Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta | Easy Cheese Sauce

This is the BEST Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce Recipe – It’s incredibly creamy, healthy, delicious, dairy-free, and perfect to serve with Fettuccine pasta or to use as a cheese sauce for sandwiches, casseroles or more dishes! The ultimate comfort food for cozy fall weeknight dinners that can be made gluten-free & nut-free too!

The BEST Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Who else loves enjoying a creamy and cheesy vegan pasta bowl for dinner?! I could literally eat this kind of comfort food almost every day! And as I’ve already mentioned in the Pumpkin Gnocchi blogpost, I‘m also totally crazy about cooking with Pumpkin! So why not sharing another simple vegan Pumpkin or squash Pasta recipe? Well, if you’ve never tried this combination, you should definitely go for it! Honestly, it’s so good and I’m sure you’ll love it too!

Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cheese Sauce

Since I’ve shared my vegan pumpkin mac and cheese recipe here on the blog, some of my readers asked me how to make it nut-free and allergy-friendly. So made the sauce over and over again but in different versions to figure out which options and substitutes are possible! So in other words:

This Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Cheese Sauce Recipe is perfect for everyone!

No matter if you’re vegan or vegetarian or meat-eater because everyone will love this healthy dairy-free cheese sauce! Since it’s much healthier than real cheese, you can also make it when you want to reduce calories in your diet. Even if you’re avoiding carbs like pasta, this Pumpkin Alfredo cheese sauce is perfect because it’s very versatile and also delicious to serve over vegetables!

Simple & healthy Ingredients

This Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce recipe is originally adapted from my classic vegan mac and cheese sauce while there are a few swaps and options. It’s mainly just made of pumpkin (no potatoes) and non-dairy milk but the flavors of roasted garlic and nutritional yeast are still an important part of this dairy-free cheese sauce! I also like to some warming fall spices like nutmeg or pumpkin spice but you can vary the seasonings to your desired taste!

Which non-dairy milk can I use?

You can pretty much use any non-dairy milk based on your personal nutrition and taste. If tolerating nuts, I suggest using creamy cashew milk or almond milk because they’re relatively neutral in taste. For a nut-free vegan alfredo cheese sauce, I suggest using oat milk or soy milk or coconut milk. However, also another non-dairy milk like hemp or sunflower seed will do! Just make sure to use a pretty rich and no watery milk if you want a super creamy sauce!

Make your own non-dairy cream!

I often find non-dairy milk in the supermarket which is very expensive and has high water content, about 90%! So I prefer making my own dairy-free milk because it’s not only cheaper but I also want to be sure that it contains no added flavors or sweeteners. Besides this, homemade non-dairy milk or cream is also very easy to make! Just blend up soaked nuts (or seed butter if nut-free) with water and that’s it! What I also love is that you can vary the amount of water. So adding less water for a rich and creamy milk or adding water more to thin.

How to make Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Step 1: Make Pumpkin or squash purée

For this recipe, you’ll need pumpkin purée or butternut squash purée. I prefer making my own homemade pumpkin purée by roasting a Hokkaido pumpkin (also known as “Red Kuri Squash”) in the oven as directed in this recipe or this recipe. However, you could also cook the pumpkin or squash on the stove or in the microwave as instructed here.

Can I use canned pumpkin purée?

If you don’t have much time you can definitely use canned pumpkin purée as mentioned in the recipe notes. Anyway, I still recommend roasting a whole smaller pumpkin or squash in the oven because this gives the sauce the most richness, creamiest consistency, and best flavorful taste!

Step 2: Blend all the ingredients into a creamy cheesy vegan sauce!

Once you’ve cooked the pumpkin or butternut squash and have all the remaining ingredients prepared, just blend everything into a creamy and smooth vegan Alfredo cheese sauce! If making your own non-dairy milk or cream with whole nuts or seeds I suggest using a high-speed blender for the creamiest and smoothest result. But if using store-bought non-dairy milk or nut butter, it’s totally fine to use a simple stand mixer or immersion stick blender.

This Best Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce is

• Easy to make
• Dairy-free
• Nut-free (optional)
• Can be made Gluten-free
• Loaded with Pumpkin
• Rich in flavor
• Healthy
• Cheesy & Creamy
• So delicious!
• A great Thanksgiving side dish
• The perfect cozy lunch or dinner for fall!

Use any pasta or gluten-free noodles!

While traditional Mac and Cheese is often served with Maccaroni and Carbonara with Spaghetti, most people serve the classic Alfredo Sauce with Fettuccine Pasta. Anyway, I don’t always follow this tradition because the pumpkin sauce is delicious with any pasta, especially with Homemade Pasta! By the way, have you tried my healthy and gluten-free spiralized veggie noodles yet? They would be also perfect to serve with this BEST creamy Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce if you’re looking for a healthier low-carb option! Also, sweet potato noodles or squash noodles or Gnocchi or Ravioli are a great choice!

What else can I serve with vegan Pumpkin Cheese Sauce?

As mentioned before, this dairy-free sauce is not only perfect for pasta but also to serve as vegan cheese sauc! To make the sauce “cheesier” and “more stretchy” I suggest adding a bit of tapioca starch, then it’s perfect to use for a vegan grilled cheese sandwich or vegan quesadillas! But I also love to use it for a crunchwrap supreme, Mexican sweet potato skins or BBQ Jackfruit Burger and Tortillas! However, you can also drizzle it just over crispy baked potato fries or use it as a dip for vegan burrito samosas. There are so many ways!

Looking for more quick and easy vegan pasta recipes? Then definitely also check out the following:

• Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
• Creamy Sweet Potato Pasta
• Vegan Mushroom Pasta
• Simple Cashew Cream Sauce
• Tomato Pasta Napoli
• Healthy Vegan Lasagna

If you try this creamy vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce Pasta Recipe, please leave me a comment and rating below! And if you take a photo of your satisfying dish and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Happy cooking!

Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta

Author: Bianca Zapatka

This is the BEST Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Cheese Sauce! It’s incredibly creamy, healthy, delicious, dairy-free, and perfect to serve with pasta or to use as a cheese sauce for sandwiches, casseroles or more dishes! (The recipe can be made gluten-free & nut-free).

4.89 from 9 votes

Print Pin Review

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Appetizer, Lunch & Dinner, Main Course, Pasta, Side Dish

Servings 4 Serves

Ingredients

Vegan Pumpkin Sauce

• 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree 400g, 1 small pumpkin or butternut squash*
• 1 tbsp coconut oil or vegan butter
• 2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 cup non-dairy milk or more as needed, *see recipe notes
• 1-2 tbsp tapioca starch optional, *see recipe notes
• 3-4 tbsp cashew butter optional, *see recipe notes

To serve (optional)

• vegan parmesan cheese
• 14 oz pasta 400g, of your choice

Instructions 

Prepare Pumpkin Purée

• To make homemade pumpkin purée, cook​ a small pumpkin or squash in the oven, or on the stove or microwave until soft as directed in this recipe.

Cook Pasta

• If serving the sauce with pasta, cook the pasta according to the packaging instructions until 'al dente'. Then drain, toss with a little oil and set aside.

Make Pumpkin Sauce

• To make the sauce, sauté the garlic in 1 tablespoon oil for a minute over medium heat, until fragrant.
• Add the soft cooked pumpkin along with sautéed garlic, smoked paprika, salt, nutritional yeast, non-dairy milk, tapioca flour*, and cashew butter* if using to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy (or use an immersion stick blender).
• Pour the sauce into a large pan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot and slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings. (If it gets too thick, add a bit more non-dairy milk to thin).
• Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Serve with vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil or other toppings you like. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can either make your own pumpkin purée or use 2 cups of canned pumpkin purée.
• If you want to serve the pumpkin sauce as a vegan cheese sauce, I suggest adding the tapioca starch because it helps to make the sauce thicker and "cheesier" similar to a real cheese-sauce. But if serving with pasta you could also omit it. Alternatively, you could substitute cornflour or arrowroot starch to thicken but this won’t be as stretchy.
• You can use your favorite non-dairy milk such as almond, cashew, soy, coconut or oat milk. 
• The cashew butter is an optional ingredient which makes the sauce richer and creamier. I suggest using cashew or almond butter. For a nut-free sauce, you could use sunflower seed butter, pine nuts or vegan cream cheese. If using raw nuts or seeds, please make sure to soak them in water overnight or boil for 20 minutes until slightly softened. 1/2 cup raw cashews are equal to 4 tbsp cashew butter.
• Please read my blogpost for further information about this recipe.

Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @biancazapatka or tag #biancazapatka!