Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
This creamy vegan pumpkin pasta recipe is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
About Pumpkin Pasta
This rich and decadent 20-minute pumpkin cream sauce is delicious served with your favourite pasta for a simple plant-based meal that’s pure comfort food.
Whether it’s a cozy date night at home or a quick family meal, this dish is perfect for any occasion. Creamy, comforting, flavourful and easy to make with wholesome ingredients, you’ll love it!
Quick Highlights
- Vegan (dairy-free).
- Can be gluten-free.
- Can be oil-free.
- Nut-free.
- Ready in 20 minutes.
- Pantry ingredients.
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta: Combine the pumpkin sauce with your choice of pasta such as penne, farfalle or orecchiete or rigatoni.
- Pumpkin: Use canned pumpkin puree. I like Farmer’s Market or E.D. Smith brands. Make sure it’s pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Coconut Milk: Use full-fat canned coconut milk. You can substitute light coconut milk or cashew cream if you prefer.
- Vegan Butter: Use your choice of plant-based butter or regular butter, or you can substitute olive oil. If you prefer an oil-free recipe, you can omit the oil and use some broth to cook.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best here.
- Paprika: You can use regular paprika or smoked paprika to add a bit of smokiness to the sauce.
- Sage: Sage leaves are nice for serving but optional.
Step by Step Instructions
Before you Start: Start boiling water to cook your choice of pasta. Don’t forget to salt the water! Get that cooking as soon as the water boils and cook until al dente according to the package instructions.
Cook Garlic
Melt the vegan butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the garlic and cook it for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add Pumpkin & Coconut Milk
Add the canned pumpkin, coconut milk, paprika and salt.
Stir it well then let it simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until thick and creamy.
Add Cooked Pasta
Once the pasta is done and drained, add it to the pan with the sauce and stir to combine.
Quick Tip: Reserve some of the pasta cooking water before draining. To add extra creaminess and adjust the consistency of the sauce, stir in a little of the reserved water at the end.
Enjoy your delicious pumpkin pasta with crispy sage and fresh cracked black pepper.
How to Fry Sage
To serve your pasta with crispy sage:
- Remove the sage leaves from the stem, wash and and pat them dry.
- Warm some vegan butter or olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Once hot, add the sage leaves in a single layer.
- Fry for 30-60 seconds until the edges start to darken.
- Flip and cook another minute until they’ve darkened and are crispy.
Additions
This recipe is really easy to customize with different additions and variations. Here are a few ideas.
- Saute thinly sliced mushrooms before starting until they’re softened and brown. Remove them from the pan then stir them back in at the end when you add the pasta.
- For spicy pasta, add up to 1/2 tsp red chili flakes or cayenne pepper when you add the paprika.
- Add 2-3 cups fresh spinach when you add the pasta and stir until wilted.
- Brown plant-based sausage of choice before starting the recipe then remove from the pan and add back in at the end.
- Serve with vegan parmesan. Store-bought or try this cashew parmesan.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any kind of pasta but I like short shapes for this sauce such as penne, ziti, rotini, orecchiette, farfalle, macaroni or fusilli. That being said, you can definitely use linguini, spaghetti, pappardelle or fettuccini too!
Yes! The pumpkin pasta sauce itself is naturally gluten-free so simply combine with your favourite gluten-free pasta such as brown rice, quinoa or chickpea pasta.
Yes! To make this recipe low-carb, use zucchini noodles, carrot noodles or spaghetti squash instead of pasta. For higher-protein pasta, though not low-carb, use edamame pasta, lentil pasta or chickpea pasta.
I think almond milk would be too thin unless you use thick homemade almond milk. If you can’t do coconut milk, I suggest homemade cashew cream.
Prepare cashew cream by soaking 1 cup of raw cashews in boiled water for 1 hour then blending with 1 cup of water and using it to replace the coconut milk. After you stir it into the pumpkin, you can add a bit more water or vegetable broth to adjust the consistency.
Sure! You’ll need about 1.5 cups of pumpkin puree to replace the canned pumpkin. Just make sure your homemade puree is nice and smooth. If not, you can process the sauce in a high-speed blend before adding the pasta so make sure it’s nice and creamy.
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This pumpkin cream sauce is warm, savory and perfectly suited to sweater season. For those who aren’t fond of coconut, fear not. The taste is barely detectable beneath the flavorful layers of pumpkin, garlic and paprika.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (454 g) penne pasta
- 1 ½ tbsp (22 g) vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (15-oz [425-g]) can pumpkin purée
- 1 (13 ½ -oz [382-g]) can coconut milk
- ¾ tsp paprika
- ¾ tsp salt
- Fresh or crispy sage leaves, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, melt the vegan butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two, until fragrant.
- Stir in the pumpkin purée, coconut milk, paprika and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Drain and rinse your pasta and combine it with the pumpkin cream sauce. Stir to thoroughly combine.
- Garnish with fresh or crispy sage leaves if using, and serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe has been re-printed with permission from Frugal Vegan by Katie Koteen and Kate Kasbee, Page Street Publishing Co. 2017.
Keywords: pumpkin pasta, cream sauce, easy, comfort, plant-based
This recipe was originally published on August 28, 2017.
This was so good! Doubled the garlic and used whole wheat penne. Sprinkled some grated cheddar on my plate and took it to the next level, but it’s also really good without.
★★★★★
Yummy! So glad you enjoyed it.
Delicious!! Tastes just like mac and cheese. My 1 year old baby girl loved it.
★★★★★
This recipe is life changing. It’s so simple and so delicious! I don’t have coconut milk on hand, so I used half a can of coconut cream instead, and it turned out really well. I also added some nutritional yeast to a portion, but it tastes great either way! I really can’t believe how easy it is to make; it’ll be a staple recipe for sure if I ever return to a college dorm. I already can’t wait to make this again! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe ✨
★★★★★
Thank you, Raechel! I’m so happy you loved it. Thanks for trying it and leaving a review, much appreciated!
SO so so easy and absolutely delicious!!
★★★★★
This was so good and so easy! Surprised me how good!!
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed it!
This is AWESOME!!! We will definitely make again and it was easy to make.
★★★★★
Glad to hear it, Julia! So happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for the rating, much appreciated!
Pumpkin cream sauce sounds very friendly on the digestive tract lining and easy to ingest for those looking to curb calorie consumption. I’ve been saying for the longest that I am going to start cutting down on meat consumption and get serious about dieting. But I keep slipping because I’m always on the go and have very little time to create my own healthy meals. Thank you for posting this blog as inspiration to eat right and live a vegan lifestyle. 🙂
Looks totally delish …will have to try it out soon!
Can’t believe I’ve only just discovered your blog Deryn. Love the content, love the design.. you’ve got a new subscriber! Keep up the good work 😀
Sam
This is SUCH a great idea for fall! Love it. Definitely want to make this, sounds amazing!
So simple and yet it looks so amazing! I love that the sauce isn’t trying to be cheesy, too. Just pumpkin in its fall glory!
This sounds amazing! I’m not a vegan, but this is a recipe I’d definitely try!
I love how easy this is! Looks super creamy and delicous.
I’ve been looking for a great vegetarian recipe and I think I’ve finally found it! I can’t wait to try this out!
Oh, this cookbook sounds fantastic! I’m loving the sound of this pumpkin cream sauce! Definitely can’t wait to try this penne!
Looks delicious!! I’m not ready for fall yet, but talk to me next week when school starts and I’m sure I will be! This screams comfort food and would be a great weeknight dinner.
haha, I’m not quite ready yet either but I am looking forward to cooler weather.
My husband would love this! I’ll have to check out that cookbook!
What an amazing cookbook! I love all the unique recipes! I would lick the bowl clean and not waste one drop of this delicious pumpkin coconut sauce! YUM!
Yum this sounds really good! It certainly is the time of the year to think about pumpkins!
I’ve been vegetarian for 2.5 years and finding how to get creative with foods is probably the hardest thing for me. This book is what I need to spice it up in the kitchen lol. Thanks for sharing!