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Vegan One-Pot Lemon Garlic Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Vegan One-Pot Lemon Garlic Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Bright lemon, sweet blistered cherry tomatoes, and garlicky olive oil — all tossed with tender bucatini and fresh basil — and you only dirty one pot. Sounds like a win, right?
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 5
Course: DINNER
Cuisine: American
Calories: 500
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces 340 g bucatini (or spaghetti/linguine)
  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling
  • 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • 3 pints cherry tomatoes about 900 g
  • 2½ tbsp capers optional, drained
  • 2 tsp lemon zest from 1–2 lemons
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp sea salt adjust to taste
  • ¼ –½ tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1½ cups fresh basil leaves torn
  • ¼ cup grated vegan parmesan optional
  • Bold note: Keep everything vegan by using vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast instead of dairy cheese.

Equipment

  • Large pot for boiling pasta (or a large saucepan if you prefer to cook pasta separately)
  • Large deep skillet or Dutch oven (for the one-pot method)
  • Tongs or pasta fork
  • Microplane (for lemon zest)
  • Knife & cutting board
  • Citrus juicer (optional)
  • You’ll feel smug about using just one main pan. FYI: a heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven gives the best, even heat.

Method
 

  1. 12 ounces (340 g) bucatini (or spaghetti/linguine)
  2. ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  3. 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  4. 3 pints cherry tomatoes (about 900 g)
  5. 2½ tbsp capers (optional, drained)
  6. 2 tsp lemon zest (from 1–2 lemons)
  7. 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  8. 1 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste)
  9. ¼–½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  10. Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  11. 1½ cups fresh basil leaves, torn
  12. ¼ cup grated vegan parmesan (optional)
  13. Bold note: Keep everything vegan by using vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast instead of dairy cheese.

Notes

Calories & nutrition (approximate)

I calculate calories so you don’t have to panic about portioning.
  • Total estimated calories for recipe: ~2,180 kcal (pasta + oil + tomatoes + optional vegan cheese and small contributions from capers/basil)
  • If you serve 4: ~545 kcal per serving
  • If you serve 6: ~~365 kcal per serving
Bold note: Adding vegan parmesan pushes the count slightly higher; skip it to shave calories,