This Penne Pasta recipe is a vegan and delicious, comforting saucy pasta dish made with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olives, herbs and seasonings.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 65 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

  • 200 to 250 grams penne pasta
  • 4 to 5 cups water (or add as required)
  • salt (as required)
  • 6 to 7 tomatoes (- medium-sized, chopped or 3 to 3.5 cups chopped tomatoes)
  • 2 onions (- medium-sized, thinly sliced or finely chopped or 1 cup, sliced)
  • 300 grams button mushrooms (- chopped or sliced)
  • 6 to 7 garlic cloves (small to medium sized, crushed or minced or 1.5 to 2 teaspoons, crushed)
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or your preferred dried herbs)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 4 green olives (- pitted)
  • 4 black olives (- pitted)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt (as required)

Method

To cook penne pasta

  1. Boil the water together with salt in a pan or pot on high heat.
  2. When the water begins boiling, add the penne and cook until al dente. The timing will vary with the quality of pasta.
  3. Strain the water and reserve the penne.

To make the tomato mushroom sauce

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan.
  2. Add the sliced onions and sauté them stirring often till they become light golden on low to medium-low heat.
  3. Add the crushed garlic and sauté for about 15 to 20 seconds.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well.
  5. Sauté the tomatoes until they soften, become pulpy and mushy. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes on a low to medium-low heat. Keep on stirring in after couple of minutes when the tomatoes are getting cooked.
  6. Now add the chopped button mushrooms.
  7. The mushrooms will loose water and then shrunk in size and then get finally cooked. This process will take about 10 to 12 minutes on low to medium-low heat.The sauce will thicken and appear less runny or watery after the mushrooms have cooked thoroughly and become tender.
  8. Finally add the olives and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on low heat.
  9. Serve the cooked penne with the tomato mushroom sauce or you can choose to mix the penne pasta with the sauce and serve.While serving, garnish with your choice of fresh herbs or some cheese if you like.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.