Vegan Lemon White Bean Pasta

This creamy vegan lemon pasta is a quick and easy high protein dinner that the whole family will love. It’s made with wholesome ingredients, gluten free and only takes 20 minutes to make!

I’ve always had a thing for smooth and creamy pasta sauce. To this day I still put store bought pasta sauces in the blender to make them creamy. Is that weird?? Probably, but honestly it makes it SO much better!

This vegan lemon pasta is one of my favorite pasta sauces. It’s definitely up there on my list with my roasted red pepper pasta, mushroom broccoli rigatoni, and tomato basil cream sauce.

I honestly don’t think I could ever pick a favorite, but this one is up there!

I like to serve this pasta as the main dish since it’s a great source of both protein, fat, carbs and veggies, but it would also be great with a side salad or even my lemon pepper salmon. If you aren’t vegan or vegetarian, you can try my lemon chicken pasta!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Vegan & gluten free
• Easy to make
• Creamy and full of flavor
• High in plant-based protein

Key Ingredients

There are several ways to make a creamy vegan pasta sauce. I often use cashews like in my vegan alfredo sauce but since many people have issues with nuts, I wanted a sauce without them! For this recipe, we’ll be using a few key ingredients to yield a very creamy consistency.

White beans: Beans are a great way to make something creamy without adding dairy. Plus, they add a lot of protein, fiber, and other nutrients to the sauce without you even realizing.

Olive oil: A little bit of olive oil makes *most* recipes better. In this white bean pasta, the olive oil helps make the sauce rich and creamy without a touch of dairy.

It also adds a great flavor a lots of healthy fats. You can also use vegan butter for a richer flavor if you prefer.

Almond milk: You can use any non-dairy milk in this recipe to help the sauce blend and help it get an extra creamy consistency. Just be sure it is both unsweetened and unflavored.

Onion & garlic: This is what will add a lot of the flavor to this pasta recipe. Don’t skimp here, use a large onion for best results!

How to make vegan lemon white bean pasta

First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Always heavily salt your pasta water, it adds so much flavor!

While the pasta is cooking, add the chopped onion and minced garlic to a pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Saute for 5-10 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Add to a food processor or high speed blender with the drained and rinsed beans and all remaining ingredients.

Process until completely smooth. This may take a good 1-2 minutes to make sure the beans are completely processed.

To the same pan you cooked the onion in, add the chopped asparagus with a touch of olive oil if needed and saute for 5-10 minutes.

Add the asparagus to the cooked pasta and pour the sauce on top. Mix together and top with red pepper flakes and extra salt or pepper if desired. Serve warm and enjoy!

What kind of beans are best?

You can use any small white bean in this recipe such as cannellini, navy beans (which are not in fact navy in color), great northern beans etc. All are healthy, high fiber and high protein beans and add a lot of nutrition to this vegan lemon pasta.

I would not recommend using chickpeas or butter beans. I personally used navy beans and it worked really well. Cannellini beans are a type of white bean and work well here!

How to store

Once prepared, this vegan lemon pasta will store in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, add to a pan or pot with a splash of olive oil and heat until warm and creamy.

I have not tried freezing this pasta, but I do think it would turn out ok! The pasta itself may fall apart a bit when it defrosts, but the flavors will still be delicious.

Alternatively, you can freeze the sauce alone, then let thaw and combine with freshly cooked pasta.

You’ll also love…

• Vegan Vodka Sauce
• Nut Free Pesto Pasta
• Vegan Pasta Salad
• Red Walnut Pesto Pasta
• Vegan Mushroom Risotto
• Vegan Pesto Pasta

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