Creamy Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta - Vegan

This Vegan Creamy Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta is creamy, garlicky, and just the right amount of spicy. This vegan sun-dried tomato pasta gets its velvety texture from blended white beans instead of cream. It’s cozy, high in plant-based protein, and weeknight-easy, but special enough to serve as a fancy night in.

I Ran Through the Rain for Sun-Dried Tomatoes

It was pouring rain today. The kind of gray, cinematic rain where the light through the kitchen window makes everything look like a Nancy Meyers movie. And I don’t know what got into me, but I felt like cooking.

Not just “what’s for dinner” cooking. Old-school, 2016 blogger Kathy cooking. Batch three recipes. Photograph everything. Make a mess. Clean it up. Do it again. Classic workflow.

I haven’t worked like that in years.

So I Googled around and found this thing called “Marry Me” pasta — creamy, garlicky, sun-dried tomato, heavy cream, chicken - easy to veganize, the whole vibe. Supposedly so good someone proposes. Cute. Luckily, I'm almost twenty years into this married thing and can agree, food does matter. Pasta never fails.

Viral Vegan Pasta

And I thought, oh I can veganize that. Easily. I can even make it… dare I say… better.

White beans instead of cream. Protein without heaviness. Flavor without the food coma. Halfway through, I realized I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes.

And my brain started negotiating: Tomato paste? Red bell peppers? Crushed tomatoes?

No.

I needed the real thing.

And this is the part I’m weirdly proud of. I put on shoes, didn’t even announce I was leaving to my husband and ran through the rain to the tiny market down the street chanting “sun-dried tomatoes” in my head like I was robbing a bank.

I never do one ingredient trips to the store anymore. But this. It wasn’t about the tomatoes. It was about momentum. About remembering that I still care about details. About proving to myself that I can follow a creative instinct all the way through instead of softening it.

I came home soaked and slightly adrenalized and finished the sauce.

It's a creamy, thick one. But I kinda love it so much..

Creamy White Sauce

It’s creamy in that ricotta-adjacent way. Light but velvety. Subtle heat from red pepper flakes. Sweet tang from the tomatoes. Bowtie pasta holding onto everything like it knows its job.

The bean base sneaks in some added nutrition while really adding creamy texture and thickness.

And yes, if you served this to someone, they’d be happy to marry you. Or at least come over for creamy pasta Fridays...

But for me, it was more like remembering that the person who built a food career from scratch is still very much here. And loves this culinary conversation. She just cooks differently now.

Another white sauce pasta to try: my vegan Creamy Alfredo

"Marry Me" Pasta Trend

So in case you want context.. You may have seen “Marry Me” pasta floating around the internet over the past few years — usually a creamy, sun-dried tomato chicken situation that’s supposedly so good it inspires a proposal. The name is dramatic, yes, but the flavor profile is what actually stuck: garlicky, a little spicy, rich with sun-dried tomatoes and cream. I loved the sound of it, but I wanted something plant-based. Something that keeps that cozy, slightly indulgent vibe without the heavy cream. So this is my version. Same bold flavor energy, just reworked with white beans and a dairy-free creaminess that feels good enough for a weeknight but special enough to serve to someone you’re trying to impress.