Vegan Rasta Pasta (With Coconut Milk)

This Jamaican rasta pasta recipe is a one pan vegan Caribbean style tasty pasta dish with a medley of bell peppers, seasoned with the infamous jerk marinade and cooked down in a creamy coconut sauce.

If you are a big fan of all things pasta based then you are going to love this vegan pasta dish.

This cuisine is brimming with heat and true island flavour.

Best of all, it's a one pan dish that's so easy to bring together and great to prep ahead of time or in bulk to save yourself the hassle of being in the kitchen.

The origins

Growing up I don't recall hearing about "rasta pasta" it definitely wasn't a recipe which my family especially the older generation would be aware of.

However, the origins of the dish are of course in Jamaica, the home of the Rastafarian movement.

It actually was chef Lorraine Washington in 1985 at the Paradise Yard restaurant in Negril who created this infamous dish.

At the time she was preparing a meal for some blue collar workers (in the construction industry) where she plated up some ackee on a bed of tomato sauce with fettuccini.

The dish also contained the red, gold (yellow) and green colours that are associated with Rastafari and one of the carpenters said the fettuccini reminded him of locs, a popular hairstyle with Rasta's

The above description was very much akin to Rasta which is how the name Rasta Pasta came about.

A popular fusion dish, where Jamaican meets Italy, right in the very middle.

From there Rasta Pasta became a hit, people begged for the aforementioned to be put on the menu, where it remained until 1997.

In the late 1990's an Italian chef by the name of pops, decided to put his own signature twist on Lorraines dish.

He further went onto combining Jamaican flavours with Italian pasta and a cheesy creamy sauce.

This dish become rapidly popular to the point where pops opened his first Rasta Pasta restaurant in 2003.

What is rasta pasta?

In short, it is a fusion pasta based dish, with Jamaican and Italian influences.

The main ingredient being pasta, a popular ingredient in Italian food. The pasta is boiled until al dente.

Then it is combined with bell peppers, being the colour - red, yellow/gold and green. This is very important as these tri-colours represent the Rastafarian lifestyle.

Ingredients such as jerk paste, onion, scallion, garlic are used as the base. Cheese and cream/coconut milk are used to make the creamy sauce.

Do Rastas eat rasta pasta?

For clarity, no Rastas DO NOT eat rasta pasta. The dish actually got its name strictly from the aesthetics of chef Lorraine's cuisine more so then the actual lifestyle of a Rastafarian.

True Rasta people eat what is known as Ital food. This food is natural and derives from the earth.

It is free from additives, chemicals and is not processed (or minimally, if at all) with a medley of herbs, spices, fruit, hard food known as ground provisions and other natural foods.

It is very much a vegetarian/plant based lifestyle, however, it is not unheard of for some Rastas to eat a pescatarian diet, consuming only small fish (not shrimp)

If you were to visit Jamaica, it is very unlikely that you will find any Rastas consuming rasta pasta, as this wouldn't be considered ital food.

I thought I would clear that up especially for anyone who is reading this and is not familiar with Caribbean/Jamaican cuisines and the Rastafari movement.

Meat inclusion

This dish has certainly caused a worldwide divide, if I'm honest I don't feel comfort with including any form of meat and associated it with the word Rasta.

As someone from the islands, and who has Rastas in my family, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

I will respectfully adhere to my roots by not including meat in this dish, plus it does taste amazing without if I'm honest.

There are quite a lot of recipes out there who do, most of which, don't give it a second thought. With the majority being culturally unaware (mostly though ignorance).

As a result, this has sparked a debate as to whether meat should be included in the recipe.

However, with that being said, I've seen the following combinations;

• Jerk chicken and shrimp pasta
• Oxtail rasta pasta
• Rasta pasta with shrimp

The list goes on and on but my personal stance is to keep it ital (meat free) by omitting the use of poultry.

I've heard there is a restaurant in selling rasta pasta in Brooklyn.

Apparently Footprints' rendition is amazing, let's see if my plant based version can surpass them with uber amounts of flavour.

Reasons why you will love this recipe

• It is incredibly easy to make and time efficient
• A budget friendly meal
• Dinner will be ready in less than an hour
• Perfect for those busy weeknights
• Suitable for meal prep with leftovers being freezer friendly

The ingredients you need

• Bell peppers - Red, yellow (gold) and green are very important colours for the Rastafarian movement so in light on this, I recommend using this trio colour of bell peppers.
• Olive oil - used to sauté the onion and garlic
• Onion/garlic and scallion - these vegetables form the foundation of the actual recipe. sort of like the base ingredients.
• Pasta - fusilli or penne, gluten free options, I prefer to use chickpea fusilli for this recipe.
• Tomato - chopped, fresh tomato, just a medium sized one will do.
• Coconut milk - coconut milk is the perfect extremely substitute for full fat cream, yet it yields a thick and creamy plant based sauce.
• Jerk marinade/paste - I highly recommend using Walkerwoods (the spicy one) as it gives the dish a nice little kick.
• Turmeric - this add a yellow hue to the reipe which makes it look aesthetically pleasing.
• Thyme and black pepper - fresh sprigs of thyme and black pepper for garnish.
• Vegan cheese - any vegan cheese works, however my new favourite is Cathedral City Plant Based Cheese (its a UK brand) tastes amazing!
• Water - a small amount is needed to steam the bell peppers

Recipe preparation

Boiling the pasta - You will want to add the pasta of your choice to some water and bring to the boil for roughly 7 minutes. This will par cook the pasta to firm (al dente) stage.

Sauteing the base ingredients - add the coconut oil to the skillet. Then saute the garlic, onion and scallion just until they become soft and translucent.

Steaming the bell peppers - I like my peppers on the soft side so what I do is add the peppers to the skillet, stir and then add about ¼ cup of warm water to the pan, cover for 10 minutes so the veggies are steamed and softened.

Jerk marinade - this will yield your heat and flavour. I used 1 tablespoon which is a nice fiery heat, but not overpowering. If you don't care for spice, use 1 teaspoon instead. I also add the tomato during this stage as well.

The vegan sauce recipe - it's made with coconut milk but I promise you won't be able to taste the coconut flavour because of the additional ingredients. I pour the coconut milk into the pan with the par cooked pasta and turmeric.

The vegan cheese - the cheese should be the last thing to hit the pan and only needs a few minutes to melt and infused into the coconut milk.

Garnish - Prior to serving I like to loosen up the leaves of some fresh thyme and sprinkle all over the cooked dish along with some black pepper.

The steps

• Bring the pasta (add 1 tablespoon of pink salt) to a boil for about 5-7 minutes and saute the onions, garlic and scallions until soft.

• Add the bell peppers, water and steam for 10 minutes (covered).

• Add the tomatoes and jerk marinade to the skillet and stir.

• Stir in the pasta and the turmeric into the rest of the ingredients.

• Finally add the coconut milk and vegan cheese into the pan and stir.

Notes and tips

• Prep the bell peppers by slicing them, grating the vegan cheese (if necessary) and arranging the rest of the ingredients to bowl, ahead of time.
• I highly recommend using the brand Walkerwood jerk paste (hot) as it gives the dish as nice little kick to it.
• Feel free to use my homemade Jamaican Jerk Paste instead.
• I didn't add any salt to this recipe, however be sure to do a taste test and add accordingly.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month.
• You may need to add a splash of water to rejuvenate the pasta/sauce.
• If you want your bell peppers crunchy, then omit the water, steaming the peppers and just skip that step and continue.
• I used chickpea fusilli but another other gluten free short pasta i.e. penne, rigatoni, farfalle etc..
• Feel free to add in any additional vegetables i.e. mushrooms, carrots, sugar snaps etc..

More Jamaican recipes to try

• Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
• Jamaican Rice and Peas
• Jamaican Stew Peas
• Jamaican Banana Fritters
• Curry Jackfruit Run Down
• Ital Stew
• Jamaican Fried Dumpling

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Vegan Rasta Pasta (With Coconut Milk)

This Jamaican rasta pasta recipe is a one pan vegan Caribbean style tasty pasta dish with a medley of bell peppers, seasoned with the infamous jerk marinade and cooked down in a creamy coconut sauce.

5 from 21 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Entree

Cuisine: Jamaican

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 304kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups gluten free pasta heaped
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil (28g)
• ▢ 1 small onion chopped
• ▢ 2 scallion sliced
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper sliced
• ▢ 1 yellow bell pepper sliced
• ▢ 1 green bell pepper sliced
• ▢ ¼ cup of warm water (60ml)
• ▢ 1 small tomato chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon jerk marinade/paste (8g) vary depending on heat, see post
• ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric (2g)
• ▢ 14 oz can of full fat coconut milk (400ml)
• ▢ 1 cup vegan cheese (112g)

For the garnish

• ▢ 3 sprigs of thyme stems removed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of black pepper (1g)

Instructions

• Bring the pasta to a boil for 5-7 minutes (with 1 tablespoon of pink salt), then drain/rinse in a colander and set aside.
• Meanwhile, on medium heat, melt the coconut oil and saute the onion, garlic and scallion until soft
• Add all of the bell peppers to the pan, pour in the ¼ cup of water, reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and allow to steam for 10 minutes.
• Once steamed, increase the heat to medium and stir in the tomatoes and jerk marinade.
• Add the pasta, turmeric and pour the coconut milk into the skillet and combine all of the ingredients together.
• Allow the pasta to cook some more with the coconut milk for a further 3-4 minutes.
• Finally stir in the vegan cheese and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Garnish with thyme (loosen from stem to sprinkle) and black pepper.
• Serve accordingly

Video

Notes

• Prep the bell peppers by slicing them, grating the vegan cheese (if necessary) and arranging the rest of the ingredients to bowl, ahead of time.
• I highly recommend using the brand Walkerwood jerk paste (hot) as it gives the dish as nice little kick to it.
• Feel free to use my homemade Jamaican Jerk Paste instead.
• I didn't add any salt to this recipe, however be sure to do a taste test and add accordingly.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month.
• You may need to add a splash of water to rejuvenate the pasta/sauce.
• If you want your bell peppers crunchy, then omit the water, steaming the peppers and just skip that step and continue.
• I used chickpea fusilli but another other gluten free short pasta i.e. penne, rigatoni, farfalle etc..
• Feel free to add in any additional vegetables i.e. mushrooms, carrots, sugar snaps etc..

Nutrition

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 358mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2890IU | Vitamin C: 117mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

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