Get into the holiday spirit with this vegan Christmas pasta made with festive red and green sauces and your favorite toppings like cherry tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, and fresh herbs. It's loaded with flavor and ready in about 15 minutes.
Inspired by my short-cut tomato paste pasta sauce and vegan basil pesto, both sauces come together while the pasta cooks. Serve it alongside your favorite vegan Christmas recipes all season long.
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Ingredients
In addition to the sauce ingredients shown above, you will need pasta. Use your favorite shape like rotini, fusilli, penne, or spaghetti. Choose traditional semolina, whole wheat, or gluten-free.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
How to make vegan Christmas pasta
Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
Make the red sauce
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic. Stir in tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, and a bay leaf.
Simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Remove the bay leaf and season to taste with a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Make the green sauce
In a food processor combine basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse to a smooth sauce, scraping the bowl as needed.
Toss and serve
Divide the hot pasta between two mixing bowls. Add the red sauce to one bowl and the green sauce to the other, loosening with a splash of reserved cooking water if needed so the sauces coat the noodles.
Arrange the red and green pastas in a serving bowl or individual bowls. Garnish with diced tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.
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Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Vegan Christmas Pasta (Red and Green)
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta, (gluten-free, if necessary) such as rotini (or your favorite shape)
For the red sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can tomato paste, (6 ounces)
- 1½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, (or substitute dried oregano or basil)
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper, to taste
- splash balsamic vinegar
For the green sauce:
- 2 cups packed basil leaves, large stems removed and discarded
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts, (Or substitute walnuts. For a nut-free version, substitute hemp seeds.)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
- salt, to taste
- up to ¼ cup cold water, as needed
For serving:
- optional toppings such as quartered or halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and/or pine nuts
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, make the sauces following the directions below. Drain the cooked pasta and set it aside until the sauces are ready.1 pound pasta
To make the red sauce:
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves garlic
- Stir in the tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a low boil, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. (Prepare the green sauce following the directions below while the red sauce is simmering.)1 can tomato paste, 1½ cups water, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 bay leaf
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in a splash of balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Set the sauce aside until you're ready to assemble the pasta dish.salt and pepper, splash balsamic vinegar
To make the green sauce:
- Add the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt to the bowl of a food processor.2 cups packed basil leaves, ½ cup toasted pine nuts, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast, salt
- Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until a chunky paste forms. You should still see bits of the basil leaves. Add up to ¼ cup of cold water if the mixture is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.up to ¼ cup cold water
To serve:
- Divide and transfer the cooked pasta to two large mixing bowls.
- Add the red sauce to one bowl of pasta and toss well to coat.
- Add the green sauce to the other bowl of pasta and toss well to coat.
- To a large serving bowl add a scoop of red pasta followed by a scoop of green pasta. Continue alternating in a visually pleasing pattern until all the pasta from the mixing bowls is in the serving bowl.
- If desired, top with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and pine nuts and serve. (Alternatively you can skip the serving bowl and combine the red and green pastas and optional toppings in individual pasta bowls or plates.)optional toppings such as quartered or halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and/or pine nuts
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation.
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