Vegan Penne Pasta
Enjoy the comforting flavors of this easy vegan penne pasta recipe. You’ll love the tender cooked pasta infused with tomatoes, vegan sausage, and Italian seasoning. You’ll be singing the praises of plant-based eating because vegan pasta dishes are so delicious, especially when served with some easy no-knead bread or even some vegan garlic bread.
Many people think a vegan diet requires a lot of time in the kitchen. This vegan penne pasta is proof that you can eat plant-based and keep things simple in the kitchen. I love easy vegan recipes, which is why I have a whole series of vegan recipes that take less than 30 minutes or less to make. There you’ll find things like Vegan Spring Rolls or Vegan Black Bean Burritos.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Adding red bell pepper slivers creates pops of color and flavor throughout this dish
- Penne pasta works perfectly for this dish because it delivers just enough delicious sauce along with the vegan sausage.
- Using vegan sausage adds plant-based protein and flavor into every bite
- Topping this dish with vegan mozzarella shreds adds a creamy, cheesy flavor making it irresistibly delicious!
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Penne pasta — I like using penne pasta because it’s easily available and affordable. You can use regular, gluten-free, or even penne pasta made with beans.
- Olive oil
- Onion — I used sweet yellow onion, but you can substitute white or red onion.
- Bell pepper — You’ll need one colorful bell pepper, such as red, yellow, or orange.
- Vegan Italian sausage — We have two favorite brands of vegan Italian Sausage: Tofurkey and Field Roast. You can substitute homemade vegan breakfast sausage patties and crumble them up into the pasta.
- Tomatoes — You’ll need one can of stewed tomatoes.
- Tomato sauce
- Seasonings — You’ll need garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano.
- Vegan mozzarella — I prefer Follow Your Heart or Daiya mozzarella shreds.
How to Make Vegan Penne Pasta and Sausage
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- In a large skillet, add the oil and cook the onions and red bell pepper over medium heat until both are tender.
- Add the sliced vegan sausage, followed by the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine and cook until heated through.
- Drain pasta and add it to the skillet, stirring until the pasta is coated.
- Sprinkle the top of the pasta with vegan cheese shreds.
The thing I love most about vegan products is that there’s no additional cooking time required. In other words, when I buy Vegan Italian Sausage, I simply slice it, heat it, and serve it.
That means the most difficult part of this recipe is cooking the pasta. Then we add some chopped onions and red bell peppers to a skillet with some olive oil and cook until tender and then add the tomato sauce, sliced sausages, and seasonings.
Once that pasta is done you add it to the pot and less than thirty minutes later you’re ready to sing, “Dinner’s ready!” Music to my ears. 🙂
Note: Add a drizzle of Vegan Alfredo Sauce over the top for an extra special dinner.
What’s the Difference Between Penne Pasta and Rigatoni?
You can easily tell penne pasta and rigatoni apart by looking at the ends. The cut on the ends of penne pasta comes to a point. In fact, penne pasta means “pen,” and if you imagine the end of the pasta looking like a quill, you’ll easily be able to identify penne pasta. Rigatoni pasta is larger and rounder and has blunt cut ends.
More Pasta Recipes
This vegan penne pasta recipe is so good it will leave you wanting to try even more vegan pasta recipes. Here are some of our favorites:
We have dozens more Easy Vegan Recipes that you can make in 30 minutes or less!
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Vegan Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups uncooked penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- 14 oz Vegan Italian sausage* cut into 1-inch pieces
- 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese shreds optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- In a large skillet, add the oil and cook the onions and red bell pepper over medium heat, until both are tender.
- Add the sliced vegan sausage, followed by the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine and cook until heated through.
- Drain pasta and pour into skillet, stirring until the pasta is coated.
- Sprinkle the top of the pasta with vegan cheese shreds.
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
We made this last night. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Lizzy! So glad you liked it. It’s nice to have a simple, delicious vegan recipe! 🙂
What is the serving size?
We were able to get 6 servings out of this recipe. Of course your serving sizes may vary depending on preferences.
Great recipe! Thank you