Creamy Green Pasta (Vegan + Gluten Free)

Creamy Green Pasta (Vegan + Gluten Free)

Today we are making a vegan and gluten-free Creamy Green Pasta! This creamy pasta sauce is A-class, rich in healthy fats and made with simple ingredients. It’s the perfect texture that you want to feel with a homemade pasta sauce!

Why October is the Best

1. I was sitting by a campfire, and a burning leaf somehow found its way out, and attempted to harass me. I managed to scoot my chair away as fast as I could. Actually, #1 is campfire. That smell of a burning corpse isn’t too pleasant, but it must appeal to some, because I found a “Campfire” scent at Bath and Body Works.

2. The crunch of leaves beneath your feet.

3. The view: it doesn’t even matter which way your house is positioned, fall colors come in all varieties and all places.

4. Sweater Weather. If The Neighborhood’s song didn’t make it clear enough, Sweater Weather is the weather. Mainly because of wearing oversize sweaters that aren’t yours, and don’t fit you anyways. For me, the sole reason is keeping out the chill during class. (The temperature in my school is somehow always the extreme opposite of the weather outside. Sweating buckets outside? Make it below zero. Snowfall? Let’s make it boiling point in here. Except during fall. The temperature just matches that of outside).

5. Transition State. October is when the whole year has passed, summer’s gone, the school year just started last month, Thanksgiving (for Americans) is in November, and Christmas + New Years in December. The only anticipated day of October is the Halloween, and then out with that and in with the Turkey posters at the Dollar Store. 

Onto the Recipe

Let’s get onto making this easy, 15-minute blender pasta sauce recipe!

Why You’ll Love This Vegan + Gluten-Free Creamy Green Pasta

Herbs & Veggies: This sauce is packed with just a handful of ingredients. Avocado, spinach and cilantro to give it a beautiful green color as well as lots of nutrients (and servings of fruit – avocado is a fruit)! You can mix in corn, cucumbers or other cut vegetables (like I did in the photo), or keep it to just the sauce and noodles.

Allergen-Free: No top allergens in this sauce! No meat, dairy (no heavy cream), nuts or even oil (many pasta recipes contain olive oil, so if you’re oil-free this is a bonus). The creaminess comes from healthy fats in the avocado, and the flavor comes from the additional herbs and spices. You can use a gluten-free noodle as the base (or make homemade raw zucchini or carrot noodles) so it’s suitable for many dietary restrictions.

Perfect for Summer: Do you grow tons of fresh vegetables and herbs in the summer, then are left wondering what to do with all of them? This sauce is a great way to use them up and make fresh pasta sauce for the whole family! It uses up spinach and cilantro, plus any other vegetables like red bell peppers or cucumbers that are growing in the backyard can be mixed in. It’s a versatile recipe, so you can adjust the proportions as per personal preference.

Substitutions: Noodles

Noodles: I used fettuccine noodles, but any type of regular pasta would work here. For a low-carb noodle, use zucchini or carrot noodles (bonus – you get vegetable servings too!) or shirataki noodles. For a gluten-free noodle, find chickpea flour pasta, buckwheat pasta, brown rice flour pasta or your favorite gluten-free pasta.

I used green pasta noodles, that were regular noodles but had spinach as one of the ingredients to give them a green hue. This was just because I had them on hand, but you can use any type of noodle here.

Substitutions: Vegetables

Spinach: Spinach doesn’t have a very strong flavor, and is easy to blend. I don’t recommend other greens like kale, rapini or arugula, because they won’t work well here. Omit the spinach if needed.

Once all the other ingredients are blended, adjust the proportions to achieve the desired sauce consistency.

Avocado: Avocado provides the creamy sauce base due to its high fat content. Don’t substitute with any other vegetable here. When choosing an avocado at the grocery store, make sure it is ripe. You should be able to press into it with your fingers, but it shouldn’t seem hollow in any section when pressing. This usually means that if you open it up, it has turned brown or black in the hollow area (overripe). It shouldn’t be too soft overall (or not ripe at all – it’s way too hard when you press it), but should feel evenly medium-soft on all sides.

Substitutions: Herbs & Spices

Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves, not pre-made garlic paste. The taste is much fresher! Pre-made paste usually contains preservatives as well, and doesn’t compare to fresh cloves.

Lemon Juice: Use lime juice instead. For best results, stick with fresh lemon juice versus bottled juice. Bottled juice has more of an acidic flavor.

Cilantro: Try using fresh parsley, or more spinach instead of cilantro. Don’t substitute dry cilantro or any dry herbs – this is only a quarter cup fresh herbs.

Vegan + Gluten-Free Creamy Green Pasta Notes

• I added cucumber and corn into my pasta, but this is optional. Feel free to add fresh herbs like fresh basil, or red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, olives or other add-ins.
• The avocado was weighed as the entire fruit with the peel and seed, coming out to around 130 grams per medium avocado as per the recipe card below.
• Blend in a splash of full-fat coconut milk to make this recipe even creamier!

More Vegan Recipes You’ll Love

Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce (without Cashews)

Thai Peanut Noodles

Butter & Garlic Spaghetti Noodles

Yaki Udon Noodles

Cold Pasta Salad with Avocado

Sweet Potato Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

Tofu Crust Pizza

If you make this Creamy Green Pasta, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!