The perfect weeknight dinner, this Creamy Vegan Sausage & Pasta Skillet is ready in less than 30 minutes and requires just a few ingredients!
Remember when you were a kid and Hamburger Helper was a dinner you regularly looked forward to? No...just me? Well, this is my much more delicious (and healthy) take on that classic weeknight dinner.
Lately I have been all about the skillet meal - Skillet Lasagna, Potato Hash & Chipotle Lentil Taco Meat (to name a few). There is just something amazing about whipping something up in one skillet and calling it a day. You can literally put the skillet in the center of your dinner table and let everyone have at it.
How to make Creamy Vegan Sausage & Pasta Skillet
This recipe in particular is a super crowd pleaser. Creamy pasta mixed together with vegan sausage...what's not to like?
I used my fave vegan sausage - Beyond Sausage - but you could also use vegan ground beef or another sausage brand. I wouldn't use soyrizo since it doesn't fit the Italian flavor palate we are going for today. But just about anything else would work.
And another way we will get that "beef" flavor into this recipe is to use my favorite beef-less bouillon - Better Than Bouillon. You've heard me talk about this stuff a MILLION times. It is my go-to for so many meals - gravy, soup, pastas. I can't recommend it enough. You can get it at Whole Foods or online here.
Other than that you just need a couple more ingredients to bring this dish together. Serve this with a big green salad (you know, balance) and call it a night. Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish!
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
Creamy Vegan Sausage & Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 8 oz medium-sized pasta dry
- 2 tablespoon olive oil separated
- 8 oz vegan sausage*
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups vegan beef broth**
- 1 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
- basil or parsley for topping, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to the pan and use the end of a spatula to break apart the sausage. Lower heat to medium and cook until sausage is browned. Transfer sausage to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet followed by the onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and a pinch of pepper to the skillet and sauté for an additional minute.
- Add the flour to the skillet and whisk into the onion mixture. Allow it to cook off for one minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly add the beef-less broth and tomatoes to the skillet. Bring mixture to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes - or until it is slightly thickened. Whisk in cream cheese until smooth.
- Add drained pasta and sausage to the skillet and stir to combine. Taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Top with fresh herbs and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Tracy L
Made this for a special Easter Dinner and it was a hit. And very easy to make. It will be a regular in our house now. Thank you!!
Rene
Yay! So glad it was a hit Tracy!
TM
Ok. I think this is my first recipe review ever but I had to post something about this dish. Hands down the best thing that's ever come out of my kitchen, literal restaurant quality. I used beyond sausage, PC brand beefless broth, regular cream cheese (we're vegetarian) and a bit more flour to thicken up the sauce. Besides that this is perfection as written and nothing needs to be tweaked, thank you so much for sharing this! Not exactly diet friendly but sometimes you gotta live a little. Thank you!
Becca
I’ve made this once before and the flavors are AMAZING. One of my favorite recipes. I’m making it again tonight and was wondering if you drain off some of the liquid in the canned tomatoes or add the entire thing? Mine came out a little soupy last time, but I attributed it to using only 7oz of cream cheese instead of 8oz (I use the original Violife). Any tips on keeping it creamy and not soupy?
Leslie
This is one of my favorite meals! I use the Trader Joe's vegan Chorizo and it's so so yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
Kristen
Love this recipe! First time making it tonight. It will definitely be going in my recipe box to be made again!
Rene
Yay! So glad you liked it!
August
This was good, but not great...and I wish IU had a better understanding of why. It may have been the bullion. I will make it again with vege broth, and add more tomatoes and some mushrooms and spinach. We all enjoyed it, but after seeing all the rave reviews, I know it can be even better - thank you!!
Sophia
This looks great! I have everything but the cream cheese, would this work if I subbed it for hummus?
Rene
I don't know if the flavor would be on point. You would probably be better off using a non-dairy creamer or a cashew cream in place of the cream cheese.
Collin
Do you think Daiya cream cheese will taste good in this kind of sauce? It's all my grocery store has.
Rene
I'm personally not Daiya's biggest fan. I haven't tried their cream cheese in years, so the formula may have changed. You might be better off making it from scratch or making a cashew cream in its place.
Michelle
NO joke how amazing this is!!!! So incredibly delish! Whether you are plant based or not, this is yummy!
Rene
So glad you liked it!!!
KG
This turned out amazing! I didn't have any vegan cream cheese so I ended up making some for the first time and it turned out sooo dreamy. Definitely adding this to the monthly rotation. Thank you!
Rene
Nice! So glad you found a new recipe for your regular rotation!
Sue
I never get compliments from my teenager on my vegan cooking but today she said she’s been craving this dish ever since I first made it back in August: “can you make it this week but this time add mushrooms”. This is huge. Definitely worth 5 stars. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Rene
Woo!!! Love this. So glad it was a hit with your family!
Elizabeth Lynn
I've made this recipe three times because my family loves it so much! I modified it to just be vegetarian instead of vegan, and even with the modifications it's a fantastic, easy recipe. Can't recommend it enough, and will probably make it again... and again.
Rene
So glad you and your family loved this!!!
Leigh
This recipe is amazing! As someone else also mentioned, this is the best vegan recipe I’ve had. It definitely will be a regular dish at our house. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Rene
So glad you liked it Leigh - and can't wait to hear what you think about my other recipes 🙂
Amber
Since going vegan last November this is hands down my most favorite recipe! My family loves it and it's quick and easy to make.
Rene
Yay! So glad it is a hit with you and your fam!
Marian
This recipe is by far the best recipe I’ve followed in 2 months of becoming Vegan! Unbelievably wonderful! My sister and niece has joined me on this new vegan lifestyle & they were floored how great it was! I told my self I wouldn’t eat all of my serving and would save some for lunch tomorrow, however I wasn’t successful. I cleaned my plate! The most satisfying thing was that I didn’t have to add any salt. I wish I could send you a picture of how gorgeous this dish came out. Simply amazing! I tagged you on Facebook. #ThisSavoryVegan
Rene
Yay! So glad it turned out well for you and your family. Good luck on this new lifestyle journey - I know you can do it 🙂
SoMotivatedNow
I tried this recipe and it was very very good and tasty. So tasty that I ate 2 servings in one sitting. ? I wish it listed how many calories I consumed. ?
Rene
So glad you liked it! Who needs calorie counting right now lol
Sara
I followed the recipe to a T, and none of us liked it. The sauce was overpowered with vegan cream cheese, and we couldn’t stomach it. Unfortunately, I ended up tossing the entire dish. Would definitely suggest cutting down the amount of vegan cream cheese.
Marie-Rose
The most amazing dish
My family and I love it !!! So good! I just added portobello mushroom because it need to be eating soon!!?
Rene
So glad your family loved it Marie-Rose! And the more veggies the better 🙂
Elizabeth
Can you use veggie broth? Thx!
Rene
Totally! You will just want to taste it at the end and adjust the salt 🙂
Rachel
This pasta is sooo delicious my husband and I absolutely loved it. Thankyou !
Rene
So glad it was a hit with you and your husband!
Bekah
I am not vegan... i'm just learning to make plant-based meals our primary focus. I ended up having to make a couple of 'tweeks.' 1) I had to use 'meat' crumbles because i couldn't find the sausage; 2) i used water because i couldn't find the broth; 3) recently i started using herbs de provence in place of italian seasoning (SO GOOD). In spite of my errors/fumbles, this recipe blew my (and my husbands) mind... it is SO GOOD! i was looking forward to leftovers for lunch before i was done having it for dinner! Definitely going to try it again when i find that sausage! Though i might add spinach or ribbons of kale to pack in more veggies.
Bekah
...and mushrooms!
Rene
More veggies are always welcome 🙂 And I am glad you were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
Amy
Wow... this was so delicious. Rave reviews from picky non vegan husband:) I used the hot Beyond Sausage, added some red and yellow chopped peppers and used veggie broth + Worcestershire as another reviewer suggested. Thank you, this will definitely be a regular for us. Tomorrow I’m making your spicy sofrita black bean bowls!
Rene
Yaya - so glad it was a hit with the hubby 🙂 And those sound like awesome additions!
Jill G
Omg so good!!! I made this with Morning Star Farms vegan Italian sausage crumbles and it turned out great! It had just the right amount of heat with the red pepper flakes and I also added mushrooms (would recommend)... next time I might add spinach as well.
I like to meal prep and this recipe saves really well in the fridge... so well that my non-vegan roommates were begging me for some ! 10/10 this recipe SLAPS.
Rene
Woowho - so glad it was hit. And your additions sounds great. This really is an easy recipe to adapt with whatever you have on hand in the fridge 🙂
Kaile
So I was so excited to make this, but mine was so incredibly salty and I added ZERO salt... it was so salty that we couldn’t even eat it 🙁
Kaile
I figured out why... as I’m sure everyone guessed. Too much bouillon. So I gave this another go and it was a HIT!!! The first thing my 6 year old said this morning was “your dinner you made was really really good!” He had no idea it was all vegan!
Rene
Yay! So glad you gave it another go and that it worked out better this time 🙂
Maggie
This is terrific as a base to customize for any style of vegan eating. It's easy to tweak for those who do WFPB or McDougall-style eating (i.e., with less processed food, lower fat, and more fresh veg). For example, I added mushrooms and bell peppers with the onion, and a pile of chopped kale and a lot of fresh basil at the end, with the pasta. Next time I'll add broccoli but I didn't have any tonight. I don't use processed vegan cream cheese, but I subbed in Mary McDougall's home-made blender-tofu/cashew cream cheez recipe from Dr. McDougall's site (which also cuts the cost of this). Chickpeas or white beans work OK in this for me too, in place of the fake sausage. These subs cut the fat in this WAY down too, for those watching heart health. The flavor profile and creaminess was terrific!!! .
Rene
So glad you were able to customize this to your liking! All of your subs sound tasty!
Jason
Made this last night and did not disappoint. Used vegetable broth and didn't have a specific Italian seasoning, still turned out great. 10/10 keeping this on my personal menu.
Rene
Great! Glad you liked it!
Hannah
Can you use macaroni noodles?
Rene
Of course. Use whatever noodles you prefer 🙂
Debbie Argentine
This was yummy! I added a bit of Sundried Tomato Peato to help thicken it up a bit. Added a nice pop of flavor
Debbie Argentine
This was yummy! I added a bit of Sundried Tomato Pesto to help thicken it up a bit. Added a nice pop of flavor
Rene
Yum - that sounds like an awesome addition!
Lindsey
This turned out excellent, and even my meat-eating, picky husband liked it. I'm wondering if it would freeze well?
Rene
Hmmmmm...I haven't tried freezing it. But I don't see why not. I would just let it cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe dish. When you're ready to eat, just add it straight to a pan and let it thaw as it heats. At least that's how I'd try doing it. Let us know how it turns out!
Arlene
Made this for dinner for my carnivore and I. It was out of this world. He woke up in the middle of the night and scarfed down the left overs. 10/10 will make again!
sheenam | thetwincookingproject
Looks so so delicious!!!!
Rene
Thanks - let me know if you try it out 🙂
Lisa Castelan
Hey Rene I made this last night and OMG Me my daughter and my husband couldn't get enough of it. It was excellent. So I have to make it again this weekend. I did use the beyond sausage but I bought the beyond meat crumbles for the next one. Also I used veggie broth and put a little bit of Worcester sauce which makes it into a vegan beef broth. So it was perfect. I used a vegan brand cream cheese called wayfare that was excellent too. Perfect meal. Thanks again!!!
Rene
Woowho! That all sounds amazing! And I'm glad it was hit with the whole family!
Teena L.
How much Worcestershire sauce did you put in the veggie broth? I can't find vegan beef broth where I live. Thanks!!!
lillian
I just made some Avant Garde Vegan's chorizo sausage recipe and am looking for a recipe to use it with and came across yours. I am loving how so many people are blown away by your recipe and can't wait to add myself to the list when I make it for dinner tomorrow 😁
Rene
Woo! I hope you give it a try - let me know 🙂
Lisa Castelan
Yes, where do you add in the cream cheese or was that not suppose to be on the list?
Rene
It is listed in step 5 - sorry for the confusion.
Lisa
Thanks so much for responding Hoping to make this tomorrow.....
Melissa
Where do you add n the cream cheese?
Rene
Step 5 - it wasn't listed, but you guys have a good eye 🙂