Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

5 from 5 votes

This vegan pumpkin pasta is creamy, rich, loaded with flavor and super easy to make! Best of all it comes together in 20 minutes or less!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 489kcal

Put your pasta on to cook according to package directions. When it's cooked, drain it and set aside ½ cup of pasta water to use later.
While the pasta is cooking, start your sauce.
Add vegan butter to a pot on medium heat and melt it.
Add crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, dried sage and oregano and sauté for a minute to lightly toast the spices.
Add coconut milk and canned pumpkin purée and whisk in until smooth.
Add nutmeg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and whisk to mix well and then bring it to a gentle simmer.
Let it simmer for around 5 minutes and thicken slightly. Taste test and add more salt and pepper as needed (to taste).
When the pasta is cooked add it to the sauce and fold it in.
Add small amounts of the reserved pasta water and toss it with the pumpkin pasta, this helps to thin the sauce and helps it to coat the pasta better. Just add a little at a time until you get to the right consistency.
Serve topped with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of ground black pepper.

Pasta - you can use any pasta, we used spaghetti.
Coconut milk - should be canned, full fat and unsweetened. Canned, unsweetened coconut cream could also be used for an even richer version.
Pumpkin purée - canned pumpkin purée is the easiest and this is what we used. However, if you prefer freshly made pumpkin purée you can use that too.
Put salt in your pasta water when cooking. This is all the more important because we save a little of the water that the pasta cooks in, and add it to our sauce. So if it's a little salty that's all the better.
Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Put aside ½ cup of the water that your pasta cooks in. You won't need to use it all but a few splashes of the salty, starchy pasta water helps emulsify your sauce.
Gluten free. Use any gluten free pasta to make this meal entirely gluten free.
Storing: Keep leftovers stored in the fridge for 3-4 days in a covered container. It reheats very well in the microwave.
Freezing: You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.