Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

This Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta recipe is quick and easy to make. We’re talking chewy, dense pasta, loaded up with sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and tossed in a heavenly, but low fat, creamy sauce. It can be ready in a little over the time it takes the pasta to boil!

Published: Feb 27, 2019 · by Melanie McDonald · This post may contain affiliate links · Read my disclosure policy here·  

This is so good! Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta, only without the cream, and with all the flavour. 

We’re talking deliciously dense pasta, coated in a creamy, slightly cheesy, velvety, creamy sauce. Then, we’re adding super yum sautéed mushrooms and spinach for good measure.

Pasta + Mushrooms + Spinach + Creamy Sauce = Perfection.

Am I right? 

Comfort food right there in all it’s stick to your ribs glory.

But guess what? It’s actually really low in fat so feel free to pile your bowl high.

Most vegan creamy sauces tend to be made with cashew nuts, and although they are super delicious, they end up really high in fat and calories. 

This sauce is different though because it’s made with tofu. Yes, its’ one of my many vegan tofu recipes! In fact, this recipe is an adaptation of my very popular Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce recipe which is also made with tofu. 

Tofu in a creamy sauce might sound weird but stick with me because it does a really great job of adding a really silky tone to the sauce that cashew nuts, soaked or not, don’t. 

WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS VEGAN MUSHROOM PASTA?

This Vegan Mushroom Pasta is really easy to make and takes no time at all. The only equipment you will need is a blender. I have one like this from Amazon, but this is such a soft sauce to blend up, that any blender, whether super powerful or not will do a good job.

You will also need a skillet or frying pan to sauté the mushrooms and spinach and to toss everything together in. I have been using these pans for a while now and am really pleased with them. I think I’ve mentioned before that I can’t use cast iron pans for medical reasons, so these work well for me instead.

For the super easy sauce that takes a minute or two to prepare in your blender, you need:

• tofu
• nutritional yeast
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• smoked paprika or chipotle powder
• Dijon mustard
• white wine vinegar
• salt
• soy milk (or other unsweeteend milk of choice)

Then the other necessary bits and bobs are:

• pasta (whatever your jam is. Anything goes. macaroni, spaghetti, fettuccine, penne, rigatoni …. literally any of them). 
• mushrooms
• spinach

A NOTE ON NUTRITIONAL YEAST

Please be sure to use a good tasting nutritional yeast for this recipe. All nutritional yeasts are not created equally. Some brands taste a lot better than others.

My personal favourite is Hoosier Farms and an added bonus is it’s super cheap too. It comes in a massive tub that lasts ages. I get mine from Amazon. It looks like this (tap the pic to go right there):

HOW TO MAKE MY CREAMY VEGAN MUSHROOM PASTA

SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta. While it’s boiling blend up the sauce ingredients. 

Sauté the mushrooms and the spinach.

Add the cooked pasta and the sauce to the mushrooms and spinach.

Stir it all together.

That’s it.

The whole recipe can be ready in little more than the time it takes the pasta to boil. 

How good is that?

Picture this. 

You. A big bowl of Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta. Spinach tucked in there too because VEG. (And because it tastes super nice with the creamy sauce). Feet up. Relax. Stuff your face. 

In that order. Thank me later. 

And if you want a low fat, creamy sauce that doesn’t use tofu, check out my Skinny Cauliflower Alfredo. 

Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

This Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta recipe is quick and easy to make, loaded up with sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and tossed in a heavenly, but low fat, creamy sauce. It can be ready in a little over the time it takes the pasta to boil!

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Entree

Cuisine: Gluten-free option, vegan

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Makes: 5 servings

Calories: 473kcal

Author: Melanie McDonald

Ingredients

• 500 g / 1 lb spaghetti or pasta of choice
• 1 tablespoon / 15 mls olive oil , OPTIONAL - use water to sauté to make the recipe oil-free
• 300 g / 10 oz mushrooms (white, cremini or portobello) , wiped clean and sliced
• 200 g / 7 oz fresh baby spinach
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the sauce

• 340 g / 12 oz oz silken or soft tofu (not firm or extra firm)
• ½ cup / 35 g nutritional yeast make sure it's a good tasting one
• 1½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika or chipotle powder
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup / 120 mls unsweetened milk of choice soy milk gives the best result tastewise

Instructions

• Fill a large pan with water and bring it to a boil on the stove top. 
• While it is heating, wash the spinach and wipe the mushrooms clean then slice them ready for cooking. Get a large skillet or frying pan ready with a tablespoon of oil in it on the stove top. 
• Blend up the sauce ingredients. 
• Add the pasta to the boiling water. 
• Warm the frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the mushrooms for about 7 minutes until golden on each side. Add the spinach and allow it to wilt. You will struggle to fit it all in the pan but squish it down and it will melt down to more manageable levels very quickly. Season them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium low. 
• Drain the pasta, reserving about ⅓ cup of the starchy water. Just keep it to one side for now. Add the pasta to the pan with the mushrooms and spinach, then pour over the sauce. Stir everything together really well. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Allow it to warm through over the heat, adding a little of the reserved starchy water if you want to thin the sauce a little. You shouldn't need much, if any at all. 
• Serve immediately. 

Notes

If you want more mushroom flavour in the sauce, sauté some extra mushrooms and blend them up with the sauce in the blender. If it gets a little thick, just add a touch more milk. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 5 servings | Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 4.5g | Sodium: 595mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 77% | Vitamin C: 21% | Calcium: 12% | Iron: 33%

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