Have you been looking for the perfect weeknight dinner that’s easy, healthy, and delicious? Well, look no further than this Vegan Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta! This simple, family-friendly meal will surely be a hit with everyone in your home.
Bursting with flavor from the roasted cherry tomatoes and roasted garlic, it takes advantage of garden-fresh summer ingredients while having an indulgent creaminess.
This delicious vegan pasta comes together quickly, making it one of those “thrown together” dishes that still taste like you spent hours preparing it! Ready to give this plant-based dish a try? Let's get cooking!

It's no secret that I love pasta, such as this Asparagus Mushroom Pasta and this Creamy Vegan Pasta with Peas, but I wanted to make a creamier dish with tomatoes and olives.
This vegan Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta is made with roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic, Kalamata olives, vegan ricotta, and vegan cream cheese. Enjoy this indulgent pasta that's ready in just 45 minutes.
This delicious and easy vegan, gluten-free pasta recipe will have you on your way to a surprisingly simple, satisfying dinner tonight. This dish is perfect for an effortless dinner for four or date night!
I made a variation of a baked pasta recipe with roasted tomato cream sauce that I suddenly saw everywhere on Instagram. It became so popular in Finland that the grocery stores ran out of feta cheese; I had to make a vegan version and see what the fuss was about!
This flavorful combination of roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes, and Kalamata olives is combined with cooked pasta, creamy plant-based ricotta, and cream cheese for a nearly effortless meal.
After one bite, this pasta with roasted tomatoes was declared a keeper, and we'll be making it again and again. This recipe is a new family favorite from our kitchen to yours!
Everything melts together with the roasted cherry tomato cream sauce into the most glorious combination that coats every bite from your fork to your mouth; it tastes heavenly!
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Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need to make this delicious Vegan Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta:
- Garlic - for flavor. The six cloves of garlic add a delicious bite of flavor.
- Cherry tomatoes - I prefer organic tomatoes with a variety of colors for this dish
- Extra-virgin olive oil - for roasting the tomatoes and garlic
- Vegan cream cheese - I used Kite Hill plain almond milk cream cheese style spread.
- Vegan ricotta - I used Kite Hill ricotta alternative made with almond milk; mixed with their vegan cream cheese alternative, it creates a delightful tangy combination.
- Kalamata olives, pitted and soaked in water and rinsed, so they're not briny. I prefer to pit the olives with a cherry pitter versus buying them pitted - they have more flavor that way.
- Fine sea salt - to bring out the flavors. Add one tablespoon of salt (I use kosher salt) to your cooking water for the pasta.
- Crushed red pepper flakes - for added spice and flavor
- Dried oregano - if you use fresh, stir it in at the end
- Pasta - I used gluten-free rotini, which held the sauce well; you can use whichever short pasta you like.
- Fresh basil - to stir in at the end and top with basil if desired.
How to make this vegan creamy roasted tomato garlic pasta
It's easy to make this vegan pasta dish, even if it is your first time!
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 9-inch x13-inch dish or 8-inch x 11 ¾-inch dish with olive oil. I used this 11-inch baking dish.
Combine the cherry tomatoes, halved Kalamata olives, sliced garlic, olive oil, dried oregano, salt, crushed red pepper, and freshly ground black pepper in a baking dish—place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the tomatoes soften.
Combine the vegan cream cheese with the vegan ricotta in a small bowl.
Depending on your oven, you may need more time. Keep an eye on the cherry tomatoes. Halfway through the cooking time, take the baking dish out of the oven, stir the mixture, and place it back in the oven to keep roasting.
While the tomato mixture roasts, cook the pasta in salted water according to directions and reserve ¾ cup of pasta water. You likely won't need all of it, but it is nice to have extra on hand.
Once the cherry tomatoes have softened and released their juices, take the baking dish out of the oven.
Add the vegan cream cheese and ricotta mixture in spoonfuls on top of the baked tomato mixture.
Stir in ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and combine. Add more pasta water if necessary; you may need another ¼ cup.
Taste and season as desired. Stir in fresh basil and serve.
TIP: Save the leftover pasta over stir it into leftover pasta when reheating.
Expert Tips
- Add one tablespoon of sea salt or kosher salt to your pasta water before you add the pasta for more flavor.
- Add ¼ cup to ½ cup of the reserved hot pasta water to help the vegan cheese mix more easily with the roasted tomatoes and pasta.
Equipment
I love my 8-inch x 11 ¾-inch enameled cast-iron rectangular roaster in Flame. It's the perfect size for this recipe!
Another pan I love to use is this oval baking dish. It cleans up easily in hot soapy water. Use Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend powdered cleansers on a damp sponge to clean the baking dish for any stubborn stains or spots. We've been using these products for years, and they work well!
Storage
- Store this pasta in a shallow air-tight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Refrigerate any leftover pasta within two hours of cooking in an airtight container.
- You can freeze it for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Reheat leftovers in a saucepan on the stovetop over low to medium heat with a small amount of reserved pasta water, water, or unsweetened and unflavored plant milk like almond milk to loosen up the sauce. Cover it with foil, reheat it in the oven, and bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes until heated.
Substitutions
Gluten-free: Instead of durum wheat pasta, use cassava flour pasta or brown rice pasta, or make this dish with spiralized zucchini noodles.
Kalamata olives - Use Castelvetrano olives instead, or any other olives you like.
Red pepper flakes: Try Calabrian red pepper chile paste instead.
Variations
Try switching up the pasta with cooked vegan tortellini or ravioli.
Top with fresh herbs such as fresh thyme or fresh oregano; be sure to add them at the end; otherwise, they'll burn in the oven.
Try vegetables such as zucchini, bell pepper, or roasted bell pepper.
More Recipes
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to ★★★★★ star-rate it and leave a comment below. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and share your creation with me! Tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.
Recipe
Vegan Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes organic
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise. soaked in water briefly and rinsed. If not pitted, pit with a cherry pitter.
- 6 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus extra to drizzle over vegan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese
- 4 oz vegan ricotta
- 8 oz gluten-free pasta or pasta of your choice
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 9-inch x13-inch baking dish or an 8 x 11 ¾-inch baking dish.
- Place cherry tomatoes in a greased baking dish. Add Kalamata olives, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, dried oregano, sea salt, crushed red pepper, and freshly ground black pepper, and combine. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes have softened. Stir halfway through cooking.
- Meanwhile, mix vegan cream cheese with vegan ricotta in a small bowl.
- Cook pasta according to directions. Before draining, reserve ¾ cup pasta water.
- Take baking dish out of oven, add the vegan cream cheese and vegan ricotta mixture along with ¼ cup of reserved pasta water, and combine. Add more pasta water if necessary for creaminess. Taste and season as desired. Stir in fresh basil and serve. Top with additional basil if desired.
Notes
- Add salt to your pasta water before you add the pasta for more flavor.
Add ¼ cup to ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to help the vegan cheese mix more easily with the roasted tomatoes and pasta. - Store this pasta in a shallow air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 5 days. Refrigerate pasta with two hours of cooking.
Nutrition
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Brian
Simple, delicious, comforting, and a bit indulgent. It's a great dish for a cool evening!
Emily
Thank you so much for your review, Brian. I'm glad to hear that this dish was a simple and delicious dinner option!
Julia
I can't say thank you enough for this recipe it was delicious. I've so many tomatoes in the garden just now this was an amazing dish to create with them. I liked the mixture of cheese too. Lots of satisfying protein in delicious pasta sauce. Loved it!
Emily
Thanks Julia! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe. It's one of my favorites and it's great to hear that you liked the mixture of cheese too.
Kayla
Yum! This creamy roasted tomato pasta was so delicious! I loved how creamy it was and I loved all of the flavors!
Emily
Thanks for your review Kayla! I'm glad you liked the flavor of our creamy tomato sauce and enjoyed this dish. We hope to see you back soon!
Stef
This looks and sounds incredible! Can't wait to give it a try thank you for sharing!
Emily
Thank you, Stef, I hope you enjoy it!
Marinela
This vegan tomato garlic pasta is perfectly creamy and so delicious! Roasted tomatoes really make the difference, they give that loving deep flavor together with the garlic and kalamata olives. This really is a must-make weeknight dinner, so yummy!
Emily
Marinela, thank you for the review! I'm so glad that this recipe was a hit!
Nancy
So creamy and full of flavour! Pinned to remake!
Emily
Thank you, Nancy, for your review! I appreciate it!
Ana
Absolutely love this creamy roasted tomato and garlic pasta! It's perfection in each bite and so flavorful. Even the non-vegans in my family enjoy it!
Emily
I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed this dish, Ana!
Anna
I love baked pasta dishes and your recipe is one of the best I tried. Thank you for detailed explanation with pictures how to cook it. I will definitely repeat this Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta many times.
Emily
Anna, thank you for your lovely review. I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and found the blog post helpful!
Katie
A simply incredible recipe! Packed full of flavor!
Emily
Thank you for your review of this recipe, Katie. I'm so glad to hear that it was a hit and that you enjoyed the flavor!
Michelle
Why did I never think of adding vegan cream cheese to pasta? Brilliant! So creamy and delish!
Emily
Hi Michelle, I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Samantha
I found my new favorite dinner recipe! This is so delicious!
Emily
Hi Samantha, I'm so glad you found a new favorite recipe! Thank you for visiting and taking the time to share your feedback. I really appreciate it!