Vegan Noodles Recipe (Garlic Butter)

Vegan Noodles Recipe

So you’re here for a Garlic Butter Vegan Noodles Recipe. I feel you. Garlic + butter. Anytime this combination comes to mind, it’s SOMETHING good. You can’t go wrong, it’s like peanut butter and chocolate. Throw it into anything and you’ll suddenly have an amazingly fragrant dish (ever tried garlic naan?) Sometimes, making a delicious meal can be as simple as mixing together five ingredients in the span of twenty minutes and calling it a day. The other day, I was thinking of Cacio e Pepe (noodles with butter, black pepper and parmesan) and how this simple dish has become a staple in Italian cooking.

But I’m a huge fan of using garlic as a base when I make a hearty meal (just doesn’t taste the same without a little added!), so here’s the outcome of a noodle dish with a garlicky twist. This one happened to come about as I experimented in my kitchen. I even topped it with finely chopped parsley at the end for some extra greens!

Why You’ll Love This Garlic Butter Vegan Noodles Recipe

• Three Ingredients: As pasta lovers can likely attest to (or at least, I myself can attest to), when it comes to noodle recipes, garlic + butter + noodles are the holy trinity of all meals. I mean, I’m all for spicy food, full of flavour from many different spices, which is fantastic in its own right. (I’m Indian, we have too many spices to count in our recipes)! But there is something comforting about just the simplest of ingredients. But throw these ingredients together and you just can’t go wrong. The warm drippy butter with a hint of toasted garlic all covered in noodles for creamy vegan garlic noodles? I’m in!
• Easy to Find: There is nothing quite as easy to find as a box of noodles. There’s half an aisle at most large grocery stores that’s dedicated to pasta/noodle boxes and pasta sauces to go with them! Garlic and oil (or if you can find vegan butter) are also main cooking ingredients that you may already have at home.
• Make it Gluten-Free: Try soba noodles, lentil noodles, brown rice noodles, chickpea noodles or another gluten-free noodle! There are so many brands that have a texture similar to wheat flour noodles. Gluten-free noodles, depending on the type, can make a great option! Next time, I would try to use Banza’s chickpea noodles here (it would also add some plant-based protein). Pick your noodles of choice!

Substitutions

Here are the main ingredients in this recipe as well as their substitutions. However, I haven’t tried these substitutions so I can’t vouch for them, but leave a comment below if a substitute works for you!

Noodles: I used a pack of white flour spaghetti noodles. You can substitute a different, healthier noodle, although other noodle types won’t taste the same. With gluten-free noodle types, be careful that they are able to be stir fried and will hold up their texture. Don’t use a type of paste like vermicelli or angle hair pasta, because the texture won’t work in this recipe!

Garlic: I don’t recommend to get pre-minced garlic, because the flavour is completely different than freshly cut garlic. It’s also stored in a preservative to keep it fresh. It’s just healthier to buy your own and cut it fresh!

Vegan Butter: Many large grocery stores have vegan baking substitutes now. I love the company Melt for my vegan butter sticks. They sell butter that comes in a pack of four sticks (about two cups worth of butter). This amount is equivalent to the typical rectangular bricks of butter. It’s perfect to use as a 1:1 substitute, I can’t even tell the difference when I use it!

If you can’t find vegan butter, try going with extra virgin olive oil. Both butter or extra virgin olive oil have a distinct taste. Although this recipe works better with butter, using extra virgin olive oil will still give a delicious aroma and taste to the noodle sauce.

Notes

• If choosing a different noodle, note that some gluten-free noodles have a different texture, such as black bean noodles. I once tried cooking a box of black bean noodles the same way I’d cook wheat noodles. Before ten minutes of boiling them was up, I came back to find the noodles dissolved into the water! Make sure to select the right noodle type. Chickpea noodles, such as Banza brand, have a great texture!
• Garlic burns very quickly! If you don’t cook with garlic regularly, be aware of this. Keep the frying pan over medium heat as the steps explain below. Make sure you are constantly stir frying the garlic in the butter for a couple of minutes and that it doesn’t burn! If it is turning brown too quickly (it should not turn more than a little light brown) turn the heat lower.
• You can store these noodles in an airtight container for a day or two. When reheating, drizzle some vegan butter or olive oil over them so they don’t dry out.
• Cook the noodles al dente and then use some of the pasta water when you stir fry the garlic. It makes it even creamier!
• Although pasta is not super high on the nutritional value scale, substituting a gluten-free pasta such as chickpea pasta would up the protein and nutritional value. To make it more of a complete meal, steam some vegetables on the side and add greens (such as parsley) into the noodles!
• Sprinkle some red pepper over the finished dish for a spicy kick!

More Easy Dinner Recipes

When it’s a busy weeknight evening and you’re looking for some quick dinner to prepare, these are some of my go-to vegan recipes that don’t take up too much time or too many ingredients!

Avocado Zucchini Noodles: This is a raw recipe that uses up all those leftover ingredients, all coated in a creamy avocado sauce!

Vegan Honey Garlic Chicken: A vegan version of the popular honey garlic chicken, this recipe uses double-fried tofu coated with a richly spiced seasoning and vegan “honey” garlic sauce (using maple syrup)! (These would go SO well with some garlic sesame noodles or vegan drunken noodles. Imagine the garlic sesame flavour, then vegan honey garlic chicken chunks on top? So good!)

Egg Fried Rice: This recipe is a quick stir fry with rice, veggies and gram flour (chickpea flour) to make vegan egg!

Fettuccine Pad Thai: One of my favorite noodle dishes, this Fettuccine Pad Thai has a creamy peanut sauce over fettuccine noodles, topped with cilantro and peanuts! This is a great way to use up some leftover greens. This recipe uses some coriander, fresh ginger, red bell peppers, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, red pepper, green onions and many more health packed ingredients (throw in some snow peas too)! For some extra protein, this recipe also includes firm tofu. For a reduced salt option, you can use coconut aminos instead of regular soy sauce as well. It’s very versatile!

Sundried Tomato Orzo

Creamy Green Avocado Spinach Pasta

Alright, enough chatting! Let’s get onto the recipe!

If you make this Vegan Noodles Recipe, leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!