This quick and easy roasted pumpkin pasta sauce with vegan feta cheese and walnuts is the perfect lunch or dinner recipe for busy weeknights that’s simple, healthy and delicious! Made with just a few ingredients, this is the best creamy pasta sauce recipe for cozy autumn days!
The Best Pumpkin Pasta Sauce Recipe
Are you a pasta lover? If so, then you will love this delicious pasta with pumpkin! The combination of the creamy pumpkin sauce and the hearty “al dente” pasta is simply unbeatable. And the best part is that this recipe is also super easy to make!
Simple, healthy and delicious!
Not only is this creamy pumpkin pasta incredibly delicious, but it’s also rich in nutrients because the sauce is full of vegetables! The pumpkin, bell peppers and tomatoes are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, while the pasta gives you the long-lasting energy you need for your active day.
Oven-Roasted Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
By roasting the vegetables in the oven rather than cooking them, the pumpkin sauce is much more aromatic and flavorful than other pasta sauces you’ve come across. Of course, my Pumpkin Mac and Cheese and Pumpkin Alfredo Fettuccine are also totally delicious, but the roasted flavors definitely take this pasta sauce to the next level!
So, be sure to try this delicious pumpkin pasta recipe and enjoy it with Vegan Feta and walnuts! Feel free to share it with your friends and family too – they are sure to love it too! Now let’s get started!
Creamy Pumpkin Sauce Ingredients
To make this delicious pumpkin pasta, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Pasta (your favorite type)
- Pumpkin (e.g. Hokkaido „red kuri sqash“ or Butternut)
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Garlic cloves
- Cooking cream (e.g. oat or soy cuisine)
- Salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
For garnish (optional)
- Fresh herbs (such as parsley, sage or basil)
- Vegan feta (or vegan parmesan)
- Walnuts (or other nuts, seeds, kernels)
- Chili flakes (or other spices like paprika, nutmeg, etc.)
How to make Roasted Pumkin Pasta Sauce
As always, I recommend watching the recipe video and checking out these step-by-step instructions first. Then you can find the full recipe with the exact quantities in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Roast the pumpkin and vegetables
First, chop up the squash, peppers, and tomatoes and place them in a baking dish with the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Cook the pasta and blend the sauce
About 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, you can cook the pasta ‘al dente’ according to the package instructions (so that the pasta is ready at the same time as the veggies). Once the vegetables are cooked, allow to cool slightly and then blend together with the cream until smooth and creamy. Season to taste and add a little water depending on the desired consistency.
Step 3: Serve pasta with pumpkin sauce
Drain the pasta and serve in shallow bowls with the pumpkin sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs, feta, walnuts and chili flakes if desired. Enjoy your meal!
Tips for making the Best Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- Hokkaido pumpkin (also known as red kuri squash) does not need to be peeled, because the skin becomes soft after cooking. However, if you use butternut squash or any other type of squash, you have to remove the peel as it is too hard and not edible. You can easily peel it off after cooking.
- Of course, the pasta sauce can be made with only pumpkin, however, it tastes even better when roasted peppers and tomatoes are included! Anyway, feel free to add additional other vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, carrots, or sweet potatoes.
- When cooking the pasta, you can reserve some of the cooking water. If the pumpkin sauce is too thick after blending, you can thin it with the cooking water. The starch contained in it, gives the sauce a better consistency.
- If the pasta sauce is not spicy enough, you can season it with any additional spices such as curry powder, herbs, nutmeg, paprika, chili, etc.!
Pumpkin Pasta Recipe Variations
Here are 3 delicious variations of pumpkin pasta recipes you can try for variety:
- Pumpkin Sage Sauce: sauté fresh sage leaves in butter and add to roasted vegetables before blending. Cook the pasta al dente, mix it with the pumpkin sage sauce and serve it with vegan parmesan.
- Pumpkin Ricotta Pasta: cook the pasta and save one cup of the cooking water. Prepare a sauce by blending Cashew Ricotta Cheese, with the roasted pumpkin, garlic and some of the cooking water until creamy. Mix the sauce with the pasta and garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds.
- Pumpkin Spinach Pasta: Sauté the pumpkin in olive oil together with onions and garlic. Then add fresh spinach and let it fall together. Mix the pasta with the pumpkin and spinach mixture and add Vegan Parmesan Cheese to taste.
How to store pumpkin sauce?
Pumpkin sauce can be stored in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Then just heat it slowly in a deep pan or pot with a splash of water, unsweetened vegetable milk or vegetable broth. Then all you have to do is cook fresh pasta and you’re ready to enjoy your creamy pumpkin pasta!
Can you freeze pumpkin sauce?
Sure! You can freeze the sauce in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container, or in ice cube molds for a good 3 months. When needed, just take it out, let it thaw and reheat.
How to store pasta in sauce?
To properly store pasta in sauce, there are a few steps you can follow:
- First, you should store the noodles and sauce separately. This will prevent the noodles from getting too soft.
- Cook the pasta al dente, which means a little al dente. If the pasta is cooked too soft, it may become mushy when reheated in the sauce.
- Drain the pasta well after cooking to remove excess water. This will keep them loose and not stick together.
- Store the pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will keep them fresh and sanitary longer.
- The sauce can be stored separately in another airtight container in the refrigerator. Make sure the sauce is completely cooled before you seal it.
- If you want to serve the pasta and sauce together, you can simply heat the two in a pan or pot. Add the pasta to the sauce and heat gently until hot.
Please note that reheated pasta in sauce may not have the same consistency as freshly cooked noodles.
This Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce Recipe is:
- Quick and easy to make
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Nut-free
- Gluten-free possible
- Versatile
- Creamy
- Delicious
- Pairs well with pasta, gnocchi, potatoes, vegetables & more!
- Ideal for meal prep
- Perfect for lunch or dinner during fall season!
More Vegan Pumpkin and Squash Recipes to try
- Pumpkin Chickpea Curry
- Roasted Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Bread Rolls
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Spinach Pasta Bake
- Pumpkin Risotto with Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Pumpkin Hummus
- Pumpkin Ravioli
- Squash Ravioli
- Pumpkin Quinoa Chickpea Burgers
- Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Spinach Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
Recipe Video
If you try this easy vegan pumpkin pasta recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your pasta with pumpkin sauce and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I would love to see your result! Have fun cooking! 🙂
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Vegan Feta and Walnuts
Author:Ingredients
For Serving (optional)
- fresh herbs to taste, e.g. parsley or sage
- vegan feta
- walnuts
- chili flakes optional
Instructions
*Note: Feel free to check out the recipe video + detailed step-by-step instructions above!
- Preheat the oven to 392 °F (200 °C).
- Wash, halve, seed and dice the squash and peppers. Wash and quarter the tomatoes and remove the stalk. Peel the garlic cloves. Spread the vegetables in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.
- About 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, cook the pasta in salted water according to the package instructions to "al dente" (so that the pasta is ready at the same time as the sauce).
- Once the vegetables are tender, let them cool slightly, then blend with the cooking cream in a blender or with an immersion stick blender until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper and add a little water if needed, depending on the desired consistency.
- Drain the pasta and combine with the pumpkin sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs, vegan feta, walnuts and chili flakes as desired.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Before draining the cooked pasta, you can reserve a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce later.
- Hokkaido pumpkin doesn't need to be peeled because the skin softens after cooking. So you can blend it along with the rest. If you use butternut squash or another type of squash instead, you will need to remove the peel as it is too hard and not edible. You can also easily peel it off after cooking.
- You can store leftover sauce (or pasta in sauce) in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When reheating, add a splash of water or unsweetened plant milk as needed.
- More helpful tips and information about the recipe, including detailed storing & freezing notes, are are mentioned the blog post above!
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