Make this Vegan Walnut Pasta for an easy dinner, using just 5 ingredients! Tender pasta with a delicious and smooth garlic walnut sauce. Gluten-free, and a keto recipe option!
A Quick and Easy Recipe
Quick and easy meals that use just a few ingredients are the best, aren’t they? Especially when you want to make dinner at home, but you’ve had a long day.
This vegan pasta recipe is a perfect example; the sauce only has 5 basic ingredients!
Vegan Pasta Ingredients
This recipe is a vegan version of the Salsa di noci (Ligurian Walnut Sauce) recipe, using a shortcut ingredient.
So, in addition to a gluten-free pasta of your choice, you’ll need these 5 ingredients to make the garlic walnut sauce
- Walnuts – You want to look for walnut halves. If you can’t find any at the store, just roughly chop whole walnuts.
- Garlic – Fresh cloves will give you much more flavor than garlic paste or minced garlic from a jar. But whatever you have on hand will be fine.
- Almond milk – You can use any type of non-dairy milk that you want. If you use coconut milk, just know that your sauce will be very thick and you may need to thin it out with some water.
- Nutritional yeast – If you don’t need the recipe to be vegan, you could use grated Parmesan cheese instead.
- Lemon juice – The juice of one lemon will be perfect.
For a little extra flavor, you can chop up some fresh herbs. Parsley or Basil is a good choice.
Keto Option
To make this vegan pasta recipe low carb/keto, you can serve it over zucchini or other veggie noodles!
Talk about easy, y’all – this creamy smooth pasta sauce comes together in a food processor or a high speed blender! Just a few pulses and it’s ready to use.
How to Make Garlic Walnut Sauce
Before you start making the sauce, put a large pot of water on to boil. You’ll use this to cook the pasta. Now, for the sauce:
- Toast the walnuts.
Before the sauce ingredients can be put into the food processor, you’ll need to toast the walnuts. But, it’s okay – no oven is necessary.
There’s a much quicker way to toast nuts – it’s known as dry toasting.
I can safely say that once you learn this method, you’ll never go back to toasting nuts in the oven again.
To dry toast walnuts:
- Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is nice and hot, add the walnuts. Let them sit in the pan for a minute or so and the natural walnut oil will start to release from the nuts. You’ll know when it happens because it smells heavenly! At this point, toss the nuts a bit so they don’t burn, then continue cooking for another 4 or 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add walnut sauce ingredients to food processor or blender
Place the toasted nuts, garlic, cheese/nutritional yeast, and fresh herbs (if you’re using any) into the food processor or blender. Blend for a minute or so, until a mealy texture is formed.
Next, set the blender or food processor on low and slowly add in the almond milk. Blend until a creamy, thick sauce is formed.
NOTE: If the sauce is too thick, add 2-4 tablespoon more milk. Finally, add the salt/pepper and lemon juice, and blend once more.
- Heat the sauce and toss with cooked pasta
Take the prepared sauce and place it into the pot that you cooked the pasta in. It should still be warm but if it’s not, put it over low heat. Warm the sauce and add in the cooked pasta. Toss to coat. Then, use the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce until the consistency is to your liking.
- Garnish and serve!
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Pasta Sauce Recipes
5 Ingredient Vegan Pasta Sauce with Walnuts Recipe (Keto Option)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 –5 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make this vegan pasta recipe for an easy dinner, using just 5 ingredients! Tender pasta with a delicious and smooth garlic walnut sauce. Gluten-free with a keto recipe option!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces gluten-free pasta or zoodles (zucchini noodles)
- 1 cup walnut halves toasted (see notes)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced or whole)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast or grated Parmesan cheese for non vegan option
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs optional
- ½ cup almond milk or non dairy milk
- salt/pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- fresh basil and crushed walnuts to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil. Add salt, followed by pasta. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Set aside ¼ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside. While pasta is cooking, make the walnut sauce.
For the garlic walnut sauce
- Place toasted walnut halves, garlic, parmesan (or nutritional yeast), and herbs in a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until a mealy texture is formed.
- Next, set the blender or food processor on low and add in the almond milk. Blend until a creamy thick sauce is formed. If the sauce is too thick, add 2-4 tablespoons more milk. Add the salt/pepper and lemon juice, and blend once more.
- In the same pot that cooked the pasta (which should still be warm, if not, heat to very low) heat the garlic walnut sauce. Then, mix in pasta or zoodles and 3-4 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water to create a creamy sauce. If the sauce isn’t creamy enough to easily coat the pasta, then add in an additional 2 tablespoons water and toss again.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into bowls and add fresh basil and crushed walnuts to garnish.
Notes
To dry toast nuts:
Quickly toast the nuts in a hot, dry skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally to prevent the nuts from burning.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2-3 ounces pasta in sauce
- Calories: 271
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 33.6 mg
- Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 8.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
What dried herbs do you suggest?
I like using parsley or oregano but I think rosemary would be divine in the fall as well.
I am not a vegan but enjoy certain recipes and this is one I will try!!!!
Always looking for different sauces for different meals and this is one I will try!!
Thank you for adding the nutrition info as well and thank you for all your hard work.
This recipe- it’s amazing!!! The walnuts and garlic are an amazing taste!
Thank you, Katie!
This is so tasty! The walnuts were absolutely delicious with the garlic. I swapped in nutritional yeast and tapioca flour in place of vegan parmesan.
I think I am obsessed with this silky, nutty, incredible sauce! I had never tried anything like it before and now I want it on everything!
Right? It’s the best!
Yaayy! So glad to hear that!
That looks really ahhmazing! A delicious meal for weeknights!
Totally agree! Thanks, Toni!
Made this for dinner…what a treat!
Yaayy! So glad to hear that!
This looks so tasty! I’m excited to make this!
Thanks, Beth! Let me know what you think!
My husband and I love this recipe. I am planning on making it again next week. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad y’all loved it!