This creamy gigli pasta with broccoli and vegan white sauce hits the spot. Cauliflower and cashews blend together to make a lighter dairy-free, oil-free alfredo pasta sauce. The curly gigli pasta and broccoli florets hold onto the sauce, in this delicious Italian-inspired plant-based dinner.

creamy pasta dish with broccoli in white bowl

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There's nothing quite like a creamy pasta dish to soothe the soul.

This dish is more rich than my everyday creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce, since it has cashews added to it. However, with no added oil and all plant-based ingredients, it is a delicious drool-worthy pasta recipe to keep on hand for weeknight dinners and serving company alike.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

prepped ingredients laid out: cauliflower florets, almond milk, raw cashews, garlic, sea salt and ground black pepper

package of gigli pasta campanelle pasta scattered on counter

Not pictured above: two 12-ounce packages of frozen broccoli from Aldi

Gigli pasta - also known as campanelle, this curly, twirled pasta works really well with the creamy vegan white sauce, since the sauce clings to the curly ribbons and gets trapped inside the layers of twisted pasta
Cauliflower - fresh cauliflower makes up the bulk of the sauce, which keeps this cream sauce lighter than a sauce made from only cashews. It's also full of veggies before even adding the broccoli. Save time by using pre-cut cauliflower florets.
Raw cashews - cashews add richness and body to the sauce

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients:

Gigli pasta - use campanelle pasta (another name for gigli) or another medium sized pasta, like casarecce, gemelli, penne, rotini, conchiglie or medium shells
Fresh cauliflower - use 32 ounces (2 pounds or about 8-9 cups) frozen cauliflower florets/pieces instead
Fresh garlic cloves - substitute with minced garlic (2 teaspoons) or garlic powder (1 teaspoon) but fresh is recommended
Unsweetened almond milk - substitute with another unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk like oat milk, soy milk or cashew milk etc.
Frozen broccoli - substitute with fresh broccoli or frozen california blend, frozen green peas, cooked asparagus, cooked mushrooms, kale or corn

Here are some variation ideas to switch up this recipe:

Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the finished dish to infuse a little heat. Or, use cajun salt, like Tony Chachere's, instead of sea salt while blending the sauce.
Cheesy - add 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast to the sauce before blending. Or, sprinkle on top of the finished meal.
Mushroom Asparagus - substitute broccoli for sautéed mushrooms and asparagus pieces, like we did in this Vegan Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Kale and Corn - substitute broccoli for kale and corn, like we did in this Creamy Conchiglie Pasta with Kale and Corn recipe

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for making gigli pasta with broccoli and vegan white sauce.

Step 1: Start making the vegan white sauce first: Add cauliflower to medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil.

Step 2: Add cashews and garlic and gently boil until the cauliflower is fork tender.

Step 3 when cauliflower is fork tender drain

Step 3: Drain cauliflower, cashews and garlic.

Step 4 add drained cauliflower cashews and remaining ingredients to blender

Step 4: Transfer to blender, along with salt, pepper and almond milk.

Step 5: Blend until completely smooth and thick.

Step 6: Meanwhile, for the pasta, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook gigli pasta according to package instructions. For the broccoli: While pasta is cooking, steam broccoli in microwave according to package instructions. See notes below for alternate way of cooking the broccoli, if you're using fresh.

Step 7 mix pasta, broccoli and sauce together

Step 7: Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add broccoli to pot with drained pasta. Turn on burner to low heat. Pour enough of the white sauce into the pasta to coat it. You may or may not have some leftover. Add ¼ cup reserved pasta water, if needed. Stir and then taste it. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Turn off heat.

Step 8: Serve hot and enjoy!

How to make this using fresh broccoli instead of frozen

If using fresh broccoli, then cut it into small pieces/florets. Peel tough outer layer of broccoli from stem and cut it into bite-sized pieces, smaller than the florets.

Add fresh broccoli to boiling pasta when you have 4 minutes left on the timer. This will cook the broccoli. Next, reserve some pasta water. Then, drain the pasta and broccoli together and transfer back to pan.

Expert tips

Make the pasta slightly more saucy than you like. It will thicken in the few minutes of serving it. By the time you enjoy it, it will be perfect. 👌🏼
If you have extra sauce, store it in the refrigerator to add to any leftovers to rehydrate them. If you don't have extra sauce, use a splash of almond milk instead.

🥡 Make ahead and storage tips

If you're making this ahead of time, I recommend storing the prepared sauce in glass jars separate from the cooked pasta and broccoli. Then, when you're ready to serve it, combine the pasta and sauce.

Any leftovers can be stored, but will thicken more in the fridge, so add extra sauce or a splash of almond milk when reheating leftovers.

These ingredients, stored separately or together will be good for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Freeze the sauce for up to 3 months in a glass mason jar with an airtight lid. Leave and inch or two of empty room at the top to allow it to expand in the freezer.

🗺 Cultural influences

Gigli pasta, also known as campanelle pasta, originated from Italy. Campanelle means "bellflowers", "little bells" or "handbells" in Italian.

Campanelle is a type of pasta that is shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge, like a flower. Traditionally, it is served with a thick sauce, whether dairy-based like cheese or béchamel or vegetable-based sauces using lentils, eggplant, beans, pumpkin or other chunky vegetable.

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