Creamy Vegan Broccoli & Shells
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This Creamy Vegan Broccoli & Shells dish is made in one-pot and topped with crispy shallots for the perfect crunch. An easy vegan dinner!
Creamy pasta. One pot. Crispy shallots. Veggies. Need I say more? This pasta recipe is great for when you are short on time, but want something decadent and delicious – and with veggies, of course. The perfect weeknight dinner!
Starting at the End
One of the tastier parts of this recipe is the topping – crispy shallots. But to make things easier (and reuse the oil), the shallots are the first thing to cook. I opted to cook my shallots in a small skillet, but you could also make them in the stock pot the pasta will be made in.
Just heat some oil, cook the sliced shallots until browned, remove from the skillet and set aside. Reserve the oil so that it can be used in the pasta.
How to Make One Pot Pasta
Reheat that shallot oil and add onion & garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then add in the dry seasonings and fresh thyme. Let this cook for a couple more minutes, then pour in the dry pasta, broccoli florets, broth and non-dairy milk. Bring this to a boil and stir, stir, stir.
Once the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is al dente, add in the non-dairy cream, vegan parm and vegan cream cheese. This is the part where I need you to trust the process. It might seem like the pasta isn’t going to fully cook, but trust me, it will get there. Continue to stir and simmer for another 5 minutes – or until the pasta is fully tender.
Serve it Up
Now it is time to eat! Serve the pasta & broccoli hot and top with the crispy shallots. This pasta is creamy, delicious and a one-pot recipe you don’t want to miss.
For the leftovers you can reheat with a little bit of non-dairy milk to loosen things up again.
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Did you Make this Recipe?
If you made these Creamy Vegan Broccoli & Shells I would LOVE to hear what you thought. Be sure to drop a comment and a rating below! You can also tag me on social media if you snapped a photo. I LOVE seeing your recreations!
Creamy Vegan Broccoli & Shells
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 shallots sliced in rounds
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 3/4 pound pasta shells dry
- 2 cups broth I used vegan chicken broth
- 1 cup non-dairy milk unsweetened
- 1 cup non-dairy cream I used Ripple
- 1/2 cup vegan parmesan
- 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the shallots. Cook for a few minutes, turning frequently, until crispy. Remove from the skillet and reserve the remaining oil.
- Add the reserved oil to a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion & garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the dry seasonings & thyme and cook for 2 more minutes. Pour in the pasta, broccoli, broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the pasta has absorbed all of the liquid – be sure to stir frequently, so that all of the pasta gets cooked. This should take 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the cream, parmesan and cream cheese. Continue to cook until the pasta is completely tender (approx. 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve hot with the crispy shallots on top.
Video
I can’t say that I loved the base flavors of this dish, which were incredibly bland for me personally. However, I was determined to make this a smash so I added fresh grated ginger, red thai paste, lemon juice, butter, coconut cream, cheddar cheese, and a dash of goat milk to wrap the flavors nicely and then it became addicting to eat!
Thought I would need to double the recipe to feed five adults and one hungry toddler, but a single recipe worked out fine.
Made parm (1/3 c. Raw cashews, 1.5 T. Nutritional Yeast, ~1/2 t. Salt, 1/8 t. Garlic powder – pulse in blender to fine meal)
and cashew cream (1 cup soaked raw cashews, 1/2 cup water, 2 T. Olive oil, 2 T. Lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 t. Salt – blend until smooth and creamy).
Did add 2 additional cups of broth as pasta seemed too undercooked and needed a bit more.
Delicious. Would make again. Toddler ate and ate and ate.
What an easy and delicious recipe!!!
I also used cashew cream and added vegan basil pesto and nutritional yeast, since I didn’t have vegan parmesan.
Omg this was delicious!! So comforting. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I’m not a big broccoli pasta fan, but this surprised me! I really liked it and would probably make it again!
This looks amazing! I am going to try it! Can you use pasta made from chic peas? Or is a wheat pasta the better choice since it’s a one pot meal?
I haven’t tried it with chickpea pasta. I think traditional pasta will work the best since chickpea pasta really needs to be rinsed after cooking to get that film off of it. You could cook the chickpea pasta separately, reduce the amount of liquid in the sauce and then add them together. Let us know if you try it!
This was sooo yummy! Super easy to make! I added a twist! sautéed the onions in a miso and used vegan cheddar shreds with Parmesan (a little nutritional yeast). Definitely making this again! 🤌🏾
Thanks so much Sharda!
This was so good and very easy to make. Doubled the recipe to feed a family of 4 (two teenage boys). I added some frozen peas and some nutritional yeast at the end. This will be on rotation for sure!
Thanks Casondra! So glad it was a hit with the whole family!
So very good! Definitely one that I will be making again (and again and again). Thanks!
So, so, very good! Definitely one that I will be making again (and again and again). Thanks!
Thanks so much Jackie!
This was really good!!!! I couldn’t stop “taste testing” lol mine kept out just like the picture! It also very easy to prep and loved that it was in one pot. Literally so perfect for meal prepping
haha – nothing wrong with a good taste test along the way!
Soo good! Deglazed the onion garlic and spices in white wine. Amazing recipe!
This was very tasty!!
I enjoyed this! Changes/what I used:
Whole wheat penne
Cashew cream (blended cashews and water)
Silk unsweetened soy milk
Dried thyme
Not chicken bouillon
Violife cream cheese
I added a bit more of each seasoning at the end. This was a good pantry meal – I made this with what I had on hand. Would make again!
This was very tasty!!
Hello! What kind of non-dairy milk do you suggest?
I usually use unsweetened almond milk!
Absolutely delicious, I made it exactly as written, looked exactly like the pic! I stirred that thing the whole darn time so I feel like I really earned my dinner! 🤣
Bahahaha – you got a workout in before eating!