One-Pot Creamy Vegan Pasta

April. The yard is coming alive in the way it does each year, fast and then all at once — tulips after the crocuses, then the forsythia hedge that divides our yard from the neighbors' going bright yellow for about twelve days before it's done. I cook seasonally and April is the month where I start reaching for things I haven't touched since last spring. Peas. Asparagus. Young lettuces. The relief of green.

Second session of the Jefferson Elementary series this week. We did a hands-on class this time — actual cooking in the school's home ec kitchen that they've apparently had for twenty years and use twice a year. Twelve burners. Long countertops. The kind of cooking facility that usually makes me feel optimistic. We made two things: a quick vegetable stir-fry and a pot of rice. Basic and fast. Most participants said they'd never cooked rice on the stove before — they'd always used a rice cooker or a bag. When you demystify something, you can't always predict which mystification will break open the most.

The channel crossed 70,000 subscribers this week. I posted a video on spring pasta — peas and prosciutto, bright and fast, the kind of thing that takes fifteen minutes and tastes like the best version of the season. The comments were lovely. One person said, "You make me want to cook when I didn't want to cook." I screenshot that and it's my phone wallpaper now.

Mason asked if he could help me film this week and I said yes. He held the secondary camera — my old phone — at angles I wouldn't have thought of. He has a good eye. I'm starting to think his culinary ambitions might go in more than one direction.

The spring pasta video I posted this week came from the same instinct that drives every April recipe I make: keep it fast, keep it green, keep it tasting like right now. After filming with Mason by my side and watching the channel hit 70,000, I wanted the recipe I share here to carry that same energy—something you can pull together on a Tuesday night and still feel like you’re celebrating. This one-pot creamy vegan pasta is exactly that. It’s the kind of dish that makes people say yes to cooking when they weren’t sure they wanted to.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz linguine or fettuccine pasta
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh baby spinach
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Instructions

Combine the base. Add the pasta, vegetable broth, coconut milk, garlic, and onion to a large wide pot or deep skillet. Make sure the pasta is submerged as much as possible. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Cook and stir. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 9–11 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed into a creamy sauce. Adjust heat as needed to maintain a steady simmer.
Add the vegetables. Stir in the asparagus and peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking. They should be bright green and just tender when the pasta is done.
Finish the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in the spinach, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil. Toss until the spinach is wilted and the sauce is glossy and cohesive.
Season and serve. Taste and season generously with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Divide into bowls and top with fresh basil or parsley. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

One-Pot Creamy Vegan Pasta — The Fifteen-Minute Spring Dinner That Feels Like a Celebration