Hate doing dishes, short on time and love pasta? Make this vegan one pot pasta puttanesca recipe. Linguini, olives, capers, cherry tomatoes, garlic and parsley cook up to a flavorful and rich plant-based meal that’ll be done in less than 15 minutes.
Did I mention this entire recipe is cooked on high heat? My kind of recipe, let me tell you.
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🥘 Ingredients
For this recipe you'll need:
- a pound of linguini (one box)
- cherry tomatoes
- black olives
- capers (I used capote capers, but any will work)
- parsley
- garlic
- lemon
🔪 Instructions
I'm really fast with a kitchen knife, but even I need to have everything chopped and ready before turning on the stove in this recipe. It goes so insanely fast that if you chop as you go, you'll be likely to:
- A) cut yourself because you're rushing,
- B) make a mess trying to throw everything in quickly (been there, done that) or
- C) the pasta will be done and stuck together because instead of stirring, you were chopping garlic.
So, just this once, prep everything ahead of time and then turn on the burner. Pretty please?
Okay, now that we've got that awkward conversation out of the way...
Add your water to your skillet and then turn the heat on high. Yes, high heat. Crank it up!
Add in all the other ingredients, except your lemon wedges and extra parsley for sprinkling on top. The water should start boiling within a minute or two. Stir and toss with tongs frequently while it cooks.
Keep cooking it over high heat, stirring and tossing the pasta until the pasta is done and the sauce has reduced. Most of the liquid should be gone. You should be left with a silky, flavorful sauce for your pasta, without having to drain it at all.
💭 Top Tips
- Choose a large, wide, shallow pan that will hold all of the ingredients (plus the water). A tall stockpot is not the best choice here, because we want the water to evaporate quickly.
- I used a large non-stick skillet by t-fal, like this one on Amazon, to make clean-up even easier.
- Taste the pasta every minute or so in the last few minutes of cooking.
- If the pasta is cooking fast, but there's a lot of liquid left, increase the heat.
- If the pasta is nowhere near done, but the liquid is almost gone, decrease the heat a bit or add ¼ cup of water and stir.
- Use normal white or wheat pasta. Gluten-free pasta does not work the same in this recipe. It will get mushy (thanks, Petrice for testing it!), so I don't recommend it.
🍲 One pot pasta ideas
One pot pasta recipes are amazing. You can use the basic ratios and switch up your veggies, greens, beans, herbs and spices to create different meals.
Basic ratio for one pot pasta
To make other vegan one pot pasta dishes, use these basic ratios:
- 1 pound pasta that cooks al dente in 8-9 minutes (linguini, spaghetti, bucatini, etc.)
- 5 cups water
- cook over high heat about 10 minutes
One pot pasta variations
- Classic Pomodoro: Tomato + basil + garlic + onion
- Springtime Lemon: Snowpeas + green onions + garlic + fresh basil + lots of lemon
- Nourishing Bolognese: Cooked brown lentils + onion + garlic + carrot + tomatoes + basil
- Spicy Chickpea: Cooked chickpeas + spinach + sliced onions + garlic + green onion + red chili flakes
- Winter Warmth: Cooked white beans + kale + carrot + red chili flakes
🤔 What are capote capers?
Capote capers are larger (about the size of a chickpea), more mild and usually less expensive than non-pareil capers. Non-pareil capers are more delicate than the larger capote variety. Both can be used for this dish.
If using capote capers, give them a rough chop to allow their flavor to permeate the sauce.
🍝 What is in puttanesca sauce?
Puttanesca sauce is a pasta sauce that was created in Naples, Italy in the mid-20th century. It typically features anchovies, olives, capers and sometimes tomatoes, garlic or chili peppers.
For this plant-based, vegan pasta puttanesca recipe, we're omitting the anchovies and focusing on the salty, tangy capers and olives to bring on the flavor.
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Vegan One Pot Pasta Puttanesca
Equipment
- Large, wide skillet should be somewhat shallow, not like a deep stock pot
Ingredients
- 16 ounces linguini
- 5 cups water
- ¼ cup capers drained (if using large capote capers, roughly chop them)
- ½ cup black olives pitted, drained, sliced in half
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon wedges and fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients and have them ready before you turn the stove on, because this recipe goes very fast.
- In a wide, shallow deep skillet, add the water and turn the burner on high heat. Add in all of the rest of your ingredients, except the lemon wedges, and bring to a boil. Stir with tongs to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
- Continue to cook on high heat for 8-9 minutes, stirring and tossing with the tongs frequently.
- Taste the pasta to see if it is done. Once the pasta is cooked through and most of the liquid is gone, turn off the heat. Serve immediately with a splash of fresh lemon juice and extra fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from thekitchn.
Scott says
Petrice says
Ok so I tried this with gluten free brown rice pasta. BIG MISTAKE! The flavor is great, but it is a pile of MUSH! So glad I didn't have company over. Next time (and there will be a next time) I will cook the pasta Alone 🤪😁
Just wanted to give a heads up.
Abi Cowell says
Petrice, thank you so much for letting me know! I'll update my recipe with that feedback. So sorry it turned out mushy for you with the gluten-free pasta.
Brenda says
Abi, I'm not sure about boiling the tomatoes, capers and olives all together. Can I add those fresh ingredients AFTER the linguini is cooked?
Abi Cowell says
Hi Brenda, you certainly can add them at the end! They'll have a stronger flavor that way. They were thrown in all together in this recipe for ease and simplicity, since this is a one pot pasta recipe.