If you want to bring a show-stopping pasta dish to Thanksgiving or are craving a cozy bowl of pasta, make Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta. It’s comforting, ultra-creamy, but completely dairy-free. Serve with Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert. Love pumpkin? Make One Bowl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread and One-Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Brownies next!
Why I Love This Recipe
- So Creamy: Pumpkin puree and cashews add the most rich, creamy texture to this addicting pumpkin pasta.
- Lightened Up: Most creamy pasta dishes are laden with dairy, leaving you feeling bloated, broken out, and uncomfortable. This is 100% dairy-free so you’ll feel good eating it!
- Holiday Favorite: This dish is a repeat holiday favorite in my household. Bring it to family Thanksgiving or any holiday gathering–I promise everyone will be asking for the recipe!
Need an ingredient substitution?
Ask an AI for recommendations!
Jump to:
Notes on Ingredients
- Pasta: Any noodle shape works for this pasta. Use gluten-free pasta to make this dish GF!
- Cashews: Use raw cashews as they provide the best texture and flavor when making a creamy sauce.
- Pumpkin puree: Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling!
- Cauliflower: You can use fresh or frozen. You will boil it either way! Use leftover cauli to make Cauliflower Corn Chowder.
Please take note that this is important information about the ingredients used in this recipe and the FULL recipe with measurements and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
How do you make Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta?
- Cook pasta according to box instructions and set aside.
- Boil the cauliflower and cashews for about 10 minutes in water, until soft.
- Add the cauliflower, cashews, cooking water (from the cauliflower and cashews), pumpkin puree, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic into a high speed blender. Blend until completely smooth!
- Stir the pumpkin sauce into pasta, top with fresh sage, and serve hot!
- Enjoy!
Save this for later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Commonly Asked Questions
The cooking water has a bit of starch that will help to thicken the sauce. If you accidentally get rid of the cooking water, no worries. You can use regular water, almond milk, or even veggie broth.
I recommend using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix. It makes the sauce 100% smooth without any lumps or bumps. You can try making it in a different blender or food processor, but you need one of those.
Yes! You can definitely use sweet potato if you can’t find pumpkin puree. Just make sure to boil it with the cauliflower and cashews, so it blends easily.
This pasta dish makes 6-8 servings as a side dish. Pair it with Vegan Shepherd’s Pie and Healthy Pecan Pie or Vegan Pumpkin Pie for dessert!
“This is mind-blowing! Delicious! Both of my teenage kids (one a serious meat eater) loved this pasta! Thank you!”
– Nancy
Extra Helpful Tips
- Use gluten-free noodles to make this dish gluten-free.
- Baked Pasta Version: Pour the pasta and sauce mixture into a casserole dish and add breadcrumbs on top. Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes.
- Store noodles and pasta sauce leftovers separately for up to 4 days in the fridge. Mix together and then reheat when ready to eat.
More Mouth-Watering Pasta
If you tried this Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 5-star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz pasta I used penne
- ½ cup cashews raw
- 2 cups cauliflower fresh or frozen florets
- 2 cups cooking liquid save this from boiling cauliflower and cashews
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- fresh sage for garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to box instructions and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the cauliflower and cashews. Cook for about 10 minutes, until soft, then strain.
- Add the cauliflower, cashews, cooking water, pumpkin puree, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic into a high speed blender like a Vitamix. Blend until completely smooth!
- Stir the pumpkin sauce into pasta, top with fresh sage ribbons and serve hot off the stove!
Notes
- Use gluten-free noodles to make this dish gluten-free.
- Baked Pasta Version: pour the pasta and sauce mixture into a casserole dish and add breadcrumbs on top. Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes.
- Store noodles and pasta sauce leftovers separately. Mix together and then reheat when ready to eat.
Terri Abrahamson says
How much of the water do you mix in the blender with the items? It just says cook the pasta in water and then add the cauliflower at Cetera but it doesn’t say how much water. I don’t wanted to get too thin. Thanks!
Danielle Keith says
You add 2 cups of the cauliflower cooking liquid into the blender when it’s done cooking.
Boil the cauliflower and cashews in about 4 cups of water. If there somehow isn’t enough cooking liquid left for the recipe just add regular water or almond milk.
Mignon Hunter says
Hey there – great recipe
I was wondering, did you try more nutritional yeast??? I was wondering why it’s only 1/4 cup for the whole recipe …
Danielle Keith says
You can add more nutritional yeast if you’d like.
Jordan says
Can a food processor work in lieu of a blender?
Danielle Keith says
It won’t make it as smooth and it should be.
Karo says
SO GOOD! My family — kid and adults alike — absolutely loved this recipe last night. I stored leftovers together (sauce mixed in w/pasta) and it is even good cold right out of the fridge…even more of the pumpkin flavor comes through and it is super savory. Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristen says
Just made this…it is SOOO GOOD!! I didn’t quite have enough cauliflower so I added a Yukon gold potato. This will be in the regular rotation for sure!
Danielle Keith says
Omg I’m so glad!!! Thank you for your kind feedback.
Kristen says
Also, I discovered that the sauce is an amazing substitute for my holiday cheesy hashbrown potatoes. Add the sauce to frozen hash browns, perhaps a bit more salt and seasoning, some green onions, top with vegan cheese and fried onion if you choose. I’ve made it 4 times in 3 days 🤣
Kel says
Can you use fresh garlic instead of powder and if so, how many cloves would you suggest? Thanks!
Danielle Keith says
Yes! Use 3-4!
Nancy Lillis says
This is mind-blowing! Delicious! Both of my teenage kids (one a serious meat eater) loved this pasta! Thank you!
Malini says
Hi, can I leave out the nutritional yeast?
Margi says
I made this today – delicious!
Teena says
How can I make this recipe nut-free? What purpose do the cashews serve?
Danielle Keith says
The cashews make it thick and creamy – use almonds or sunflower seeds instead. You could even try tofu!
K says
Would coconut milk work?
Daisy says
This was very good! I did add 1/4 hemp seeds and 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard to my sauce before blending everything together. My teen son and hubby were both very happy with this “Mac and no cheese”.
Thanks for sharing this recipe
BS says
How would this be without the nutritional yeast? Could I just leave it out or is there something you would suggest as a substitute? I’ve tried it many times in various recipes and just can’t stand the flavor of it.
Danielle Keith says
just omit! add extra garlic and salt and pepper
Sarah Rumney says
OMG! This pasta is so yummy and comforting! I made it in my food processor since I don’t have a high speed blender, and it was still pretty creamy. If you are looking for a dish for non-vegans, look no further!
Fastbunnie says
Could you sub pumpkin purée for tomato paste or sauce?
Kathy Richards says
This was AMAZING! I’ve tried a lot of different plant based pasta sauce recipes….this is wayyyyy up to the top. Simple, but delicious! Thanks.
Andrea says
Having been gifted two pie pumpkins, I started searching online for a hearty main dish comfort food to make. Found your recipe and had all the ingredients … oh my !,, … my tastebuds started dancing. I immediately went online and purchased your cookbook.
This recipe hit all the right flavor notes. At the suggestion of one reviewer – adding a bit of Dijon mustard was a nice subtle enhancement to the flavors. Thank you and I feel fortunate to have found your new site !
Jordan Stacy says
This creamy pumpkin pasta is next-level. You’d seriously never guess it’s dairy-free. Perfect to bring to Thanksgiving or Christmas!!!