This vegan Rasta pasta is spicy, creamy and packed full of flavour! With a jerk seasoned creamy coconut sauce, colourful bell peppers, seitan chicken and pasta this dish is super satisfying and easy to make too!
What Is Rasta Pasta:
Rasta pasta was first invented by chef Lorraine Washington in 1985 at her Paradise Yard restaurant in Negril, Jamaica. Originally consisting of fettuccine topped with red sauce and ackee, it was dubbed 'Rasta pasta' by construction workers at the restaurant due to the red, green and yellow colours, and the fact that the fettuccine looked like dreadlocks.
The dish has since become popular in America and has evolved somewhat to become a jerk seasoned cream sauce with peppers and chicken or shrimp.
This vegan version swaps the cream and parmesan for coconut milk and nutritional yeast, and the chicken for seitan, to make a flavour packed, filling, colourful meal.
Ingredient Details:
Jerk seasoning: You need a dry jerk seasoning blend rather than a wet marinade, I use Dunn's River. Different brands of jerk seasoning will have slightly different flavour profiles and salt levels so you may need to adjust how much you use and how much salt you add to the dish depending on the particular brand of seasoning.
The brand that I use is not spicy, but some others might be, so you may also want to omit the scotch bonnet pepper, or just throw it in whole rather than chopping it up so that you get some of the flavour without the heat.
Coconut milk: Rasta pasta is usually made with heavy cream but full fat coconut milk is a perfect rich and creamy replacement. Make sure that it is full fat rather than lite!
Bell peppers: I like to use an array of colours for a vibrant looking dish, but you can use all of one colour if you prefer.
Pasta: Use any kind that you like. The dish was originally invented using fettuccine but penne seems to be most common.
Nutritional yeast: This replaces the usual parmesan for a cheesy flavour. You could also use a grating of vegan parmesan instead.
Seitan chicken: I like to throw in some of my seitan chicken shreds for protein. I toss them with a little olive oil and cook in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes at 180C then add them to the dish at the end of cooking. You can also use shop bought chicken pieces (cook them according to the instructions on the packet), or baked/air fried tofu.
Garlic + ginger: I use frozen for ease.
Scotch bonnet chilli: This adds lots of flavour and a bit of heat. I add it finely chopped but with the seeds removed, keep the seeds in if you want it extra spicy, or throw it in whole and remove it at the end of cooking if you want less spice.
How To Make Vegan Rasta Pasta:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: Gently fry the onion in a large pan for 5 minutes then add the sliced peppers, garlic, ginger and scotch bonnet chilli and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Step 2: Add the jerk seasoning, turmeric and thyme. Cook for 1-2 minutes then add the coconut milk, stock and nutritional yeast, simmer for 2 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the slightly undercooked pasta and the cooked seitan chicken, simmer for 5 minutes until the pasta has finished cooking through and the sauce has thickened. Season and serve!
Top Tips:
While I use a dry Jerk spice blend, you can use a wet marinade instead if you want, I would start with 1 ½ Tablespoons and add more to taste at the end of cooking. Depending on how spicy you want the dish to be, you may also want to omit the scotch bonnet pepper.
Instead of the seitan chicken you can use store bought vegan chicken pieces which you should cook according to the instructions on the packet before adding to the sauce. You can also use baked/fried/air fried tofu or tempeh.
Hold off on adding much salt until the end of cooking. Some jerk seasoning brands contain a lot of salt, and some don't contain any at all so you will need to salt the dish according to your own tastes at the end of cooking.
A garnish of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), parsley or spring onions (scallions) would work really well.
FAQ's:
Any leftovers should be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pan on the stovetop, add a splash of vegetable stock or coconut milk as needed to loosen the sauce up.
Yes, simply use a gluten free pasta and double check that the stock and jerk seasoning are free from gluten. Use tofu instead of the seitan chicken.
I find it to be mildly spicy, but not particularly hot. The spice level will vary however depending on the brand of jerk seasoning that you use. If you like it hot then choose a jerk seasoning with a high proportion of chilli (so high up in the list of ingredients) and don't de-seed the scotch bonnet chilli when you chop it up.
For a mild spice level, choose a jerk seasoning that has chilli lower down the list of ingredients and either omit the scotch bonnet or throw it in whole.
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Vegan Rasta Pasta
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) uncooked dry pasta
- 300 g (10 ½ oz) seitan chicken shreds*
- 2 ½ Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 large onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 bell peppers (use an array of colours) sliced into strips
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 scotch bonnet chilli** deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons dry jerk seasoning blend*** (more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 4 sprigs fresh)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 400 ml (14 oz) tin full fat coconut milk
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
- 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water for a couple of minutes less than the directions on the packet state. It should be very slightly undercooked. Drain and set aside.400 g (14 oz) uncooked dry pasta
- Toss the seitan chicken with ½ Tablespoon of olive oil then air fry at 180℃/350℉ for 4-5 minutes until heated through and starting to crisp around the edges.300 g (10 ½ oz) seitan chicken shreds*
- Meanwhile, heat the other 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and a small pinch of salt. Cook for about five minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened slightly.2 ½ Tablespoons olive oil, 1 large onion
- Add the sliced peppers, crushed garlic, grated ginger and chopped scotch bonnet chilli and cook for about another 5 minutes until the peppers have softened slightly.4 bell peppers (use an array of colours), 4 cloves garlic, 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 1 scotch bonnet chilli**
- Add the jerk seasoning, thyme and turmeric and cook while stirring for another minute or two.2 Tablespoons dry jerk seasoning blend***, 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 4 sprigs fresh), ½ teaspoon turmeric
- Add the coconut milk, stock and nutritional yeast. Simmer for 2 minutes.1 400 ml (14 oz) tin full fat coconut milk, 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock, 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Add the cooked pasta and seitan chicken. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta has finished cooking through and the sauce has thickened.
- Taste and add more jerk seasoning as required, I usually add an extra ½ Tablespoon. Taste again and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve!salt and pepper
Notes
- *Instead of the seitan chicken you can use store bought vegan chicken pieces which you should cook according to the instructions on the packet before adding to the sauce. You can also use baked/fried/air fried tofu or tempeh.
- **If you prefer a milder spice level, either omit the scotch bonnet chilli or throw it in whole so that you get some of the flavour without the heat.
- ***I use a dry jerk spice blend rather than a wet marinade.
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Gwilym
May I ask where you're getting nutritional yeast in the UK? This recipe looks amazing, and I'd love to try it, but I've looked for nutritional yeast at every supermarket I can find and I cannot find it anywhere.
Caroline-Marie Jones
I'm not Hannah the recipe creator, as you can tell. But I buy my nutritional yeast in Tesco in the stock cube aisle. Look for Marigold brand in the blue tub. I've also bought it in Holland and Barrett called yeast flakes which is the same thing. Or order online, Amazon etc
Hannah
As Caroline-Marie said, most larger supermarkets do have it, Engevita and Bosh are the main brands and it is usually by the stock or spices. I tend to buy it in bulk online: https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/nutritional-yeast-flakes-with-b12.html
Amy
We absolutely loved this recipe, we halved the amounts as only 2 of us & only had caribbean style seasoning, but was still delicious. If you enjoy caribbean cusine...this is one for you! Thank you Domestic Gothess x
Anne Boyd
The flavour profile of this is different from my usual so I was curious to see if we would like it. Everyone did love it, so it will become part of my rotation because it’s delicious and so quick to pull together. I’m glad I took the time to make my own jerk spice blend. Instead of seitan chicken I used veggie ground and it worked perfectly. And also used part cashew cream and part coconut milk. This is definitely a quick & delicious family dinner.