Name: 10-Minute Gluten-Free Vegan Pasta Romana
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 4 servings (8-ounce gluten-free fettuccini pasta); 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (chopped); 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 1 teaspoon garlic granules; 5 ounce fresh baby spinach; 2 vine-ripe tomato (seeded and diced)

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10-Minute Gluten-Free Pasta Romana – Healthy, Plant-Based, Oil-Free, Italian Vegan One-Pot Dinner Recipe

Need a healthy dinner in 10 minutes? This 10-Minute Gluten-Free Vegan Pasta Romana is the perfect answer to a quick weeknight meal. All you need is one pot and a packet of gluten-free noodles for this oil-free, plant-based recipe. With sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach, this has classic Italian flavors.

Serve with Rainbow Carrot Walnut Arugula Salad with Oil-Free Fig Dressing, Big ‘Ole Italian Chickpea Salad, or Lacinato Kale Waldorf Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Raisins.

What is Italian Romana Food?

“Romana” food simply refers to food found specifically in Rome, Italy. Roman food tends to be pasta-centric and pizza-loving, with simple tomato sauces. This recipe for plant-based vegan pasta Romana celebrates the flavors of Rome by incorporating tomato, spinach, and garlic. Plus, both sun-dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes add even more intense flavor in a simple, oil-free preparation.

What Kind of Pasta is Gluten-Free?

There is a huge variety of gluten-free pasta available. Some brands, like Banza and Whole Foods, use chickpeas or lentils, which add extra protein. Other brands, like Tinkyada and Colavita, use rice flour as the main ingredient. There’s even green edamame pasta from Explore Cuisine which has 24g of protein in one 2 oz serving! For this recipe, I used Perfect Earth brown rice Pad Thai fettuccini noodles.

All of these varieties are plant-based, oil-free vegan pastas. Have fun exploring the different tastes, textures, and colors! If you’re cooking for little ones or picky eaters, it’s also fun to have them help choose the pasta color and shape. This will encourage them to be more interested in trying it.

Nutritional Yeast: The Secret to Cheezy Plant-Based Vegan Sauce

The cheezy flavor for this quick vegan pan sauce is nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a deactivated use commonly used in vegan recipes to add richness, help emulsify sauces, and give you that cheese-like flavor. Fondly called “nooch” it’s a member of the fungus kingdom. And, just like mushrooms, it has that umami flavor that hits you deep in the soul and feels like a big hug from your grandma.

I use Nutritional Yeast in a ton of plant-based vegan recipes, including 5-Minute Vegan Cashew “Parm”, Vegan Pumpkin Nacho “Geez!” Sauce, Gluten-Free Vegan Mac and Sweet Potato “Geez!”, 5-Minute Vegan Macadamia Nut Ricotta “Geez!”, and Cavolo Nero: Kale and White Bean Soup.

Nutritional yeast adds rich creaminess, while still dairy-free vegan

Chef Katie’s Plant-Based Cooking Tips:

Budget-Friendly Tip: If you want to save money, opt instead for traditional whole wheat fettuccini noodles. Get the generic store-brand of frozen spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. No need to go fancy here. Simple ingredients mean simple, delicious flavors

Dried Italian Seasoning: Dried Italian seasoning is a great all-in-one spice to keep in your pantry. It adds Italian flavor in quick recipes, like this. Plus, you don’t need to buy 5 different jars of dried herbs.