New Fall Favorite: Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta! It’s dairy-free, nut-free, incredibly creamy, and simple to make.
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Another win? This pumpkin alfredo sauce recipe is slightly healthier, with less fat and calories than regular alfredo sauce. There is no heavy cream or cheese involved, yet it is still creamy, rich, and delicious, making it even more fun to indulge! Similar to this vegan alfredo pasta with asparagus!
The creamy pumpkin pasta sauce is made with pumpkin puree. Therefore it’s a rather quick recipe cooked and served in only 20 minutes. I usually use this homemade pumpkin puree, but you can also go for canned pumpkin puree – no judgment.
Furthermore, you need dairy-free milk and some cornstarch. Feel free to add dairy-free cheese to make this pasta dish even richer in taste. What I like to do is adding some nutritional yeast for a slightly cheesy flavor. Yet again, this is optional! Nutritional yeast is widely available in grocery stores and can be stored in the cupboard for months.
Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta is similar to this vegan pumpkin mac and cheese recipe but a tad quicker to cook! Make sure to try out both vegan pumpkin pasta dishes!
Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
- Fettuccine → or pasta of choice, although I would go for noodles as they have a large surface to soak up the sauce wonderfully!
- Pumpkin Puree → Follow this guide on how to make homemade pumpkin puree!
- Dairy-Free Milk → I love to use soy or oat milk. Nut milk will give the pumpkin alfredo sauce a nutty flavor.
- Garlic → Non-negotiable!
- Sage → For taste! Fresh sage is best, but can be replaced with dried one.
Instructions
This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a cooking beginner!
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salt water until al dente (or slightly undercooked). Take out a scoop of pasta water, then drain pasta over a sieve.
- Heat a skillet with olive oil. Add minced garlic and sage, sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant.
- Mix dairy-free milk and cornstarch in a bowl and add it with the pumpkin puree to the skillet.
- Cook while constantly stirring until slightly thickened (approx. 5 minutes).
- Season to taste with nutritional yeast (optional), salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. → Feel free to add a pinch of ground cinnamon to enhance the pumpkin flavor.
- Add drained pasta and toss for one minute! Thin the sauce with pasta water if desired!
Hint: if you love your pasta al dente, slightly undercook them as they tend to soften a little when tossed with the pumpkin sauce.
Substitutions
- Gluten-Free – regular pasta can be replaced with gluten-free pasta (I love Barilla’s Gluten-Free Fettuccine).
- Vegetarian – use grated cheese instead of nutritional yeast.
Variations
- Cheesy – stir dairy-free cheese into the sauce to make it cheesy & creamy!
- Deluxe – sprinkle with this vegan parmesan cheese before serving!
Storage
Store cooked pumpkin alfredo pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. Good for 3 days. Reheat in a skillet with some water or in the microwave.
I don’t recommend freezing this pasta dish!
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Butternut Squash Curry
- Pumpkin Ginger Soup
- Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Streusel
- Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
