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Home » Entrees » Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta

April 4, 2016

Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta

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Creamy + Chunky Pasta Sauce this Recipe

“But will it taste like coconut?”

Nope! Is what I told Jeff when I was making this sauce. Adding rich+fatty coconut milk to most anything with a bit of acidity will neutralize its coconutty taste, giving it a beautiful, dairy-free richness. I use it in cheeses along with coconut vinegar for sandwiches, to stuff into homemade ravioli and slather it over elbow pasta. If you still taste a hint of coconut in it, add a little more acidity. Easy peasy.

Creamy + Chunky Pasta Sauce

If you have a favorite pasta sauce, just add a bit of coconut milk 1/4 cup at a time, until the perfect creamy taste is achieved. Add the coconut milk at the very end, and just allow to warm through — coconut milk tends to get a bit bitter if left heated too long.

Creamy + Chunky Pasta Sauce

Although not entirely essential, roasting garlic for this dish will not only give the sauce a bolder and more flavorful sauce — it will also fill your house with an amazing aroma that smells better than anything else (besides fresh baked bread). Two bulbs are better than one, and any garlic you don’t use here can be smeared over bread or crackers later.

Roasted Garlic Bulb

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Homemade Pasta Sauce

Table of Contents

  • CREAMY + CHUNKY PASTA SAUCE
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes

CREAMY + CHUNKY PASTA SAUCE


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: olivesfordinner.com
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings
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Ingredients

FOR THE GARLIC

  • 2 heads of garlic
  • 3 TB olive oil, divided

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 1 cup shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • 24 ounces jar marinara sauce (I like Rao’s Brand)
  • 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut chiffonade
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Instructions

TO ROAST THE GARLIC

  1. To roast the garlic, preheat your oven to 400.
  2. Remove the loose, papery skin around each head, but keep it intact. Trim off the very top of the head to expose the garlic. Drizzle each head with 1 TB of the olive oil.
  3. Wrap in foil, then place into a glass pyrex and roast for 30-40 minutes. It’s done when the exposed top is golden to deeply golden. Allow to cool completely, then separate the bulbs from the skin. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE

  1. Heat the remaining 1 TB of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add in the shallots and saute until softened and slightly golden.
  2. Add in the tomatoes and saute until slightly softened, then stir in the marinara sauce. Once warmed, lightly mash half or all of the garlic and add to the sauce.*
  3. Allow to warm all of the way through, then add in the coconut milk. Once warmed through, remove from the heat and stir in the basil and nutritional yeast.
  4. Serve with any pasta dish.
  5. * You can save any leftover garlic by storing it in the refrigerator and using within a week.

Notes

Ravioli, Calzones and Lasagna, oh my! More dishes to top off with this sauce.

Vegan Sausage-Stuffed Homemade Ravioli

Toasted Ravioli Stuffed with Cultured Cashew Cheese

Homemade Vegan Sausage and Cheese Calzones

Field Roast and Daiya Lasagna

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @olivesfordinner on Instagram ... we'd love to see it!

You may also like:

Panisse with Garlic-Ginger Sauce
Vegan Fish and Chips
Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad
Vegan Pot Pie

Filed Under: Entrees, Pasta and Bread Tagged With: coconut milk

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness says

    April 7, 2016 at 9:34 am

    Mmm! Fresh pasta sauce is one of my favorite things in the world. I love dipping bread right into the pot of sauce after it’s done cooking!

    Reply
  2. Stephanie says

    July 9, 2016 at 9:42 pm

    I do t see where it says to add the nutritional yeast 🙁

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      July 11, 2016 at 6:21 am

      Stephanie, the recipe has been updated … enjoy! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Meredith Williams says

    February 9, 2017 at 5:32 am

    I made this for some friends with pumpkin ravioli and it was really nice 🙂
    It turned out quite different to your photos but sill delicious
    Thankyou!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      February 9, 2017 at 6:35 am

      Meredith, so happy you liked and thanks for sharing!

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Erin Wysocarski. Glad you’re here.

I create vegan recipes for those who love to cook and eat. My husband Jeff photographs them. We live in Boston with our rescue dog, Harper. More about Erin →

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