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A simple vegetarian and vegan dinner at its finest, this creamy almond milk pasta sauce is flavored simply with almond milk, garlic, shallots and herbs.

Creamy Almond Milk Pasta with Herbs | A Couple Cooks

My favorite thing in the world is not food. (I know, you’re surprised.) It’s not cooking or writing, music or dancing, though those are close. No, what has always been my favorite thing in the world is people. Because to me, people are fascinating. Learning their stories and connecting over what it means to be human is one of the more precious things in life. It’s what drove me out of a music career, solitary and isolating, into journalism school. I wanted to write about people and what they were doing to shape the world. Meeting a new person is always a bright spot for me. I’m almost euphoric after meeting a stranger and connecting over their story.

Creamy Almond Milk Pasta with Herbs | A Couple Cooks

And that’s where food comes in for me because food, essentially, is people. Food is a connection point for strangers and friends. It’s grown by people, transported by people, prepared by people and enjoyed with people. We just visited Portland, a city chock full of some of the best food out there — but to us the food was nothing without the people it was shared with. (Huge hugs to Dana & Jon and Robyn!) Chips and salsa and margaritas are empty without friends to laugh over them with; kale nourish bowls are nothing without hearing friends’ stories.

Many of the recipes on A Couple Cooks were created with people or for people. This almond milk pasta sauce with herbs recipe is dedicated to the people who have inspired us throughout the years to keep writing this blog: our friends and family, fellow bloggers, and you, dear readers.

Creamy Almond Milk Pasta with Herbs | A Couple Cooks

Making almond milk pasta sauce

This creamy almond milk pasta is mean to be shared with loved ones. Our thought in keeping it vegan and dairy-free was that it could appeal to a wide variety of diets (for gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta and flour). The recipe creation was fairly typical for Alex and me: I played around with a vegan sweet potato mac and cheese to the point of tears, and Alex swooped in and saved me with this creamy almond milk pasta.

For this almond milk pasta sauce, Alex used flour and almond milk to make a roux, and shallot, garlic and herbs to make the flavor pop. I was surprised it worked, and delighted as always to be one-upped. Hope you all enjoy it, and as always: thank you so much for reading. You are some of our favorite people, really.

Looking for more easy pasta recipes?

Outside of this almond milk pasta sauce recipe, here are a few more of our favorite easy pasta recipes:

This almond milk pasta sauce recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta and flour.

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Creamy Almond Milk Pasta with Herbs

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4.5 from 2 reviews

A simple vegetarian and vegan dinner at its finest, this creamy almond milk pasta sauce is flavored simply with almond milk, garlic, shallots and herbs.

  • Author: a Couple Cooks
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound orecchiette pasta (or substitute penne)
  • ¼ cup minced herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil), plus 8 basil leaves for garnish
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium shallot
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or substitute gluten-free)
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, boil 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, then drain.
  2. Mince the herbs, garlic, and shallot. Thinly slice (chiffonade) the 8 basil leaves and set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot and saute for 1 minute. Add flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. When the flour is dry and bubbly, add the almond milk, herbs, and kosher salt. Stir until creamy, about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
  4. Add the pasta and stir to combine. Garnish with basil and serve immediately, adding additional kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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17 Comments

  1. Sherri Anderson says:

    Delicious!!!! But I don’t think it makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta. I had a lot of penne left over- just used a different sauce.






  2. Anna says:

    Hey, is it okay to use dried herbs/spices instead of fresh (dried basil, etc)? Should I stick with the same amount?

    Thanks so much!

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      It won’t be quite as flavorful but still good! Do about half to a third of the amount.

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