This is for people who like a little pasta with their vegetables. A bright, brothy, lemony vegan pasta primavera loaded with spring vegetables, creamy cannellini beans, and enough garlic to let the whole neighborhood know it’s Italian night.
Pasta primavera was a 1980s restaurant invention, and maybe you remember not so great versions with limp veggies or (gasp) frozen string beans. Not so prima. Not so vera.
This is the opposite of that.
The sauce is lemony and fresh, the vegetables stay gorgeous because they get seared first and added back at the end, and there’s a can of white beans in it so it’s actual dinner without anything complicated. Beans sure do make life easy.
This is also the cashew-free vegan pasta I send people to when they want a creamy white sauce that skips the nuts. I love a cashew cream as much as anyone, maybe more, but sometimes you want something lighter that comes together in the time it takes the pasta to cook. The beans add just enough creaminess, plus that crucial protein we all love so much.
The eight cloves of garlic are toasted in oil with nutritional yeast for a parmesan effect that happens with no parmesan. The white wine elevates things, so don’t be afraid to light some candles.
Lemon goes in two ways. Zest the whole thing and then juice it. If it’s not lemony enough for you, keep going.
The spring onion is the final veggie touch that makes it taste like a garden. No, not Olive Garden, a real one.
Thirty minutes, one pan plus the pasta pot. That’s amore. I use summer vegetables here, but it’s really an any-vegetable framework. Use what looks good.
Why Cook the Vegetables First
Photos by Hannah Kaminsky
The asparagus, pepper, and squash get sautéed hot and fast, then pulled out of the pan before anything else happens. The squash gets deliciously toasty, the pepper is nicely seared but crunchy and the asparagus keeps its snap.
If they stay in while the sauce simmers, they overcook and get limp and lackluster (see: The 1980s). Cooked separately and folded back at the end, they keep their color, their bite, and their char. The empty pan also gives you browned bits to build the garlic and sauce on, so none of that flavor is wasted.
Tips For Perfect Vegan Pasta Primavera
- Pasta water makes the sauce. Reserve a few cups and add it a splash at a time at the end until it’s as loose as you want. The starch keeps things clingy.
- Don’t crowd the vegetable pan. Char needs space. Use the biggest pan you’ve got, I like a huge cast iron. A wok works well, too.
- Skip the wine if you want. Use a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar plus extra broth. It’ll be yummy.
- Make it heartier. Double the beans, if you like. Make one of the cans kidney beans for some contrast. You can also add this Golden Savory Baked Tofu for more parmesan energy. Or toss on a Chickpea Cutlet.
- Greens are flexible. Kale here, but chard works, and tender greens like spinach go in at the very end so they don’t overcook.
- Serve it right away. Brothy pasta keeps drinking the sauce as it sits, so you want it hot off the stove. You should see steam coming off it as you bring it to the table.
Other Super Easy Vegan Pasta Recipes:
Vegan Lemon Pasta Primavera FAQ
What makes this different from other vegan pasta primavera recipes? Two things. First, the white beans, which give the sauce body and turn a side-dish pasta into actual dinner. Second, the lemon, which goes in two ways (zest plus juice) so the whole bowl tastes like spring.
Can I make this gluten-free? For sure. Use a gluten-free short pasta. Everything else in the pan is already gluten-free, huzzah.
What other vegetables work? Almost anything. Zucchini, green beans, broccoli, peas, cherry tomatoes. Sauté the firm ones, add quick ones like peas near the end. For the cherry tomatoes, keep them whole and blister them until they pop. Keep the cook-then-remove method no matter what you use.
Can I use a different pasta? Of course, silly. Use what you’ve got honestly. I’ve made this with everything from penne to angel hair.
Can I make it ahead? Unfortunately, no. This one is a serve-immediately pasta. The vegetables and the brothy sauce both go downhill sitting around. You can prep all the chopping ahead, then it’s a 20-minute finish.
How did I end up here? You searched vegan pasta primavera, or vegan lemon pasta, and found the vegan one that isn’t beige, and now dinner is decided. Search over.
Lemon Pasta Primavera with White Beans
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound gemelli pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1/2 bunch asparagus tough ends removed, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 medium yellow squash halved and sliced into half moons
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 lemon zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 cups kale packed, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more as needed
- Fresh black pepper
For garnish:
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 3 spring onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve a few cups of pasta water before draining.
- Preheat a large pan, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sauté the asparagus, bell pepper, and squash with a pinch of salt until just tender and lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic and cook until fragrant and just golden, about a minute. Add the nutritional yeast and stir to coat the garlic, toasting for about 20 seconds. Add the white wine to deglaze, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan, and let it reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add the broth, then zest the lemon directly into the pan and squeeze in the juice. Add the Italian seasoning and beans. Stir well and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. Add the kale and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Add the pasta and the sautéed vegetables back to the pan and toss everything together, adding pasta water a splash at a time to loosen the sauce. You can go up to a cup, then reassess. Top with spring onions and red pepper flakes and serve immediately.
