This creamy vegan pumpkin pasta is a healthy comfort food dream come true. Made with just simple, wholesome ingredients in under 30 minutes, it’s perfect for a flavourful weeknight dinner. Gluten-free and oil-free.
There’s no shortage of pasta recipes on my blog. Think one-pot chickpea pasta, or creamy tofu pasta, or tempeh pasta with roasted cauliflower… And I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Pasta is one of those foods that never gets old. Plus, there are countless ways you can prepare it, depending on your mood and general preferences. So, put shortly, pasta is pretty much magic.
That’s why today I’m sharing my favourite creamy vegan pumpkin pasta recipe with all of you. Trust me, you’ll be going back for seconds with this one, and it is just in time now that pumpkin season is in full swing!
Creamy vegan pumpkin pasta
This dish turned out so flavourful, I could hardly believe it. The ingredients may be so simple and wholesome (most of them are vegetables, which is exactly how I like my food). Yet, the results are phenomenal.
The easy pumpkin sauce is made from fresh pumpkin, but you can swap this for the canned variety if you want to. There is a hint of earthiness to it and a perfect balance of sweet and savoury. Nutritional yeast, a long-term favourite ingredient of mine, adds a wonderful hint of cheesiness. When you add the sauce to the pasta, it thickens up nicely and complements the overall neutral flavour of the noodles. Finally, a handful of kale adds not only texture, but also yet another serving of vegetables!
Have I convinced you to try this dish yet? 😉
What pumpkin variety should I use?
Any pumpkin variety will work for this vegan pumpkin pasta recipe. I’ve provided alternative instructions for roasting and boiling, however you can also used the canned variety if you want to. See the recipe card for instructions on how to do so and still achieve a similar result.
What’s to love about this vegan pumpkin pasta?
It’s…
- Super creamy.
- Made from wholesome and natural ingredients.
- A lot less fancy and complicated than it looks!
- Beginner-friendly.
- Comforting and perfect for fall.
- Great for sharing or a romantic dinner for two.
- Ideal for pumpkin season.
- Versatile.
- Gluten-free.
- Oil-free.
- Nut-free.
How to make this easy creamy pasta dish
- Start by cooking your pasta according to packaging instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse.
- Add the onion and carrot to a saucepan filled with water and boil for 10-15 minutes, until softened. If boiling your pumpkin, add it in together with the other vegetables.
- Drain the vegetables and transfer them to a blender or food processor. Add the plant-based milk, tamari, nutritional yeast, cumin and onion salt. Blend until as smooth as possible.
- Pour the sauce into a frying pan and add the kale. Stir for around 2 minutes to heat up, and then stir in the pasta, cooking for a further 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Notes and substitutions
- If you want to use canned pumpkin, simply add it to the blender with the other boiled vegetables.
- If you want to roast the pumpkin, toss cubed pumpkin with some salt and then bake on a sheet of parchment paper for around 20-25 minutes, until fork tender, at 200 degrees C/400 F.
Other recipes you might like …
- How about an easy vegetable pumpkin stir-fry for another comforting dinner?
- … or sweet pumpkin hummus for a dessert option.
- Alternatively, add pumpkin to a chickpea quinoa salad.
Let me know in the comments: what’s your favourite comfort food this time of year? If you give this creamy vegan pumpkin pasta recipe a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) and leave your feedback in the comments below!
Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Frying pan
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 7 oz gluten-free spaghetti
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
- 2 cups pumpkin peeled and chopped (see notes for instructions on using canned pumpkin)
- 2/3 cup plantbased milk
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion salt
- 2 cups kale de-stemmed and chopped
Instructions
- Start by cooking your pasta according to packaging instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse.
- Add the onion and carrot to a saucepan filled with water and boil for 10-15 minutes, until softened. If boiling your pumpkin, add it in together with the other vegetables. (See notes on instructions for roasting the pumpkin).
- Drain the vegetables and transfer them to a blender or food processor. Add the plant-based milk, tamari, nutritional yeast, cumin and onion salt. Blend until as smooth as possible.
- Pour the sauce into a frying pan and add the kale. Stir for around 2 minutes to heat up, and then stir in the pasta, cooking for a further 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Notes
- If using canned pumpkin, simply add it to the blender with the other boiled vegetables.
- If you want to roast the pumpkin, toss cubed pumpkin with some salt and then bake on a sheet of parchment paper for around 20-25 minutes, until fork tender, at 200 degrees C/400 F.
Nutrition
Trying this with roast pumpkin sounds delicious! Will deffo be feeling extra autumnal after this!
My family and I all really enjoyed this recipe. I made a few adjustments for our taste. I sautéed the onion and carrots in some veggie broth instead of boiling them finishing the sauté with a couple of cloves of garlic. I added smoked paprika and pepper as additional spices and put in some of my favorite chipotle hot sauce, which adds flavor with not too much spice. Will definitely be making again! Thank you for posting!