This vegan garlic lemon spring pasta isn’t like anything I’ve ever made before. And to be honest, I had no idea how it would turn out when I started cooking. I had radishes… and pasta. Seems like a good place to start, right?
SO right. Better than I even expected. We pan roasted the radishes until they were fork tender (you could also over roast them, see below) and then used the same skillet to whip up a light sauce with fragrant garlic, zingy lemon, and a hint of coconut milk for some substance. Slices of zucchini and spicy arugula jump into the mix, and then comes the pasta.
Every bite tastes like spring. Bright and zesty with just enough spice from the radishes and arugula. There’s a perfect veggie to noodle ratio that keeps it healthy and satisfying.
Maybe it’s warm where you are and you can take this pasta outside to enjoy a nice sunset dinner. (In a perfect world.)
Or maybe you’re in Indiana where it’s still chilly but you take it outside anyway. Wrap yourself up in a blanket with a glass of white wine and sit down to devour a big bowl… I can see it now.
Pro tip: We used DeLallo’s capellini for this vegan garlic lemon spring pasta recipe and we pretty much always use their pasta. I don’t know what they do differently, but their noodles have such a rich, almost buttery flavor to them. I always end up eating some plain before I incorporate with any sauce. Shhh...
PrintVegan Garlic Lemon Spring Pasta
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Studded with radishes and zucchini, this spring pasta is zesty, fresh, and creamy.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 6 to 8 radishes, chopped
- sea salt
- black pepper
- ½ of one yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 zucchini, sliced into rounds
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup arugula
- ¼ cup basil
- 8 oz. canned coconut milk
Instructions
Prep
- Wash radishes and remove the greens. Slice into halves or quarters. (Quarters will cook more quickly.)
- Remove ends from zucchini and slice into ½" rounds.
- Finely chop onion and mince garlic.
Pasta
- Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8-10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Cooking
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium low. Add radishes, cut side down. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Cook 15-20 minutes until they soften. They should be fork tender.
- In the skillet with the radishes, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and onion. Saute 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic and zucchini and continue cooking. Add cayenne and chili flakes. Stir every 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender.
- Pour in remaining ¼ cup of lemon juice, coconut milk, basil, and arugula and stir. Cook on medium low for 5 minutes.
- Add in pasta and stir to combine. Serve immediately. If desired, top with fresh black pepper and grated parmesan.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main
Nutrition
- Calories: 153
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 17.2 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.1 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 g
The word “weird” attracted me. I loved it, didn’t have basil on hand and believe I added a tad too much coconut milk (not that its a bad thing) and I added some lemon zest. Excellent recipe
★★★★★
Hahahahaha I'm glad it spoke to you! And even more glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!