Creamy Vegan Harissa Pasta
15 min
Meal
Servings
Total
15 minPrep
5 minCook
10 minContains
tree nut
Swap out
soy
gluten
Free from
peanut
sesame
Ingredients
-
8.8 oz (250 g)dry linguine noodles
-
2 tsp (10 mL)olive oil
-
1medium onion, chopped
-
3cloves garlic, minced
-
2roasted red bell peppers from a jar, chopped
-
2 cups (60 g)fresh spinach, chopped
-
1½ Tbsp (25 g)tomato paste
-
1vegetable bouillon cube, crushed
-
1 Tbsp (3 g)dried oregano
-
½ tsppaprika powder
-
¼ tspsalt, plus more to taste
-
1 cup (240 mL)soy cooking cream
-
1 cup (134 g)frozen green peas
-
3 Tbsp (25 g)roasted pine nuts
-
½lemon, zested, juiced
Optional garnish
-
fresh basil
Directions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, draining it 1 minute before it's al dente. Just before draining, reserve ½ cup (120 mL) of the pasta cooking water.
- To a sauté pan on high heat, add the olive oil. While the oil heats up, chop the onion and add it to the pan to cook for 4 - 5 minutes. Meanwhile, continue with the next step.
- Mince the garlic, and chop the roasted red bell peppers and spinach.
- Add the garlic to the pot to cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. When lightly golden, add in the tomato paste, bouillon cube, harissa, oregano, paprika powder, and salt, and cook this for another 2 minutes.
- Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the pan, then drain the pasta.
- Add the drained pasta to the pan as well, along with all the remaining ingredients: the cooking cream, peas, nutritional yeast, pine nuts, bell pepper, and spinach.
- Once heated through, add some lemon zest (optional) and squeeze over the lemon juice. Garnish and enjoy!
Notes
- †Harissa offers a deep tangy and spicy flavour, so add less if you'd prefer less heat.
Let us know what you think
Plate method
The Plate Method is a visual tool that helps us ensure our dietary needs are on track. Touch the image below to see how this recipe measures up.
Grains & Starches 50%
• dry linguine noodles
Proteins 15%
• frozen green peas
• nutritional yeast flakes
• roasted pine nuts
Fruits & Veggies 35%
• medium onion
• clove garlic
• roasted red bell pepper from a jar
• fresh spinach
• tomato paste
• lemon
Calcium
No significant sources of calciumFat
• olive oil
• soy cooking cream
• roasted pine nuts
Nutrition info
We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.
Watch it step-by-step!
Discussion & Rating
This pasta was absolutely delicious. If you want a twist in flavors, try this.
It is so creamy and the combination of the ingredients work so well together. Once again. Thankyou thankyou thank you pick up limes team for yet another quick healthy delicious meal!
Was echt lekker. Zeker voor herhaling vatbaar.
I batch made this one for the week using lentil pasta for extra protein. The spiciness was just on point. And I loved the sneaky addition if spinach. You can barely even see it in the sauce when it cooks down but it adds the leafy nutrients to the meal which I'm all about 😊
Heeeeeeeeeeeerlijk!!
Super delicious and easy to make substitutions!
I used about 1/3 cup tahini and 2/3 cups pasta water instead of cooking cream and it worked really well.
Easy and super delicious! I couldn't find harissa but I found another spicy pepper paste and used that, still amazing, love how versatile your recipes are :)
What a beautiful recipe and so easy to whip up during busy week nights after work. Zero stress. Love the focus on harissa too so there's a nice kick to the dish :)
Loved everything about this dish, it was uber delicious! I’ll definitely be making it on a regular basis, thanks PUL! :)
It was my first time cooking with harissa (your recipes always have me try new things, thank you!!) and I found it too spicy for me, so next time I will add a little bit less :) But I think a spicy-lover would love this recipe!
Definitly one of my favorite pasta dish!! I discovered Harissa because of this recipe and I now use it in other recipe. Thank you so much for all the deliciousness you share with the world!
Hello. Thank you for amazing recipes. I love both your recipes and attitude. From nutritional standpoint, is it OK to use tomato paste considering a lot of it is preserved with salt? Can tomato paste be replaced with fresh tomatoes? I understand the reason to speed up cooking and prep time, paste is definitely helpful buttrying to find more about nutritional vales.
My non vegan family loves this one ! I just add less harissa because my 6 year old doesn’t like it too spicy !
This pasta was vey creamy and delicious. My husband who is not a fan of tomato base also loved it!! This has become and lunch and dinner staple.
I had a few ingredients missing but I substituted the bouillon cube with vegetable broth, cream with whole milk. It was absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try making it again!
Wow! This was a hit at my house. I finally got a chance to use harissa in a recipe and it was absolutely delicious.
This a staple dinner at our house
This dish tastes amazing! Thank you so much!
WHAT IN THE WORLD?! This was my first time making this and it was outrageously delicious and so fast?! It's also my first time ever trying harissa, thank you so much for your amazing recipes and wonderful videos, they always leave me feeling so inspired to nourish myself and those around me <3 (and apart from gathering ingredients, I think I spent about 18 minutes in total! 30 from start to food-in-mouth :p)
Great recipe, but I'm afraid I have a problem with the estimated tie given!
Prep 5mins? Takes me 5 mins to peel and cut up the onion even! Should be more time!
Also, in ur Video, he does it in 16 mins and is realy rushing it the whole way.
Guys I love your recipes and videos , I think your great!
Its not just you who exaggerates the total time... I don't understand why. ^^'
Soooooo good! I now cook this every (other) week <3 Thank you.
Simple yet delicious!
It is yummy
Such a great recipe! Flavorful, diverse, filling and protein packed! I used 1.5 tbsp. of the Harissa and it was plenty. Thanks PUL team for another delicious addition! Had never heard of Harissa before this recipe and now excited to continue cooking more with it.
Is there a substitute for the plant based cooking cream? I am having a difficult time finding that. Thanks!
This dish was fantastic! My die-hard, meat-eating, “I’m not eating vegan” husband loved this dish. Definitely keeping this in rotation every week or so.
A dish with a rich repertoire of flavours blended within a creamy texture. And like many of the other recipes on this website, it doesn’t disappoint!
Just cooked it and it was REALLY good! Thank you!
So I got my hands on some harissa and have been experimenting with it. I made this pasta a while back, loved it, so today I made it again, but as a risotto. Turned out great! Maybe next time it will be a pizza. :D
Thank you for the great recipe!
Favourite meal of my husband who won’t eat vegan food !
very good and easy meal, although I couldn't find Harissa in the local arabic supermarket in Germany where I live.
Hi, I really want to try this, but I cannot find harrisa sauce in my home country. Do you have a suggestion about a good substitute? I have Sambal Oelek and Sriracha, but I'm not sure which might fit better.
Love this quick to pull together, mid-week dinner. Packed with flavour - we use a homemade cashew cream rather than soy cream to add the creamy texture.
My friend and I loved this one so much. It's the perfect balance between bold and creamy. Because I'm a bit of a baby mouth, I used Rose harissa :).
Super creamy and flavorful with just a little kick of spice in the background. I love the peas in this dish as well. I used sliced almonds soaked in hot water then blended for the cooking cream. I already made this dish twice, and definitely will be making it again!
Delicious and easy weeknight meal. (I reduced the harissa to 1 tbsp )
Love this recipe. Made it quite a few times now. My teenage kids like it too. I have to tone down the harrisa amount otherwise it will blow your mouth off. Perhaps the paste in the UK is different. It's such a balanced meal too.
You are making/vegan/plantbased/whole food plant based eating BRILLIANT.
I haven't tasted yet but it looks delicious! Left out the coconut milk and nutritional yeast as I thought it was creamy enough, and added in some roasted broccoli and carrots! I also couldn't find harissa paste anywhere near me, so harissa seasoning had to do but I still think it worked ^_^ If I had planned properly, this would have definitely been a 20-minute-and-under meal!
Didn't have harissa so I used a different hot sauce - turned out great!
Added extra veggies and swapped for cashew cream to have more protein - an excellent buildable dish and cooking goes so fast!
Amazing!
Amazing flavours, super creamy, can see myself making this on repeat through winter! Adding mushrooms next time to up the veg (& also think they would be great in recipe anyway!)
I made this recipe for my wife tonight. She loved it. I really enjoy your website, recipes, and videos. Thank you.
I have just started looking through your site and trying your recipes. Had to post as I’ve made this for the first time today and it was so delicious. Was worried it might have too much of a kick for me but it was just enough. Will def be making regular.
So delicious, my family loved it.
This will definitely become a family recipe favorite.
Love this recipe! Thanks
This dish is simply delicious 😋 thank you
We eat this almost every week, it's so good!
Quick, Easy and most important DELICIOUS!
Wow! This just jumped up into my top 5 of all time. Incredible dish!
Thank you so much...amazing real food.
It was amazing!!
Hi,
I was wondering if I could substitute harissa powder for the harissa sauce. The powder is one of my pantry stables so I am curious if the final product would be very similar or if it makes a bit difference. I read online that I could use a 1:1:1 or 2:2:1 ratio of harissa powder, oil and water.
PS. I absolutly love the whole blog and all the recipes !
Loved this recipe
Added some fresh turnip greens and pistachio instead of pine nuts. No complaints from the kids, which is an amazing sign!
Yes it is easy to make and really tasty ! especially the next day !
My absolute favorite pasta recipe. I cook this once a week. I usually mix up the veggies according to what I have and often use frozen Peas and spinach
Delicious and super easy and now that i remember to start the pasta water first its ready in half an hour
This recipe was so delicious! I used a fresh red pepper and sautéed it for 5-7 mins and then substituted coconut milk for part of the sauce, such a flavorful and satisfying recipe with the harissa spice. Thank you!!
I just made this recipe for the second time ever this evening and we loved it!! I can't believe I haven't tried harissa in any dishes before because it is a sure fire winner! I love the ratio of sauce to pasta and all the extras added into the sauce alongside the pasta.
I used brown rice spaghetti this evening which is one of the first successful types of GF spaghetti which doesn't break up when stirred into a recipe! Double success! 🏆🙌🏻
You two have a lot to answer for. This 70 year old’s life is changing, most definitely for the better. I am growing my own food and learning new ways to cook, often alongside my granddaughters. Most of the time they teach me, but secretly I know where the long lasting benefits are taking root. I have tried each of the three 20 minute meals and I can’t thank you enough for the gentle and intelligent guidance running through all your work. Take a bow superstars.
Best wishes from Yorkshire, England.
I love it yummy!!! It's really awesome. Great recipe and really a nice one. Will surely try this. Try this one
I made this recipe today. It was amazing! So much flavour and so creamy!!
And really easy to make! Thank you
Oh my goodness, this is the most delicious pasta recipe. And so easy to make! I used coconut milk instead of vegan cream, and I roasted the red peppers myself - slowly roasted in olive oil with some whole garlic cloves, and it was delicious! I also used Rose harissa paste. We will be making this regularly. Thank you so much for all the work you do and for such a gorgeous website. We are in love with your recipes and they never fail to deliver.
This recipe is amazing. So much flavor and so easy to make. I now make this a regular in my menu rotation. Let's also talk about how it's not possible to watch PUL videos without smiling. Their videos are a great example of the positive impact one can have on people's emotions. I highly recommend!!!
Absolutely sold again!! Making this a second time today and I noticed how happy and excited I am while I prepare any recipe from pick up limes!! I had a bad day today...but collected ingredients for this pasta dish and my mood changed for the better! You all at pick up limes are a gift, and discovery of new food creations and health benefits is a treasure 💓 thank you thank thank you!!
Much appreciation
Veronica 😊🎉😍
this was absolutely delightful! i used rose harissa since my family isn’t the biggest fan of spice (which tasted great) but i think it’d be lovely with spicy harissa as well, definitely want to try that. my entire family loved this one, it was really really delicious!
Hey Sadia, hey Robin,
this recipe is so fantastic! I made this at work and everybody loved it so much! :)
Thank you so much for everything you do! Your videos and recipes always make me happy.
Delicious and so satisfying, great for weeknight dinners, we will be making this again! Thanks PUL
Just made this tonight with my family!! It turned out sooo delicious :) I love the addition of spinach and peas, makes for a really unique taste! I couldn’t find Soy cooking cream here in the states but I did substitute silken tofu and it worked so well!! Thank you so much for this recipe, adding it to our cookbook binder of yummy recipes :D
It's really flavourefull ! My boyfriend and I just loved it. I used an hot sauce instead of the harissa one. It was just a bit hot ahah. I think now we are aware of the amount we need for us ^^ Thanks for this recipe, it was really fast to make it
Can we use Sriracha instead of harissa?
I just wanted to comment on the user experience and aesthetic and design and photography of your website! everything is truly amazing! I’m obsessed! Love seeing the growth of this brand.
My family loved this creamy, flavorful pasta! My 9 year old couldn’t get enough. We have lots of leftover ingredients from making it so we’ll probably have it again this week!
Love how easy and quick it is to make. So so flavourful!!
This is my new favourite meal! So delicious :)
I made this just as written with the substitute of coconut milk. Delicious blend of flavors and textures! My husband found it a bit too spicy although I loved it with the two full tablespoons of harissa. I'll decrease the harissa by half next time, though, for his sake.
This recipe is great !! Normally I cannot really heat a lot of hot spices in a dish but here it worked great and I love the outcome !!
Harissa is a staple in our house, and this recipe didn't disappoint. We used coconut milk as a substitute, and it was delicious. The lemon zest and juice is a must, so don't skip that part.
Thanks for sharing so many amazing whole food recipes. I had gotten away from cooking over the past few years, and your blog is just what I needed to rekindle my love of plant-based cooking. My family sure appreciates it too! As a family, we're working our way through your recipes and having a lot of fun doing it. All the best from Canada 🇨🇦
AMAZING! I didn't think I would like it so much, but it's definitely going to be on a regular rotation in my house!
Simply amazing! I added some sun-dried tomatoes as well because I had some leftover and it came out perfectly! I can’t wait to eat again! 🙈
Thanks for sharing the recipe! ❤️
I just made this and OMG!! It was absolutely delicious. I subbed the soy cream for cashew cream and added some broccolini. This is definitely going to be a regular on our dinner table! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! ❤️
Made this recipe last night… sooo good!!! Delicious, as are all of your (pasta) recipes I’ve already tried. ☺️
The PUL-site makes a huge difference in transitioning to a vegan lifestyle!
Bedankt, Sadia!
This is the first pasta recipe I tried from the site and we loved it!! Thank you so much for these amazing content!
I made this with lentil pasta. It came out really good as far as taste, but I could have cooked the noodles longer.
I then baked it for 15 minutes. I didn’t have roasted red bell peppers so I used more harissa sauce. A little more heat!!! And I only had frozen spinach. I wanted to try this recipe so bad that I used what I had - didn’t have time to go to the store.
Nice to have a hearty dish without feeling bloated or overly full!! Love your recipes!! Keep doing what you’re doing!!! Looking forward to a hard copy of your cookbook!
Wowowow this was SO DELICIOUS and will definitely be made again. I already can’t wait to wat the leftovers again for lunch tomorrow! I can never find dairy free cooking cream in my grocery stores so I substituted with 1 cup of 2 parts oat milk, one part olive oil.
This was delicious and easy, I didnt have roasted red bell pepper so instead I added some half dry tomatoes in oil and it worked fantastic too. Very yummy, thank you for your beautiful work!
Ik heb milde harissa pasta gebruikt en het was heerlijk! Bedankt voor het recept!
I just made this and it was UNBELIEVABLE!
We had this tonight! Amazing! Thank you for your creative recipes and fun and beautiful videos.
We made this for dinner and it is definitely a keeper! It even got approval from my veggie hating husband, and that is a feat! We added some extra harrisa because we like it spicy, but the spicy of the sauce mixed with the lemon and the sweet, snappy peas was just delicious!
Just made this for dinner and it’s delicious! I do think the spice level of your harissa will determine how much you add. I only put in 1/2 of what the recipe called for and my ears are still smoking, in a good way lol.
So if you can’t do a lot of spicy, maybe start out with a little harissa and add from there.
Also we don’t have vegan cooking cream where I live so I made my own cashew cream (3/4 c soaked raw cashews + 1/2 c water blended) and it worked really well.
Overall, a great dish and I’ll make it again.
This was so delicious. Never heard of harissa sauce and I'm so glad you made this recipe. This is my favorite dish I've made of yours so far.
We just had this for lunch, it was delicious!!!
This is amazing, as usual. You literally make the most incredible pastas.
Wow! Thought I would have leftovers but my family squashed that idea! It was delicious.
The easy-to-follow recipe is also ideal for beginning cooks, so I will let my teenagers try it next time.
Super lekker! En heel fijn dat alle ingrediënten in de supermarkt bij ons te krijgen zijn, omdat jullie in Nederland wonen :)
I absolutely loved this recipe, and it came together in a flash! We eat supper at six, and so I try to plan my recipes accordingly. Usually, if a recipe says it takes 20 minutes, it takes at least 45. Not this one! I started it, and then had to twiddle my thumbs for quite a while since it genuinely was going to be done in 20 minutes. I subbed Calabrian chili paste for the Harissa and added chopped preserved lemon to this since I had it, and it was absolutely amazing!
What a wonderful recipe! I admit I was a bit skeptical about mixing Harissa in a pasta sauce, but it turned out to be just perfect! And with the lemon as well... My husband and I just couldn't stop eating and enjoying. Definitely will prepare it again (:
I did not time myself but as I'm not a fast chopper, I'm pretty sure I did some overtime.
It was quite spicy, I would definitely reduce the amount harissa next time 😛 but it was sooo tasty and creamy !
Also replaced the pepper by sun-dried tomatoes, and added some tomato tofu cubes for some more protein (was out of peas).
Eggplant goes pretty Good with harissa pasta as well:)
Loved this and will definitely be making it again!!!
Loved this recipe! The lemon REALLY tops it off nicely and the pine nuts add such an incredible texture.
Changes I made:
-I used chickpeas rather than green peas (don’t love green peas). The chickpeas worked out great.
-used a whole lemon, instead of half.
Can’t wait to make it again!!
My family loved it!!
I'm a beginner at cooking so it was the perfect recipe to start off with. It was super easy to make and the outcome was amazing!!
Thanks so much!
I was able to make this for the first time in under 20 minutes and it was SO delicious! I took leftovers to work and it was still incredible! It’s very budget friendly as well. I’m slowly transitioning into veganism and I love PUL for inspiration + the feel good videos and this recipe will definitely going to be a regular in the meal planning rotations!
Gonna be a staple for sure, love the diversity of flavours!!!
Oh man, I tried this tonight and it came out SO good! It was my first time using/tasting harissa (my grocery store only had a green one) and I’m super into it. I used rice noodle linguini and coconut milk because that’s what I had on hand. This is definitely going to be a staple; thank you!!
I made this dish for the first time tonight and it was delicious! Both my husband and I loved it! And there were enough leftovers for each of us to have for lunch tomorrow. The recipe was easy to follow and came together in about 20 minutes for us. We followed the recipe, except we didn't have peas so we just left them out and I added just a bit of cayenne because the only harrisa sauce I could find was mild in spice. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is going into the regular recipe rotation.
Made this today. It might be my new favorite pasta recipe. Never thought of using harissa as a base for pasta sauce. Works so well. Highly recommended
My entire family has loved this dish, including my 6 and 4 years-old sons. I have used mild harissa because they don't like spicy food. A huge success! We will make it again for sure!
This recipe is great! We made it last week and plan to make it again next week. No substitutions when we had this. We weren’t sure how spicy harissa is so used half the harissa in the recipe but probably will go with the full amount next time. Highly recommend this one!
Just made this and it was just perfect. Thank you so much!
Any idea where I can buy that pot from the first image, I just love the color!
Oh this is nice - easy to make very tasty and just a little bit different
I'm not vegan, not even vegetarian, but I love your recipes so much! This was the best pasta of my life. Thank you, Saadia, you're a genius. <3
So good! I made it last night and it was just so quick and simple, yet super creamy and the harissa gave it a little warmth to it as well. I'm definitely making this one again :)
Wow, this is excellent! So smoky and creamy, and I would eat the whole thing myself if it wasn’t so filling!
Rather than soy cream, I use the original unsweetened NutPods in cooking, and it worked a treat in this too.
This is definitely going in our meal rotation - thanks so much!
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it! Perfect for a student as it's quick and easy to make, will definitely be having this again ❤
So delicious!! I’ve made this twice in a week because my partner and I liked it so much, and because we usually have all the ingredients to hand!
This was so tasty! I used 2 tbsp harissa paste – it became quite spicy so I will just use 1 tbsp next time. And there will definately be a next time <3
Great recipe, and it was delicious! also made it well within 20 minutes.
Love this blog as well, so well organized and rich with information. Thank you PUL team!
First time using harissa and this pasta is a GREAT introduction! Would love to see a video of how you create and workshop a new recipe! Thanks for all of the delicious recipes!
Hi Sadia!
I absolutely love your recipes and your channel. And that one looks delicous!
Question: You often use lemon or lime juice to boost the flavour of your dishes.
Do you have any idea how to create a similar effect without using citrus juice - since my partner is allergic to citrus fruits.
In some of your recipes (e.g. your fabulous pea & basil pesto <3) I've used apple cider vinegar.
I was wondering if maybe you had another idea to give pasta and curry dishes a little boost ;)
Thanks :)
Hi Sadia! Thanks you for the amazing recipes that you post. Quick question – I have harissa 'paste' and not sauce and wondering how I should adjust accordingly? My husband and I are ok with medium levels of heat :) Thank you!!!
Spicy, quick and super delicious ☀️
Loved it! Simple, yet incredibly flavorful. Definitely a keeper!
This is so flavorful and yummy! I used half of the Harissa because I can’t handle Spicy, and it was perfect for me!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Love the 'challenge' videos! ❤️ And Robin made it more real life cooking ☺️ it was absolutely adorable. I too hate when pasta sticks to the pot😃 Maybe next challenge could have a color theme? Just a hint 😉 Thank you for making the videos so enjoyable.
this pasta is absolutely amazing - quick and so so delicious!! i used ordinary oat milk instead of the soy cream because i didn’t have any and it turned out so creamy and delicious - i’ll definitely be making this again!!
Made it for dinner tonight. Sooo good. Swaped the spinach for rucola because I had none in the house.
Amazing recipe as always! I couldn't help but notice all your serving dishes.. If you could please put them up in your Shop section! Especially the one you used in this video!! Thanks! :)
Hi,
The step five has an "add" too much (after "water") and the chopped paprika is missing. We tried it, quite spicy for young children, so it makes sense to reduce the harissa or skip it to make it suitable. In our case, our 7 year old son ate it with yoghurt, a nice way to reduce the heat !
Another absolutely divine recipe! Thank you :)
Every recipe I have tried from pickuplimes has been a succes! So yummy and healthy, I so appreciate your work! Thank you for your help in creating a healthy and tasty lifestyle!
My husband asked me to make something delicious for dinner tonight (cheeky!) and i had just seen Robin make this in the video. I had almost all the ingredients except harissa and paprika, so I substituted tahini and smoked paprika. It was exquisite ... and my husband said "this IS delicious"! I have to agree. We both had seconds! I have had no inclination to cook lately, and your recipes (and your charming vibe in your videos) have reminded me to take inspiration from you. Thank you so much Sadia and Robin. Fondly, Raelene (and Peter)
Yummie!! It was so good!! I realy like the taste of the harissa. First time i tried harissa. It gives the recipe a special flavour!!
Lovely recipe!
I tried this today and loved it. I didn't have cooking cream though, but it also worked with oat milk. So delicious!
This is soo good! Instead of harissa i added fresh chopped tomatoes with chilli :-) Love it.
Did this recipe today. Didn't have harissa but some pepper, chilli and cumin powder did the trick instead :) Used ramen noodles instead of linguine too. Creamy, quick, easy and full of flavor! 10/10 will cook again!