Learn how to make Vegan Chili Pasta with Veggies! This vegan gluten-free Creamy Chili Sauce with Zucchini, Spinach and Pasta will have your taste buds dancing! It is incredibly creamy and rich, but oil-free! Just whole food ingredients. So much flavor from Italian dried herbs and chili powder and tomato sauce.
VEGAN CHILI PASTA
If there was ever a throw-together meal that is almost a 1 pot vegan recipe that turned out amazing, this is it!! I’m sharing another sauce and pasta dish today. Sauces are one of my favorite things to create, as if it wasn’t obvious by now. My collection is huge. Well, this is so good, creamy, amazing, filling, “restaurant-worthy”, as my hubby said.
I love vegan comfort food that fills your craving, but is also healthy, plant-based and made with good for you ingredients. There is nothing processed like store-bought fake meats or cheeses in my recipes, just whole foods!
This recipe is gluten-free and soy-free and oil-free!
This vegan chili pasta is made with the most delicious Creamy Chili Sauce that has the flavors both a chili and Italian pasta. A surprising combo that works amazing. Served with delicious healthy veggies like zucchini and spinach. With the flavors I used here, it will remind you of a vegan chili mac!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Full amounts on recipe card below.)
- Pasta: Use wheat or gluten-free if needed.
- Low-sodium vegetable broth: I love the Trader Joe’s brand, Pacific and Imagine brands as well. All are great.
- Zucchini
- Spinach
- Chili powder: Store-bought or my homemade chili powder is amazing!
- Italian seasoning: Store-bought or use my homemade Italian seasoning that is way better than store-bought.
- Tomato sauce: Also called passata.
- Onion
- Homemade cashew milk: This is what makes the sauce so creamy. See below how to make. This cannot be subbed with store-bought cashew milk or other milks, unless it’s a very very thick/creamy one. Otherwise, your sauce will turn out very watery and bland. Homemade cashew milk thickens up incredibly while cooking.
- Liquid smoke: Adds a lovely compliment to the chili powder and extra dose of flavor.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHILI PASTA
Step 1: Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, start the sauce.
Step 2: Cook the onion in broth about 5 minutes, add the zucchini, cover and cook until mostly tender.
Step 3: Remove the zucchini from the pan and add the homemade cashew milk and remaining ingredients (except the pasta). Add the spinach in batches, cooking until it cooks down and the sauce thickens into a creamy consistency.
Step 4: Add the cooked pasta, stir well, taste and add any more salt/spices if desired.
HOW TO MAKE DAIRY-FREE SAUCE CREAMY
This creamy vegan sauce is both dairy-free and oil-free and made with healthy whole food plant-based ingredients. But to make it creamy like a dairy sauce, I used homemade cashew milk, my favorite milk in cooking, which is the secret to an incredibly creamy vegan pasta sauce. I love the richness and creaminess it provides. It also has a very subtle sweetness to it, which just makes everything taste better.
I love proving you don’t need animal products to make a delicious dish. Vegan substitutes are so easy. Instead of dairy cow milk, I love to use cashew milk, coconut milk and even almond milk. My favorite is cashew milk though, homemade, because it is the creamiest.
MORE VEGAN PASTA RECIPES
- Easy Vegan 20 Minute Alfredo
- Vegan Lemon Florentine Pasta
- Pimento Cream Sauce and Fusilli
- Easy Vegan Meatballs and Spaghetti
- Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
NOTE: A couple of readers have stated that their sauce has turned out watery. Please read the recipe carefully. Make sure to measure accurately, which is why I give weight in grams. I make this weekly and it always, always turns out creamy. I have noted very clearly that I used my homemade cashew milk for the recipe. As you can see in the photos, that it is very creamy and not watery at all. This is because of the homemade cashew milk. If you do NOT use the homemade cashew milk, yours will NOT turn out creamy. Store-bought cashew milk is loaded with fillers, not actual cashews like homemade, therefore it will NOT THICKEN the same as mine. If you absolutely cannot do the homemade cashew milk, then use full-fat coconut milk.
Vegan Chili Pasta with Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow pasta (I used GF brown rice pasta. You can use spiral or other short pasta, but wouldn't recommend long noodles)
- 1 cup (240g) low-sodium veggie broth (I like the Pacific brand)
- 1 loosely filled cup (130g) finely chopped onion
- 2 small (365g) zucchini, sliced into half moons 1/4 inch thick
- 1 cup (240g) homemade cashew milk (SEE NOTE below. DO NOT sub with store-bought cashew, it will NOT thicken like my version and will RUIN the dish)
- 1 cup (240g) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian spice blend (with no salt or red pepper added)
- 2-3 teaspoons chili powder (I use my homemade blend)
- 4 large handfuls (100g) fresh spinach
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (notice in directions you are adding salt at different times)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- I use this scale.
NOTE
- I only recommend making this with my homemade cashew milk. DO NOT USE store-bought, see note above recipe card why it doesn't work. I make my own cashew milk by adding 1/2 cup raw cashews to 1 1/2 cups filtered water and blend in a Vitamix until completely smooth. That's it, NO need to drain. You will ONLY be using 1 cup for the recipe. Store extra in fridge and I use it for baking, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. Cashew milk is absolutely going to give the BEST creamy results, so do not sub.
NOTE 2
- Regarding the chili powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons will give it a very mild level of heat and chili flavor, whereas 3 teaspoons will give it a noticeable level of heat, I love the full 3 teaspoons but it may be too much for sensitive people and for kids. My daughter thought it was a tad too spicy, so if you are unsure, start with 1 1/2 teaspoons and you can always add more at the end after tasting.
Instructions
- Make sure your veggies are chopped/prepared at the beginning, as the sauce comes together pretty quickly.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for your pasta. Adding a lid will make it boil faster. Make sure to salt the water well so the pasta is well seasoned.
- Add the onion and broth to a large sauce pan over medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, cook 5 mins and then add the zucchini and just 1/4 teaspoon of salt at this time. Stir well and cover. Lower the heat to medium-low. It's important to cover the zucchini so it cooks through well.
- Cook about 8 minutes until the zucchini is tender (no longer crunchy), but not mushy. Check a couple of times to stir it and make sure there is enough broth to keep the zucchini cooking. Add a bit more only if needed. You basically want most of the liquid gone though before the next step.
- Once the zucchini is tender, remove the pan from the heat and add the 1 cup cashew milk (or coconut milk), tomato sauce, Italian spices, chili powder (start out with 2 teaspoons if sensitive-I used the full 3), nutritional yeast, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and liquid smoke (if using). Stir well.
- Return back to the heat over medium heat and add the spinach. The spinach will look like a ton but will decrease significantly. Cook and stir the spinach continuously until it cooks down and the sauce thickens just a bit. You don't want to overcook the sauce, you want it fairly creamy/saucy but it should be creamy thick, not watery.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt or chili powder if desired for more spicy. The salt amount can vary depending on the tomato sauce used and how well you salted your pasta. I used the full 1 tablespoon chili powder and loved the perfect kick of heat and chili flavor. Remove from heat.
- The pasta should be done. Drain and scoop in desired amount of pasta into the sauce, leaving plenty of sauce to enjoy. Devour! How much you end up with will depend on how much pasta you add, but this makes a good amount of sauce.
Notes
- CASHEW MILK: I only recommend making this with my homemade cashew milk. DO NOT USE store-bought, see note above recipe card why it doesn't work. I make my own cashew milk by adding 1/2 cup raw cashews to 1 1/2 cups filtered water and blend in a Vitamix until completely smooth. That's it, NO need to drain. You will ONLY be using 1 cup for the recipe. Store extra in fridge and I use it for baking, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. Cashew milk is absolutely going to give the BEST creamy results, so do not sub. If you are allergic to nuts, try subbing with FULL-FAT coconut milk (well shaken/blended first).
- CHILI POWDER: 1/2 tablespoon will give it a very mild level of heat and chili flavor, whereas 1 tablespoon will give it a noticeable level of heat, which both my hubby and I thought was perfect. But it may be too much for sensitive people and for kids. My daughter thought it was a tad too spicy, so if you are unsure, start with 1/2 tablespoon.
Nutrition
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OMG , Brandi! I cannot stop staring at how creamy that chili sauce looks! I want to take a bath in it 😉 Love the video you made for it too! I’ve really been wanting to get started on videos as well but am so put off by the extra work. Looks awesome! Sharing this recipe 😉
You are so sweet Vanessa, thank you so much for your kind words! Yes, it is definitely more work, but now that my daughter is in school, I have more free time to myself to get things I enjoy done, which I love!
Yummy! I made this for dinner tonight. I didn’t have zucchini, but I had about 2 cups of cooked kidney beans that needed using up, so I threw those in instead. I chopped up the spinach because of the kiddos. Nice easy and quick dinner!
Wonderful to hear Honey! So glad it was a hit! Definitely try it with zucchini too because it goes really well with the sauce!
I love the random throw togethers that turn out incredible! My favorite meals and some of my most popular recipes. I’m totally like you in the just throw things together. But I too had to start writing notes because I’ll make something and my hubby will be all drooling then ask for it again and I’ll kind of be deer in headlights trying to think of how I made it. LOL! This looks delicious!!!
Thank you so much Sophia! Yes, happened too many times so I try to write notes down most times but for this I was in such a hurry and never knew it would turn out so amazing! So glad it did!
I love creamy pasta dishes and am a massive chili fan so this sounds perfect! I would love it with some freshly baked bread to mop up the leftover sauce!
Thank you Mel, yes would be delicious with bread! I was thinking the same thing when I fixed it, but had no bread, lol!
Obviously I made this as soon as the post came out. I used power greens in place of spinach, soy milk and served it over brown basmati rice. I did use the full 1TB of chili powder and it has a very nice, slow heat which hubby loved. Great flavors for such low number of ingredients and so fast to make. I would definitely recommend doubling this recipe if you want any left overs. We love this and I can see using it with other veggies.
So happy you all loved it so much! Loved your pic on facebook, thank you for the feedback!
I just finished making this and I’m so giddy about it. I had to “taste test” this so many times because it was THAT good and having to “taste test” was my excuse, but I’m so full without even dishing it up because I ate so much straight out of the pan! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love the flavor and slight crunch of the zucchini. Will definitely keep this recipe on top to make again and again! Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!!
Haha, so awesome to hear that Samantha!! That is how it was for me too, kept eating it straight out of the pan! So happy to hear you loved it so much!
I just recently started eating vegan/vegetarian/plant based eating. I thought that this new way of eating would be hard and my options would be limited. Thank goodness I found the vegan eight. I’ve been on this new journey for three weeks now and I’ve lost a total of 12 pounds. Today I made the creamy chili spinach zucchini pasta and it was so good.
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback Roz! So awesome to hear of your success and that you loved this recipe too. Best wishes on your new journey!
This is a keeper. I’ll be making it again and again. Delicious.
Yay!! So happy to hear Annie, thank you for the feedback and star rating!
Oh my goodness. You sure know how to create drool-worthy food, girl!
So sweet of you Aimee, thank you so much!
I could totally see why your hubby said this was restaurant worthy! Wow!! Look at how creamy this dish is!! I’d probably just eat it straight out of the pan…forget a bowl 🙂 Watching this all come together was amazing! I can’t get over how nicely the sauce thickened up and without the use of nutritional yeast. I also love that you threw in both zucchini and spinach. I’m the same way when it comes to cooking – I do it on a whim and don’t measure anything…but half the time I forget what I added in and struggle with recreating it for the blog! Ha!! I’m adding this recipe to our list for when we get back from our trip! xo
Thank you so much my friend! I totally WAS eating it straight out of the pan, hahaha! It seriously is one of the yummiest and easiest dishes! Super fast too. Have fun on your trip girl!!
Dearest Darling Adorable Wonderfully Talented and GORGEOUS Brandi . . . I can’t WAIT to try this recipe! I’m more “mobile” now, with my knees (you may recall I’ve got knee “issues”, but doing MUCH better for now, so at least I can start COOKING more!!)…..and I’m gonna try THIS recipe right off the bat….maybe tomorrow! (I’ll DEFINITELY let ya know!)
Besides that, Brandi, I just watched a short video on my (free, but limited) subscription on-line to Cook’s Illustrated. If you know about them, they have TONS of helpful information about ALL sorts of cooking/baking issues, gadgets, etc. This particular video is regarding the SCIENCE of making, specifically, gluten-free PIZZA DOUGH which has the “chew” and “flavor” and “RISE” of regular wheat pizza crust (all important to a REEEALLY delicious pizza crust and MUCH more difficult to achieve with gluten-free!)…..anyway, although, personally, I don’t have to be gluten-free, I thought of YOU and your adorable READERS (and I don’t recall whether or not you already have a gluten-free pizza crust recipe) and so I copied the LINK to this video for you to watch if you’re interested. (See below.) The video is VERY informative, and only about 4 mins. long….pretty TECHNICAL, I had to listen about 5 times to get it all under my belt, but I think the techniques/ingredients shown in the video can help ALL SORTS of baking, whether gluten-free or not……..
I don’t know whether the link will actually work from your blog, you (and your other readers) MAY have to “cut & paste” it into your browser in order to watch it…..But I hope you will, and will let me know what you think!
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/videos/2760-science-gluten-free-pizza-dough?ref=Video_feature_7
Anyway, I hope this helps in some way(s)….maybe at least gives you maybe a few helpful hints and some understanding of the SCIENCE involved (I thought that was fascinating, and DID NOT KNOW most of the techniques/ingredients/science shown in the video regarding, specifically, pizza dough, gluten-free or not!!!)
…..and OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY Brandi….I can hardly WAIT to try your latest LUSCIOUS looking recipe…..maybe I’ll go get the stuff and try it for supper TODAY!!!! (I WILL LET YOU KNOW…..and you KNOW it will ALWAYS be an OVERLY “loquacious” comment….hahahaha!!!!
Lots of love and thanks, so much, as ALWAYS, for WONDERFUL YOU and your WONDERFUL recipes!!!!!!
From your WAAAAY overly excitable reader ……………..Daryl
PS: The rating I’m giving this recipe is, as usual, “in advance” ’cause (as USUAL) I am CERTAIN this recipe is gonna be a 5-star one, JUST LIKE ALL THE REST!!!!! (But I’ll DEFINITELY let you know and will be 100% honest, as I ALWAYS am, about EVERYTHING!!!)
It is so incredibly creamy! I bet the homemade cashew milk makes a huge difference, much creamier than the carton stuff. And I love the veggies thrown in so a big bowl of pasta counts as a whole meal 🙂 I find my creativity sometimes flows better if I’m not measuring and writing stuff down, but then often I kick myself later. Making other people’s recipes sometimes I’m even worse…”yeah that’s about 1/4 cup” (dumping it in totally eyeballed lol). Luckily I find most recipes are pretty forgiving as long as it’s not some sort of GF bread or fancy pastry. I love the excitement when a throw together recipes come out just amazing though like this!
Thank you Natalie! Totally agree…cooking is so much more fun without measuring too! Haha.
Do you soak the cashews or can you just use raw, unsalted ones?
Just use raw, unsalted ones, no soaking needed if you have a vitamix or high powered blender!
Oh Brandi I could eat the whole bowl my word! Love spinach, zucchinis and of course I’m a cashew kid so this is right up my alley. I know exactly your feeling when you just thrown out something together and it turns out so good that you have to share it! Yes, a lot of my recipes I posted this way, I put something together and then bing delicious new recipe, haha!
Your pictures look so colorful and inviting makes me so hungry, now I’m craving a big plate, yum!
Thank you so much Florian!
I keep a pad and pen on my kitchen counter for this very purpose. The trouble comes when I have random scrawls of “180g cauliflower” written down and I just can’t remember what it was for!
When you talk about tomato sauce is that just plain pureed tomatoes? I’m in the UK and I’m not sure you can buy anything labelled tomato sauce here.
Haha, oh I’ve been there before too, I forget sometimes where a note was or what specifically it was for!
Yes, just pureed tomatoes!
I love it when I look at one of your recipes and discover I already have everything I need to make it. This is definitely on the menu this week!
Wonderful Crystal, I can’t wait to hear what you think!
This sounds so good! I love when a thrown together meal turns out fantastically!
Thank you Becky!
I am so excited to try this recipe! I’m wondering if you think almond milk would work? If not, I’ll make my own cashew milk but for convenience sake just thought I’d ask.
Thank you!
Hi Danielle, yes, homemade cashew milk really is so much better than almond milk, so I would make that! Almond milk doesn’t have near the creaminess or thickening ability and wouldn’t be as yummy 🙂
Let me know what you think!
having been a vegan for the last 20 odd years and being older but healthy I always look for new things.
I do look for very quick meals such as for quick lunches etc. I am not your glutenfree person so I substitute, but I make my cashew milk like you, but I do something else: I make my own veggie broth by having a pot of water on my counter and when I peel and cut my veggies, the things such as peels or perhaps some leftover fresh cuts of veggies, rooty veggies etc. (you get the drift) go into the pot boild up and when done poured over a pot with a colander and voila new broth for the next meal. Thank you for this last beautiful recipe
Great idea on the veggie broth Kerstin, thank you so much for sharing! So glad you love this recipe!
I rarely make pasta, and then never a creamy one, but I’m going to try this over the weekend because it looks SO fabulous and indulgent! I’m never sure what a real serving size of pasta is these days (since what doctors recommend and my eyes beg for are two different things) but we’ll see 😉
I’m also a slap-dash kind of person in the kitchen, which is why I often leave readers to their own devices when it comes to how much cinnamon or salt to add to recipes, for example, but writing everything down is a good habit to form since I hate it when things turn out differently each time when I actually need it to be consistent :p
Yum!
Yes, I think it’s crucial for accuracy when running a blog. Way too often I read comments on sites or hear from readers about how many recipes they’ve tried from other sites that failed, due to lack of clarity. I work so hard to be exactly precise on results. While I’ve been cooking a long time, a lot of people haven’t and I don’t want to be lazy and not give exact details. It’s one thing that is so important to me. Salt and cinnamon, yes, those are easy to adjust, although especially for baking, precise has to be there or things can really get screwed up!
Whoopsy.. didn’t mean children powder…lol..my phone makes it’s own words up. Anyhow the sauce sounds amazing and I will give it a try in the next few week’s.
Lol, no worries, I knew what you meant!!
Measuring…hahahahaha! What is measuring? 😉 I never measure! Only when I bake and if I really need to know for a certain thing before I write the recipe up, but otherwise even for recipes I publish, I eyeball it. You learn as you cook for so long! But really, no one has time for cups and teaspoons 😛 I like to just “go with the gut” and it always works out 😉
Lol! I know, I don’t like to measure at all, but for the sake of this blog, I want people to have 100% success with my recipes and therefore I’m very particular in being precise in that case. It truly makes a difference in what I hear from readers too. Especially since a lot of people are new to cooking, it helps out. Whenever I do try other peoples recipes, I always want precise measurements to truly give an honest opinion of the recipe and I hate it when they have mediocre measurements and directions!
I will always follow a new recipe as written… just so I know how it should taste, but the next time I may get creative and take liberties as to my own tastes and ingredients on hand. If a recipe is really good I try to be consistent, and keep it for my dinner parties.
Totally agree! It’s necessary for being a blogger so that my readers get accurate results and many people aren’t comfortable guessing, but after you have made a recipe many times, you can taste as you go 🙂
I could not agree more. I think excessive measuring takes away from the fun and may turn off some people to learning how to cook.
That’s why I keep my recipes so simple and few ingredients, minimal measuring! But measuring is necessary for me to do for my recipes so people have the right result come out 🙂
This sounds delish. Is the children powder you use in the recipe cayenne pepper? Just wondering because I also buy a spice called chili pepper that I use in my vegan chili con carne that is different than cayenne pepper.
Hi Vanessa! It’s just chili powder, that is what they say on the bottle, not chili pepper. It is definitely not cayenne pepper, but rather a blend of spices including dried chile peppers, parika, garlic, onion, etc. and sometimes they include a bit of cayenne pepper in them but it itself, is not strictly cayenne. It would be too spicy then. It is more of a warming spice, not straight up hot, if that makes sense. I buy the Fiesta brand mostly because they come in large bottles and I go through so much of it.
Thank’s Brandi…I have chili powder in the house all the time but not the Fiesta brand. I am not sure if I have ever seen that brand here in Canada, but I always get a good organic one that I love to use at one of my favorite markets here. I look forward to trying it and some of your other recipes.
Looks so good!! Reminds me a bit of chili mac which I totally love! Droolworthy is right!
Thank you so much Jenn! Yes, a little bit, but definitely different flavor profile with the Italian spices and tomato sauce and veggies. It’s definitely become a new house favorite here, haha!
I also frequently “throw together” meals from ingredients I have on hand – especially towards the end of the week when it’s nearing time to resupply. Those casual “recipes” usually turn out to be really good! This pasta looks absolutely scrumptious – so creamy!
Thank you Annie! I know, right? If it weren’t for this blog, I would never measure! I have always just cooked on instinct and taste as I go!