The Grand Rasta Pasta from Island Vegan by Lloyd Rose is a creamy, colorful twist on a Jamaican favorite. Inspired by the red, yellow, and green of Rastafarian culture, this dish mixes Caribbean flavor with comforting pasta.

It’s a fully vegan recipe that swaps dairy for full-fat coconut milk, which gives the sauce a rich, smooth texture. The jerk marinade brings warmth and spice, while allspice berries add sweet, nutty, and peppery notes. Meaty mushrooms take the place of chicken or shrimp, giving it depth and bite without the meat.

Bell peppers bring crunch and color, making each forkful colorful. Sun-dried tomatoes add a tangy, savory edge that plays perfectly with the creamy sauce. Penne soaks it all up, and a touch of nutritional yeast boosts the umami flavor.

This is the kind of dish you make when you want something cozy but still exciting. It’s great for dinner with friends or just a quiet night in. A Caribbean classic, done the vegan way – simple, flavorful, and full of plant-based comfort.

A flavorful dish for the whole family

Rasta pasta is a dish that originates from Jamaica. The colors in the dish – red, yellow, green – are a representation of Rastafarian culture. This vegan version uses all the best flavors of Jamaica without animal products.

vegan grand rasta pasta with three colors of bell pepper

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Servings

Ingredients

14.5 oz (410 g) penne pasta
1 cup (235 ml) pasta water
2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
2¾ cups (200 g) sliced white mushrooms
¼ tsp salt
1 cup (150 g) roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp (15 ml) oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
½ cup (100 g) julienned yellow bell pepper
½ cup (100 g) julienned red bell pepper
½ cup (100 g) julienned green bell pepper
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable stock
2 tbsp (30 ml) Jamaican Jerk Marinade
1¾ cups (415 ml) canned full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp (10 g) nutritional yeast
1½ tsp (1.5 g) fresh thyme leaves removed from the stems
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook it 1 minute less than the package instructions. Once ready, reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of the pasta water for later use. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Bring the heat of the skillet with the garlic down to medium heat. Add in the mushrooms and salt, then sauté them for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften and turn light brown in color. To the same pan, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar and all of the bell peppers and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the bell peppers turn slightly tender but still have a bit of crunch to them.
Add the vegetable stock to the pan and mix in the Jamaican jerk marinade. Once the marinade is all mixed in, stir in the coconut milk and nutritional yeast. While stirring regularly, bring the mixture to a light boil. Add in the penne pasta to the pan mixture, along with a quarter of the reserved pasta water, and stir until all of the pasta is coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat, mix in the fresh thyme and add salt and black pepper to taste. Serve hot!

The remaining pasta water can be used to revive the liquid in the pasta if it has dried out from being left on the stove for a while when dining.

Reprinted with permission from Island Vegan by Lloyd Rose. Page Street Publishing Co. 2024. Photo credit: Shanika Graham-White.