper in your pan, and simmer it with pasta cooking water. Toss in your noodles, pecorino, and parmesan, and stir together to melt all the cheese. We love how this no sauce pasta recipe is a delicious, quick dish that is ideal for a light lunch or appetizer.

Olive oil or butter and herbs. Adding a fat to the pasta makes it taste better if you're poor and need something. I also add oregano and/or basil. Butter, eggs, and cheese.

If you want to make a vegetarian version of this hidden vegetable pasta sauce, I suggest mincing an 8oz. container of mushrooms and sautéing them with the onions and garlic. The minced texture will mimic the ground meat and mushrooms have that umami flavor that is similar to ground meat.

Cheese, milk (alfredo sauce), clam, sausage, meatballs are all complete proteins and are commonly eaten with pasta. If you're limited to vegan sources, wheat is low in an amino acid called lysine.

Generally speaking, the actual dough used in garlic bread is vegan. What could catch you out is the butter contents. Fortunately though, a lot of shop-bought garlic bread uses margarine or olive oil – so just make sure to check the ingredients first!

Vegan Entrees

You do get a choice of pasta, though, as their angel hair, fettuccine, rigatoni, and small shells are vegan as well.

Are potatoes vegan? ›

For a healthy vegan diet: eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates (choose wholegrain where possible)

If you are buying a jarred or canned sauce, choose a tomato-based (marinara) sauce rather than a creamy sauce. Creamy sauces usually have more saturated fat and calories. Eating too much saturated fat has been linked to heart disease. Tomato-based sauces also contain more nutrients like vitamin A and lycopene.

In fact, whole wheat or whole grain pasta is the best option for weight loss as whole wheat pasta takes longer to digest than pasta made from refined flour. Slower digestion means blood sugar will rise slowly after consumption, preventing your body from storing excess fat.

It's necessary that you salt the water before adding the pasta so that the pasta can absorb the salted water while cooking and retain flavor. A little salt in the pasta water can go a long way, adding flavor to your final dish. Once the pasta is cooked, you have lost your chance to season the pasta.

Add in Dark Leafy Greens

Wilted greens are nutrition superstars that taste delicious with pasta. My favourites are spinach, kale and rapini. Make a pasta primavera or try vegan pesto and add in spinach, peas and broccoli.

Toss it with butter or olive oil, garlic, freshly ground black pepper, and optionally some ground or finely chopped walnuts or other nuts. Lemon and butter or olive oil are great! Take the pasta out of the salted water.