Creamy Herbed Pumpkin Pasta
Use a whole can of pumpkin in this quick, vegan Creamy Herbed Pumpkin Pasta recipe that will please the whole family and nourish your health with lots of vitamins and minerals.
You’ve probably made pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, decadent pumpkin brownies, pumpkin cookies, and maybe even some delcious pumpkin dips or even sweet pumpkin hummus. You might have made pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin protein waffles……but it’s time for a savory pumpkin recipe.
It’s the perfect season for quick dinners and warm bowls of wholesome, filling pasta covered in a creamy sauce.
Creamy sauce without real cream, that is. Best of both worlds right here!
What’s in Creamy Herbed Pumpkin Pasta?
This recipe is made of whole-grain pasta, lots of pumpkin and garlic, and some cashews. Without any “protein” foods, it still contains 16 grams of protein per serving, and even more if you use protein pasta. (I love the Brami brand that tastes just like white flour pasta but contains lupini beans!).
Herbs also have lots of health benefits, and this recipe is full of them! You’ll get to use many jars from your spice cabinet.
How to Make this Unique Pumpkin Sauce
If you can saute garlic, add some ketchup and then a bunch of other pantry staples, you can make this sauce!
You might be confused when making the pumpkin sauce since it contains a lot of liquids. We use a cup of homemade cashew milk, and a cup and a half of another plant milk (almond or soy), and then a whole 15-oz can of pumpkin. It seems like soup at first, but after sitting on the pasta for even a few minutes, the pasta absorbs a lot of the liquid and creates a thick and creamy sauce. I took the photo of this pasta within 10 minutes of pouring the sauce on, and it thickened up perfectly.
For more quick and easy pasta recipes, save some of these one-pot wonders:
Creamy Herbed Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz pasta of choice
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp ketchup OR tomato paste OR 1/4 cup tomato sauce, if that's what you have on hand
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
- 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk or soy milk
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1.5 tsp salt more to taste (savory pumpkin dishes need a lot of salt in my opinion)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp parsely
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (reduce or omit for no heat)
- 1/2 cup cashews + 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions
- Start cooking pasta in a large pot. I also like to get some veggies cooking to go on the side, such as roasting or steaming frozen broccoli.
- Blend cashews in a high speed blender with 1 cup of water until very smooth.Saute the garlic in a medium-sized pot or large skillet in a splash of water for about 2 minutes. Add ketchup or tomato paste and saute 1 minute more. Add the cashew milk from the blender, almond milk, pumpkin, and all remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat until very well combined and slightly thickened. It will seem like very liquidy soup right now--don't worry!
- Drain the pasta and return to the hot pot.
- Pour the sauce over hot pasta. Let sit about 5 minutes for sauce to thicken. If you'd like, serve with more salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce. I love to serve it with roasted broccoli and plant-based parmesan on top, too.
Notes
Nutrition
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
