Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

Nothing screams Fall more than a big bowl of creamy vegan pumpkin pasta! This is a simple and delicious recipe that requires just 10 key ingredients and 30 minutes to make.

As soon as September 1st rolls around, I am in FULL Fall mode. Sweet Potato Smoothies, Pumpkin Oatmeal, Butternut Squash Soup, Apple Pie Chia Pudding, I go crazy with all of it.

This vegan pumpkin pasta is up there on my list of Fall favorites. It’s super creamy, pumpkiny, and only takes about 20 minutes to make.

It’s infused with sage, thyme and nutmeg so it comes off like a fancy Fall dinner, but it’s actually incredibly simple!

We’ll use coconut cream to make it creamy, so it’s both dairy free and nut free. If you love this recipe, be sure to try my spicy vodka pasta next!

Key Ingredients

• Pumpkin puree: It wouldn’t be pumpkin pasta without pumpkin! I use and recommend canned pumpkin. Just make sure you aren’t using pumpkin pie filling since that has spices and sugar added.

• Garlic/Onion: Sauteed with some oil for lots of flavor.

• Arrowroot powder: To help thicken the sauce since we are not using any cashews. You can sub with tapioca or cornstarch.

• Coconut cream: To make the sauce very creamy. If you don’t have or can’t find coconut cream, you can chill a can of coconut milk and scoop off the top part and use that.

• Almond milk: To help thin the sauce out! You can sub with any other plain non-dairy milk of choice.

• Fresh sage and thyme: For fall flavor. If you only have dried, that will work too, just use 1/3 of the amount the recipe calls for.

• Nutritional yeast or cashew parmesan: For a hint of cheesiness. My personal preference is cashew parm because it gets creamier and richer, but regular nutritional yeast will work just as well.

• Nutmeg: Just a pinch for delicious Fall flavor. It won’t create a strong flavor, but will enhance the overall Fall flavor of the dish.

• Salt & pepper: Pasta is nothing without lots of salt and pepper!

• Pasta: You can use any type and shape of pasta, I used gluten free rigatoni but fettuccine, rotini or spaghetti would all be great!

How to make vegan pumpkin pasta

The first step is to bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. While that’s cooking, we’ll prepare the sauce.

Chop the garlic and onion and add to a pan with the olive oil. They don’t need to be perfectly chopped since they will get blended anyway.

Saute for about 5-10 minutes or until they start to look slightly golden brown and become very fragrant. Add in the chopped thyme and sage and continue to saute for about 5 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Once that is done, add the mixture to a food processor along with all remaining ingredients aside from the arrowroot powder and process until completely smooth.

A high speed blender will also work if you don’t have a food processor.

At this point, the sauce will be thin, but don’t worry, we will thicken it soon! Now, pulse in the arrowroot powder until there are no clumps.

Transfer the sauce to a pan and simmer over low heat to let it thicken. After 5-10 minutes, the sauce should be plenty thick, but you can whisk in an additional tablespoon of arrowroot powder if it needs to be thicker.

Once the sauce is at your desired consistency, taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Combine the pasta and sauce and serve immediately.

Make it nut free!

The almond milk can be subbed for any non dairy milk such as soy if you have an allergy.

Additionally, if you have a coconut allergy, you can simply leave the coconut cream out or sub for cashew cream. It will still be creamy and delicious!

What should I use to thicken the sauce?

I have only tested this recipe using arrowroot, but I imagine tapioca or corn starch or a neutral flour like rice or all purpose flour would also work. 

Either the starch or the flour will work to absorb some excess moisture from the sauce and make it very rich and creamy.

Try these pasta recipes next!

• Lemon Asparagus Pasta
• White Wine Cream Pasta
• Red Pesto Pasta
• Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
• Spaghetti Pomodoro

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