This easy creamy vegan spicy fusilli is one of my favorite go-to pasta dish. It is saucy, garlicky, a little spicy, and the perfect comfort dish to make during the work week. It only takes 30 minutes to make and the not-so-secret ingredient in the recipe is coconut milk. This pasta dish is so dreamy and decadent and the BEST part is that it is vegan and gluten free. It is a healthier version of the popular spicy rigatoni pasta.

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients

Shallot
Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk or Cream
Organic Tomato Paste
Gluten Free Trader Joe’s Fusilli
Red Crushed Pepper
Fresh Basil Leaves
Parmesan (optional)

Can you taste the coconut ?

I have been cooking with coconut in savory meals for years. I use coconut as a replacement for dairy milk or cream in any recipe. When I use coconut as a dairy-free option, I get a lot of people asking me can you taste the coconut? The answer is NO, but this all depends on the brand of coconut milk/ cream you use. Not all coconut milk brands are created equal. There are two brands of coconut milk that I use for savory dishes, Trader Joe’s and Whole foods. These two brand coconut milks are mild in taste and when cooked, the spices and other ingredients help mask any leftover coconut taste. Also, I found that cooking the coconut a certain way helps to hide the coconut flavor too. At the end of whatever dish I am making with coconut, I like to grate raw garlic into the sauce and cook it for another minute and doing this extra step, really helps mask any leftover coconut flavor.

To make this dish gluten-free, I used the Trader Joe’s gluten free fusilli. This pasta is perfect for this sauce. Hope you give this pasta recipe a try — it is really GOOD!

Print Recipe

Creamy Vegan Spicy Fusilli

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Main Course

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup organic tomato paste
2 tsps red crushed pepper adjust the spice level to your liking
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
3-4 fresh basil leaves
1 shallot finely chopped
13 ounces organic unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream
16 ounces Gluten Free Fusilli Pasta
freshly grated parmesan, for garnish optional
1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid you won't use all of it, but it is good to reserve it just in case you need more.

Instructions

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
Heat a pan with olive oil, garlic, shallot and red crushed pepper, and stir on medium heat. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally — about 3 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until paste is red and starts to caramelize — this may take about 4-6 minutes.
Now add the coconut milk or cream, basil leaves and using a wooden spoon or whisk, stir to incorporate everything. Cook for 1-2 minutes – stirring constantly. Now add 1 large grated garlic clove into the sauce. Doing this will help mask any leftover coconut flavor. Season with salt and pepper and taste and add additional seasoning to your liking.
Remove from the heat and this is optional, but I like to blend the sauce in the blender until smooth and lump-free.
If you blended the sauce, add it back into the pot and on low heat, add the al dente pasta and mix everything really well. Cook the pasta in the sauce over low-medium heat for another 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the pasta is glossy. If the sauce needs additional liquid, add a little bit of reserved pasta water.
Taste and add additional seasoning to your liking. Top with freshly grated parmesan (optional), red crushed pepper and chopped fresh basil.