15-Minute Tomato Tahini Pasta (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

This creamy tomato tahini pasta is an easy vegan dinner recipe that can be ready in just under 15 minutes. Featuring simple ingredients that deliver bags of flavour, it's a great one to cook up on a busy weeknight or for a quick lunch.

If you haven't tried adding tahini to a pasta dish before, you're in for a treat. Simply stir it in towards the end of cooking and watch those tinned tomatoes transform into a deliciously creamy sauce.

This recipe is great as it is, or with a few additions such as mushrooms, spinach, or frozen peas. For more speedy vegan dinner ideas, check out my recipes for easy hummus pasta, vegan one-pot pasta, and 5-minute peanut noodles.

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What is tahini?

Tahini is a smooth paste made from ground sesame seeds. Popular in Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be used as a spread, dip, or ingredient in other recipes such as baba ganoush, salad dressings, homemade hummus, or black bean burgers.

With an earthy flavour that's nutty and ever so slightly bitter, it's a great way to add an instant creaminess to pasta sauces.

Light v dark tahini

When it comes to tahini, you're likely to come across 'light' and 'dark' variants. Light tahini is made from sesame seeds with the outer husk removed, whereas dark tahini is made from unhulled seeds.

Dark tahini tends to have a stronger, more bitter taste. In recipes like this pasta sauce, I'd recommend using the lighter variety.

What do I need?

This creamy pasta dish is nice and simple in terms of ingredients. It includes:

• Aromatics in the form of red onion, garlic, and fresh basil
• Tinned plum tomatoes for the bulk of the sauce
• Light tahini for creaminess
• Extra flavour from the dried mixed herbs and nutritional yeast

How to make creamy tomato tahini pasta

Once you've prepared the ingredients, get your pasta cooking in some salted boiling water (follow package instructions). It usually takes around 10-12 minutes, which should give you time to cook the sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the sliced onion. Fry gently on a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.

Once the onion has started to soften, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

After a couple of minutes, add in the tinned tomatoes, dried herbs, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Break the tomatoes apart thoroughly using a wooden spoon, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, stir in the tahini and nutritional yeast. The sauce will probably be quite thick, in which case you can add some of the pasta cooking water to the pan (the starchy water helps to thin out the sauce while still keeping it thick). Cook for another 2 minutes, adding more pasta water as necessary.

Roughly chop most of the basil and add this to the pan. Stir well, adding more salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to taste.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the pan with the sauce. Don't worry about draining it too thoroughly – that starchy water is your friend. Stir well to coat the pasta and serve.

Serving suggestions

This simple pasta dish is great as it is, with a few extra basil leaves to finish it off. If you want to mix it up a bit, try sprinkling over some nuts, seeds, or a spoonful of four-ingredient cashew parmesan.

Recipe FAQ

Variations and tips for tomato tahini pasta

• Other additions: This dish would be great with other ingredients such as sliced mushrooms (in with the onions) or spinach or frozen peas (added to the pasta pot for the last couple of minutes).
• Tinned tomatoes: Any tinned tomatoes will do, but if you want the best results I'd go for a higher-end tin of plum tomatoes (just like in this spaghetti arrabbiata).
• Fresh tomatoes: Feel free to replace the tinned tomatoes with an equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes (around 5-6 medium). These may take a little longer to break down and form a sauce, and you may need to add extra pasta cooking water.
• Make it a lighter meal: If you want to turn it into a lighter lunch or starter, try swapping out the pasta for spiralised courgette (zucchini noodles).

More vegan recipe ideas

If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:

• Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
• 12-Minute Tomato & Basil Pasta
• Chickpea Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce
• Creamy Tempeh and Tarragon Pasta
• Vegetable Minestrone Soup
• Easy Vegan Cheesy Pasta
• Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta
• Ultimate Vegan Lasagne

You can also check out my full list of vegan pasta recipes.

Full recipe