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Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta

One of my go-to recipes, when I’ve got a butternut squash to use up, is this creamy vegan butternut squash pasta sauce. It’s packed with nutrients and makes an amazing alternative to a more traditional tomato pasta sauce. Plus, it tastes so, so good.

Vegan butternut squash pasta topped with fresh parsley

Ever since my family and I took on an allotment a few years ago, one of our most successful crops has been, by far, butternut squash.

They are absolutely enormous, and just seem to have a life of their own! Luckily, if there’s one thing everyone in our household loves, it’s butternut squash. So that means soup, stuffed squash, and this beautifully creamy roasted butternut squash pasta has been on the menu over and over again.

This pasta sauce is so creamy that you’d honestly think cream has been used to make it. The secret to vegan creamy goodness is revealed below! For a nut-free similar recipe, you should check out this vegan butternut squash and white bean pasta.

Other butternut squash recipes I think you’ll love include this viral baked feta and butternut squash pasta, and this baked boursin pasta.

Making the Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

To start with, you need a butternut squash. Obviously.

For almost every recipe using butternut squash, I do the same thing. Halve it, drizzle it in olive oil and salt and pepper, and then roast it.

Wait for 45 – 50 minutes, and the squash comes out looking so good you could just eat it right then and there.

I follow the exact same steps for my butternut squash and red pepper soup and my sweet potato and butternut squash soup recipe.

If you’ve got a huge squash, you could always use one half to make the pasta sauce, and the other for soup, or just slice it up and eat in buddha bowls etc.

For this vegan butternut squash pasta sauce, we also roast two peeled shallots and two garlic cloves alongside the squash to add extra depth and flavour to the sauce.

Once roasted, scoop the butternut squash flesh out of the skins and squeeze the garlic out of it’s skin, then blend the butternut squash, shallots, and garlic with cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, and the seasonings.

The result: A beautifully creamy, balanced pasta sauce that is packed with goodness and tastes heavenly.

You might also like my lentil bolognese recipe or this dreamy Vegan Red Pepper Pasta with Spicy Fillets.

Adding Pasta Water to the Sauce

Another key step to this sauce is to reserve a little of your cooked pasta water to add to the sauce (about 1/4 cup / 60ml).

This helps the sauce really come together and create a silky, creamy sauce that perfectly coats the pasta.

Alternatives to Cashews

The secret in this pasta sauce is cashews. Cashews are an absolute game-changer for vegan cooking.

I’ve made this pasta sauce with both soaked and unsoaked cashews and honestly, I don’t really notice a huge difference either way – so go with your own preference (unsoaked is obviously a lot quicker).

If you don’t like cashews, you could try making this recipe with almonds or walnuts, but I haven’t tried this personally and couldn’t vouch for it having the same creamy texture.

Alternatively, you could also try substituting the cashews for vegan cream or coconut cream.

What Pasta to Use for this Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe?

My personal favourites for this dreamy, creamy butternut squash pasta sauce are spaghetti or rigatoni – I just don’t think you can keep those pasta shapes!

However, just use whatever pasta shape you have to hand, and it will still taste amazing.

Optional extras for serving

In the photos for this post, I sauteed some large mushrooms to get them really crispy and also added some fresh basil. Super simple, but super delicious. The sauce packs such a punch that you really don’t want to add too much to your plate.

This is a great meal on it’s own but could also be nice paired with a simple salad.

Storage

My recommendation would be to store the pasta sauce separately from the pasta if you’re making it ahead of time. Making the pasta fresh before serving simply gives you better results.

This vegan pasta sauce is also suitable for freezing.

Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta

Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

One of my go-to recipes, when I've got a butternut squash to use up, is this creamy vegan butternut squash pasta sauce. It's packed with nutrients and makes an amazing alternative to a more traditional tomato pasta sauce. Plus, it tastes so, so good.

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup cashew nuts
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Pasta & Toppings

  • 300g spaghetti or rigatoni
  • 1 handful of fresh parsley or basil
  • Red pepper or chilli flakes, to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C
  2. Cut your butternut squash in half, then scoop out the seeds. Peel and halve two shallots.
  3. Add your butternut squash, shallots, and garlic cloves to a lined baking tray.
  4. Drizzle over your olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for around 50 minutes (depends on how big your squash is!)
  5. Remove the squash and shallots/garlic. from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. When they are cool enough, remove the garlic from the skin (this should be easy to squeeze out!).
  6. Spoon the butternut squash flesh out from the skins and into a food processor or blender with the shallots and garlic, cashew nuts, smoked paprika, and nutritional yeast.
  7. Blitz the ingredients into a smooth and creamy sauce.
  8. Cook your pasta according to instructions and reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy pasta water.
  9. Add the pasta sauce to a saucepan to warm through, adding in the pasta water and cooked pasta to help the sauce come together. Combine until the pasta is fully covered.
  10. Top with fresh basil or parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, and chilli flakes for a litle extra spice.

Notes

If you have a particularly large butternut squash, you may want to up the number of cashews and stock you use. There are no 'rules' with this recipe - just adapt it to your own preferences.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 684Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 375mgCarbohydrates: 122gFiber: 18gSugar: 15gProtein: 23g

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