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Home » Damn Easy! » Lunch & Dinner » 4 Budget Pasta Recipes (Vegan)

4 Budget Pasta Recipes (Vegan)

July 25, 2022 by Melanie Leave a Comment

These extreme budget recipes are four new ways to enjoy pasta for less than $1. I'm talking meals for under 50 cents! Just 10 minutes, very little clean up and so much flavor! These are dairy free and yummy. Let these be your new weekly dinner options or meal prep for a busy week.

White bowl filled with vegan butter noodles next to a shiny spoon.

Want to make these pasta dishes even more filling for just a couple more cents? Mix in a steamer bag of frozen vegetables! Many 12oz bags are 98 cents (24 cents per 4 servings!), require zero clean-up, and live in your freezer till you're ready to use them.

My favorite bag of frozen veggies is the Asian blends with bell pepper mixed in. So much flavor and a variety of textures 🙂

Contents hide
1 Vegan Lo Mein
2 Vegan Butter Noodles
3 Vegan Mac & Cheese
4 Vegan Lemon Pepper Pasta
5 Want More Budget Recipes?

Vegan Lo Mein

bag of fettucine pasta beside soy sauce, sesame seed oil and sriracha

Vegan Lo Mein Recipe - 42 cents per meal

This recipe is beyond simple. There are two ways you can make the sauce.

1.) Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha, and ginger powder together and pour over cooked noodles!
2.) Make a thick glaze-like sauce using the same ingredients. Simply add water and cornstarch to the mix and simmer the sauce till thick. This extra step takes less than 5 minutes to come together. This will smother your noodles in thick, rich flavors. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

White bowl filled with vegan lo mein noodles next to a shiny spoon.
  • 1 lb pasta (92 cents)

Sauce ingredients:

  • soy sauce - ½ cup / 4 oz ($1.58 bottle, 40 cents)
  • sriracha - 1 TB ($3.87 bottle, 12 cents)
  • ginger - 1 tsp (1 cent)
  • sesame oil - 1 TB ($6.88 bottle, 22 cents)
  • ½ cup cool water (FREE)
  • 1 TB corn starch ($1.54 container, 3 cents)

Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Simmer on the stove until the sauce thickens (less than 5 minutes), stirring the whole time. *Consider doubling the sauce recipe for extra saucy noodles!

Pour sauce over 1lb of cooked pasta.

$1.70 total = 42 cents each (4 servings)

Vegan Butter Noodles

box of penne pasta beside container of corn starch and vegan butter

Vegan Butter Pasta - 42 cents per meal

Look how simple this recipe is! Yes, you can skip the step of making a buttery sauce. You're welcome to toss butter with hot noodles. But making a thick sauce will coat each bit of noodles with a thick buttery flavor!

White bowl filled with vegan butter noodles next to a shiny spoon.
  • 1 lb pasta (92 cents)

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 6 TB butter ($3.98 pack, 74 cents)
  • 1 TB corn starch ($1.54 container, 3 cents)
  • 1 cup water (FREE)
  • salt (1 cent)

Melt six tablespoons of vegan butter in a large saucepan. Stir one tablespoon of corn starch into 1 cup of cold, cool, or room temperature water. Pour cornstarch water into the melted butter. Bring sauce to a simmer. Stir the whole time until it thickens (less than 5 minutes). Mix sauce with 1 lb of cooked pasta. Add salt to taste!

$1.70 total = 42 cents

Vegan Mac & Cheese

box of mini shells next to flour, spices and nutritional yeast

Mac & Cheese Recipe - 91 cents per meal

If you've never seen this recipe before then, I highly recommend clicking the link and checking it out. This recipe is genius! Why blend cashews or potatoes & carrots into a cheese sauce when you could skip the chopping, soaking, and cooking process.

This recipe by It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken has given us the frugal gift of dairy-free cheese powder mix! I made a giant batch and cooked it all up. She suggests making a jar of the cheese powder and using it in single servings. Again, GENIUS!

You could add vegan butter to this recipe, though I never do. However, I do add buffalo sauce over the top every time I eat it.

White bowl filled with cheesy vegan macaroni and cheese next to a shiny spoon.
  • 1 lb pasta (92 cents)

Sauce Ingredients:

  • nutritional flakes ¾ cup - 62g ($5.89 bag, $2.57)
  • flour - ½ cup - 80g ($2.12 bag, 5 cents)
  • 1 TB paprika (2 cents)
  • 2 ts salt (1 cent)
  • 2 ts onion powder (2 cents)
  • 1 ts garlic (2 cents)
  • 1 ts lemon pepper (2 cents)
  • ½ ts turmeric (1 cent)
  • 2.5 cups water 24oz (FREE)

Mix dry ingredients together, then whisk into cool or room temperature water. Simmer sauce until it thickens (less than 5 minutes). Mix sauce with 1 lb of cooked pasta.

$3.64 total = 91 cents each (4 servings)

Vegan Lemon Pepper Pasta

white table with a bag of rotini, canned coconut milk and lemon pepper spice bottle

Lemon Pepper - 71 cents per meal

Alright, folks, this is about as lazy as it comes. Pour a can of coconut milk over cooked pasta and season to taste. HA!! You're welcome to make a thick sauce by simmering coconut milk with 1 cup of water and a tablespoon of cornstarch. But it's great having such an effortless recipe, no simmering required.

The lemon pepper you see pictured is my absolute favorite. Some lemon pepper mixes are heavy in pepper, garlic or onion. I want my lemon pepper to have that strong tart flavor. I searched far and wide. This one is the winner. Salt and citric acid are the top ingredients.

White bowl filled with vegan creamy lemon pepper pasta with next to a shiny spoon.
  • 1 lb pasta (92 cents)
  • 1 can coconut milk ($1.82)
  • 2 ts lemon pepper ($2.98 jar, 11 cents)

Pour one can of coconut milk (I used full fat) over freshly cooked pasta. Sprinkle lemon pepper to taste and mix well.

$2.85 total = 71 cents each (4 servings)

Want More Budget Recipes?

  • 4 Budget Dessert Recipes - Vegan
  • 4 LAZY Budget Meals (no cutting board!) - Vegan
  • 4 Easy Budget Crockpot Meals (Vegan)
« 4 Lazy Budget Meals (Vegan)
4 Budget Slow Cooker Meals (Vegan) »

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