This vegan sun dried tomato pasta is my weeknight special. It's packed with flavor but requires very little effort to prepare. If you can boil water, you can make this plant-based meal!

This is an accidentally vegan pasta recipe that my dad used to make when I was a kid. He'd whip up this sun dried tomato pasta when he got home late from work and needed to get something onto the table.
Recipe notes
This dish is super simple. You can make it with any type of pasta you like, but I prefer spaghetti for whatever reason.
For the sauce, you're using a jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil. This recipe does not have an oil-free option. I'm sorry, oil-free friends! If you need an easy, oil-free pasta recipe, try my spinach artichoke pasta instead.
The protein in this dish comes from canned white beans. Any variety you like will do! They will cook in the pot with the pasta.
This recipe also uses my favorite veggie cheater trick. Instead of sautéing the spinach, you "cook" it in the colander. Put the spinach into the colander, and drain the cooked pasta and beans over it. Toss it together, and watch the spinach melt magically to cooked perfection.
Once you have your pasta and spinach tossed together in the colander, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the oil from the jar. Toss in some basil and garlic powder.
Boom! Dinner!
How to serve and store
I like to serve up vegan sun dried tomato pasta with a sprinkling of my magical fairy dust and some crushed red pepper. You can top this off with anything you'd use on spaghetti in tomato sauce.
Or serve it with no extras. It's delicious without them, too!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will keep for four to five days in the refrigerator.
📖 Recipe
Lazy vegan sun dried tomato pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry spaghetti
- 1 15-ounce can white beans - drained
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 8.5- ounce jar of seasoned sun dried tomatoes in oil - Do not drain!
- ¼ cup fresh basil - minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Magical Fairy Dust - or vegan Parmesan cheese, for topping, optional
- crushed red pepper flakes - for topping, optional
Instructions
- Add the pasta and beans to a pot of boiling water, cook according to the spaghetti's package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, put the spinach into your colander in the sink. When the pasta mixture is finished, drain the pot in the colander, then toss the spinach with the hot pasta until it wilts.
- Transfer the mixture from the colander to a large serving bowl. Add the sun dried tomatoes, including the oil from the jar, and the basil and garlic powder. Toss until everything is well combined.
- Serve this on its own or topped with Fairy Dust/vegan Parmesan and/or crushed red pepper flakes
Lars
Made this for my wife - we both loved it!
Would recommend - diced sun-dried tomatoes - or sliced. They were a little large and not well spread thru-out. Also we like things more spicy than the average person so I sprinkled some cayenne in place of red peppers.
Great, easy recipe! Thank you!
Becky Striepe
That is a great tip! And adding cayenne is a delicious idea. I'll have to try that next time I make it!