Pumpkin Pasta

Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo is a pumpkin pasta dish that's rich, savory, and perfect for fall. Pumpkin puree, vegan cheese subs and delicious Italian flavors come together to create a creamy, delightful meal for your family.

PUMPKIN PASTA RECIPE

Using just a handful of simple ingredients, you can create a vegan pumpkin pasta dish that will rival anything you've had at a fancy restaurant. This pasta sauce is creamy, cheesy, savory, and packed with the flavor and nutrition of pumpkin.

We get tons of flavor from garlic and ground sage, which pairs beautifully with the slight sweetness of the pumpkin to create a well-balanced dish.

The sauce for this pasta comes together really quickly, and will be ready to go in about 10 minutes. Make this pumpkin pasta sauce while your pasta is cooking and you'll have dinner ready in a flash! For a simple and also quick side dish that will go perfectly, try Air Fryer Eggplant or Air Fryer Mushrooms.

Love creamy pasta recipes? Try my Vegan Carbonara next, or pasta with savory sweet potato sauce.

INGREDIENTS FOR PUMPKIN PASTA

Olive Oil - The base for most delicious pasta sauces is a good quality olive oil. We'll use this to saute our aromatic vegetables.

Onion - diced onion adds a warm and delicious flavor.

Garlic - I use two good sized cloves of garlic for this recipe. You can add a bit more if you want to. The garlic is a huge part of the flavor of this dish.

White Wine - We're cooking with this wine, not drinking it. You want to use a crisp white wine such as a sauvignon blanc, or a pinot grigio. In a pinch, any white wine you have in the fridge will work too. If you'd rather not cook with wine, use water and a squeeze of lemon juice instead.

Salt and Pepper - Season this sauce well so that it's ready to eat.

Ground Sage - This herb goes so well with pumpkin and other winter squashes. To me it just tastes like fall!

Pumpkin Puree - Canned pumpkin puree is perfect, but you can use fresh if you have it too.

Vegan Yogurt - A plain vegan yogurt will add creaminess to the dish. You can use whichever type you like. Soy, almond milk, and coconut milk options are all great.

Nutritional yeast - called "nootch" sometimes, this vegan substitute for parmesan cheese has a deep umami flavor.

Pasta - Fettuccini is perfect for this vegan alfredo sauce, but any shape will work. Use regular or gluten free, depending on your needs and preferences.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PUMPKIN ALFREDO

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to the package directions. If possible, time it so that your pasta finishes at the same time as your sauce. If not, it's no big deal. Keep the pasta warm while you make the sauce.
2. Add the olive oil and diced onion to a large saucepan.
3. Cook the onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until onions begin to brown. Then, add the white wine, salt, pepper, and sage. Sautee for a few minutes to combine.
4. Add the pumpkin, yogurt, and nutritional yeast. Continue cooking briefly, stirring.
5. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until smooth. This mixes everything together and breaks down the pieces of onion.
6. Add hot cooked fettuccini to the alfredo sauce and mix well before serving with an optional parsley garnish.

These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH PUMPKIN PASTA

This pasta makes a delicious dinner all on its own, but can be turned into a larger meal if you like!

To add protein, serve this pasta with Vegan Meatballs or Baked Tofu. Vegan Italian sauces would be amazing too. You can add these right in to the pasta or serve the two dishes separate.

For more veggie goodness, add a vegetable side dish like Air Fryer Broccoli or Roasted Brussels and Carrots.

WHAT TYPE OF PASTA SHOULD I USE WITH PUMPKIN PASTA SAUCE?

I like linguini or fettuccini with this recipe, but you can really use any pasta shape! try thin spaghetti, ziti, or rigatoni.

IS PUMPKIN ALFREDO HEALTHY?

I'd say that this recipe is probably lower in fat than a traditional cream+butter+cheese alfredo sauce. We're creating volume using high fiber pumpkin, and using vegan substitutes for the dairy products, making this a somewhat healthy alternative to high fat pasta dishes.

WHAT SUBSTITUTIONS CAN I MAKE?

This recipe is vegan as written. If you are vegetarian or otherwise eat dairy, you can use parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast and regular plain yogurt instead of dairy free.

Gluten free pasta will work equally as well as wheat based pasta, and the wine can be left out entirely and substituted with water or vegetable broth. Add a squeeze of lemon juice for a bit of acidity if you don't add the wine.

Cooked and pureed butternut squash can be used in place of pumpkin puree.

I can't recommend substituting any of the flavor ingredients (onion, garlic, sage), but you could always experiment to find what you like!

MORE AMAZING PUMPKIN RECIPES TO TRY

Looking for a snack? try Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds, or pumpkin sugar cookies.

For breakfast you should try some Vegan Pumpkin Bread or Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. With a spread of vegan butter - so good!

This Oatmeal Pumpkin Breakfast Bowl is another healthy and tasty way to start the day.

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake is sure to be your favorite dessert this season. Give it a try, it's amazing.

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