Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Sage and Walnuts {vegan}

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Pasta in a dreamy creamy pumpkin sauce, topped with crispy sage and walnuts – a cozy autumnal dish.

Ah the lovely pumpkin, what can’t you do with this delicious vegetable? Cook it, fry it (or even better – deep fry it), puree it or mash it to your liking; there’s hardly anything it isn’t suited for. It gives dishes a distinct autumn flavour and a tasty nuttiness. In addition, it is particularly great for vegan recipes because it adds a richness and creaminess without the addition of nuts or thickeners.

In addition to the pumpkin, we are adding some vegan cream cheese to our pumpkin sauce. Since, frankly, this takes our sauce from tasting like pumpkin soup, to well, a proper pasta sauce. The sauce greatly benefits from the tanginess of the cream cheese, which fits perfectly to the sweet pumpkin. Vegan cream cheese can be found in most larger supermarkets. It’s often made with a coconut base, which is why it has a funny color – snow white.

Another trick for getting tons of flavour into our sauce is sautéing some aromatics – the onions and garlic – and adding them to the blender as well. In addition, the nutritional yeast adds a nutty-cheesy flavour and really rounds up the dish. Don’t skip it!

Crispy Sage and Walnut Topping

The dish is certainly delicious without the topping, but it’s a great way to take a good, solid dish to an exceptional one. Plus let’s be honest, frying something in butter is never a bad idea 😉

Tip: The sage and nuts brown quickly, so stir often and remove from the heat before they get too dark.

Serve the pasta as is, or pair it with a glass of wine. Bon appétit!

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Sage and Walnuts {vegan}

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• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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Pumpkin Sauce

• 800g hokkaido pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 150g vegan cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• pasta of choice

Sage & Walnut Topping

• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• 20–25 sage leaves (depending on their size)
• 1 handful walnuts, quartered
• a pinch of salt

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Instructions

Pumpkin Sauce

1. Wash and halve the pumpkin. Scrape out the seeds and string and cut into cubes.*
2. Fill enough water in a large pot so it covers the bottom and add the pumpkin cubes along with the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft.
3. In the meantime, chop the onion and garlic into small pieces and sauté with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil until they are golden brown. (Add a bit of water if they start to stick to the pan.)
4. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Add the cooked pumpkin, cream cheese, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, cinnamon and onion powder to a blender and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Season with salt and pepper.

Sage & Walnut Topping

1. Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the nuts and sage and cook until the sage is crispy.
2. Season with a pinch of salt. Spoon it on top of the pumpkin pasta, right before serving.

Notes

*Hokkaido pumpkin does not need to be peeled.

Keywords: vegan pumpkin pasta, creamy pumpkin sauce, pumpkin, pasta

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