This Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Bake with Spinach is a quick and easy casserole recipe that’s healthy, soy-free and totally delicious! The perfect plant-based lunch or dinner meal for the whole family!
Vegan pasta bake with pumpkin and spinach
Who knew pumpkin could be so versatile? Actually, you can create so many dishes with it, both sweet and savory. I love my vegan pumpkin mac and cheese and my pumpkin chickpea curry as much as I love my chocolate pumpkin bread and all other savory dishes and sweet cakes made with pumpkin!
So today I’m sharing another favorite pumpkin recipe that you must try!
This pasta bake is made with spelt penne, tender pumpkin chunks and spinach tossed in a creamy pumpkin cashew sauce. Then the casserole is topped with vegan grated cheese and tofu feta and baked until golden brown. It is super creamy, cheesy and so delicious!
Ingredients needed
For this recipe, you need just a few simple ingredients that are easily available in a grocery store or organic market:
- Spelt penne: or other pasta shape of your choice. You can also use gluten-free pasta.
- Spinach: I use fresh baby spinach, but you can also use frozen spinach. Just make sure to thaw it first and squeeze out excess liquid before using it.
- Hokkaido pumpkin: or another type of pumpkin or squash, peeled and cut into small cubes. You’ll need some of them for the cashew cream sauce. The remaining pumpkin chunks are added to the pasta casserole just like that.
- Cashew cream: This is made of soaked or pre-cooked cashews or cashew butter blended with vegetable broth until creamy. You can also use store-bought dairy-free cooking cream or rich dairy-free milk instead, such as soy or oat cream or canned coconut milk.
- Canola oil: or other vegetable oil for frying.
- Onions and garlic: for the aromatic base.
- Seasonings: nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper, and some chili or paprika powder.
- Toppings: use any you like! I use vegan grated cheese, tofu feta, vegan parmesan and fresh herbs.
*Note: make sure to read the notes on ingredients and recipe variations below the step-by-step instruction!
How to make pumpkin pasta bake
As always, I recommend checking out this step-by-step instruction and the recipe video first. The you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the pumpkin sauce
Start by adding 7 oz (200 g) of the pumpkin cubes, cashews and vegetable broth to a pot. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes until soft. Then transfer everything (including the liquid) to a blender. Add nutritional yeast flakes, chili or paprika powder and lemon juice and blend until creamy, adding a little water to desired consistency if necessary.
Step 2: Sauté the vegetables and cook the pasta
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan and sauté the onions for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Now add the rest of the pumpkin cubes and sauté for about 5 minutes, until almost tender (you can add a little water if needed).
In the meantime, cook the pasta in a pot of salted water for about 6 minutes (2-3 minutes shorter than stated on the package).
Step 3: Assemble the pasta casserole
Once the pumpkin cubes have softened a bit, add the spinach, cover the pan and cook for a minute until the spinach has wilted. Season the vegetables generously with salt and pepper. Then drain the pasta and add to the pan. Pour the pumpkin sauce over it and toss to coat.
Step 3: Add toppings and bake!
Put the pumpkin and spinach pasta in an ovenproof dish or skillet and sprinkle with vegan shredded cheese and vegan feta. Bake the pasta casserole in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180 °C) for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Remove from the oven and garnish with vegan parmesan and fresh parsley or other herbs. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes on ingredients and recipe variations
- Pumpkin: The skin of Hokkaido pumpkin, also known as “red Kuri squash”, is edible so you don’t need to peel it. If using another kind of pumpkin or squash, you may have to peel it first.
- Cashews: If you do not want to make cashew cream (cashews + vegetable broth), you can cook the pumpkin cubes in only 1 cup (240 ml) of vegetable broth until soft and then blend them with 7 oz (200 ml) of dairy-free cooking cream or rich milk, such as soy or oat cream or canned coconut milk along with the remaining ingredients (sautéed onions, spices, etc.) until creamy. However, I personally like the sauce better with cashews.
- Pumpkin sauce: If pumpkin is not in season, you can also make the sauce with 7 oz (200 g) of sweet potatoes or make my classic vegan cheese sauce with potatoes and carrots (see my broccoli mac and cheese recipe).
- Vegetables: Instead of spinach and/or squash, you can sauté/steam and add other vegetables such as savoy cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, etc.
How can I store pasta bake?
You can keep leftovers of the pasta casserole covered in the refrigerator. Then simply reheat it in the oven or microwave. If it’s too dry, you can drizzle it with some unsweetened plant milk.
This vegan pumpkin pasta bake with spinach is:
- Plant-based
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Can be made gluten-free
- Naturally soy-free
- Easy to make
- Loaded with vegetables
- Healthy
- Nutritious
- Hearty
- Topped with melted vegan cheese
- Totally delicious!
- Perfect for lunch or dinner!
More hearty pumpkin recipes to try
- Pumpkin Chickpea Curry
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Risotto with Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Pumpkin Ravioli
- Squash Ravioli
- Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Spinach Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
If you try this easy vegan pumpkin pasta casserole recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your delicious pasta dish on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Have fun cooking! 🙂
Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Bake with Spinach
Author:Ingredients
For the Casserole
- 10.5 oz (300 g) spelt penne or other pasta
- 5.3 oz (150 g) spinach fresh or thawed & squeezed
- ½ (450 g) Hokkaido pumpkin approx. 15.8 oz (450 g) cut into small cubes, or sub other pumpkin/squash, *see notes
- ½ cup (80 g) cashew nuts or cashew butter or sub dairy-free cooking cream, *see notes
- 1 ½ cup (360 ml) vegetable broth a little more if needed
- 1-2 tsp canola oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
- 2.5 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 2-3 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tsp chili or paprika powder optional
Toppings (of choice)
- ½ cup (35 g) vegan shredded cheese
- ¼ cup (45 g) vegan feta
- 2 tbsp vegan parmesan
- fresh parsley or other herbs
Instructions
*Note: Feel free to check out the recipe video + step-by-step photos in the blog post above.
- For the sauce, first add 7 oz (200 g) of the pumpkin cubes, cashews and vegetable broth to a pot. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until soft. Then transfer everything (including the liquid) to a blender. Add nutritional yeast flakes, chili or paprika powder and lemon juice and blend until creamy, adding a little water as needed until desired consistency.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan and sauté the onions for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté for a further minute. Now add the rest of the pumpkin cubes and sauté for about 5 minutes until they are a little softer (you can add a bit of water to the pan if needed).
- In the meantime, cook the pasta in a pot of salted water for about 6 minutes (2-3 minutes shorter than stated on the package).
- When the pumpkin cubes have softened a bit, add the spinach, cover the pan and cook for a minute until the spinach has wilted. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pan. Pour the pumpkin sauce over it and toss to coat.
- Put the pumpkin and spinach pasta in an ovenproof dish or skillet and sprinkle with vegan shredded cheese and vegan feta.
- Bake the pasta casserole in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180 °C) for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with vegan parmesan and fresh parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Pumpkin: The skin of Hokkaido pumpkin (also known as "red Kuri squash") is edible so you don’t need to peel it. If using another kind of pumpkin or squash, you may have to peel it first.
- Cashews: If you do not want to make cashew cream (cashews + vegetable broth), you can cook the pumpkin cubes in only 1 cup (240 ml) of vegetable broth until soft and then blend them with 7 oz (200 ml) of dairy-free cooking cream or rich milk, such as soy or oat cream or canned coconut milk along with the remaining ingredients (sautéed onions, spices, etc.) until creamy. However, I personally like the sauce better with cashews.
- Pumpkin sauce: If pumpkin is not in season, you can also make the sauce with 7 oz (200 g) of sweet potatoes or make my classic vegan cheese sauce with potatoes and carrots (see my broccoli mac and cheese recipe).
- Vegetables: Instead of spinach and/or pumpkin or squash, you can cook and add other vegetables such as cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, etc.
- Storage: Leftover pasta bake can be stored covered in the refrigerator and then reheated in the oven or microwave until warm. If it’s too dry, simply add a little unsweetened plant milk.
- More information about the recipe is mentioned in the blog post above!
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absolutely amazing, tasty and healthy. I have added vegan chicken strips and it was to die for! thank you
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂