This creamy Pumpkin Pasta recipe is made with simple ingredients in under 15 minutes. Deceptively vegan, it will soon become your new favorite! Video. Vegan.
This delicious pumpkin pasta would love to be on your meal plan this week. It’s incredibly easy and yet wonderfully satisfying! Make with pumpkin puree, coconut milk, shallots, garlic and sage with a whisper of cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne– its warming and oh so comforting.
We had this last night for dinner, and my husband Brian kept oohing and ahhing with every bite. After his third helping (the true test), I asked him what he thought was in the dish. He replied, “butter”. And honestly, I liked that answer, because he loves butter. I almost didn’t have the heart to tell him, there was no butter in it- and in fact, no dairy at all (although, he did add some parmesan cheese to the top). The secret ingredient here is coconut milk– and believe me when I tell you, paired with pumpkin puree and the shallots, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg and sage, the sauce is lusciously creamy and divine. Drinkable!
Why You’ll Love This!
- A comforting, savory fall and winter recipe. This is the perfect way to incorporate pumpkin into your fall or winter menu. The creamy, rich sauce is so comforting, and the garlicky, sage flavor is perfect for warming up on cold days.
- Deceptively vegan! The pumpkin sauce is made with coconut milk to create a truly buttery taste.
- Made in less than 30 minutes with simple ingredients. This pasta comes together in just 25 minutes! It is made with shallot, garlic, sage, and pantry staples.
Ingredients
- Pasta (fettucini, linguini, tagliatelle, pappardelle): The choice of pasta influences the texture and mouthfeel of the dish. These long and thick noodles are perfect for holding onto the creamy pumpkin sauce.
- Olive oil: Adds richness and enhances the overall flavor of the dish.
- Shallot: Provides a delicate onion-like flavor that complements the other ingredients in the sauce.
- Garlic cloves: Adds a savory and aromatic taste to the dish, enhancing the overall flavor profile.
- Fresh sage leaves: Brings a warm earthy flavor to the sauce, creating a comforting and fragrant element.
- Pumpkin puree: The star ingredient that gives the dish its distinct pumpkin flavor and creamy texture. Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling. Use store-bought, or make your own pumpkin puree.
- Coconut milk or coconut cream: Adds richness and creaminess to the sauce, giving it a luscious and velvety texture. See recipe notes for a substitution.
- Cayenne: Adds a subtle kick of heat to the dish, adding depth to the flavors.
- Nutmeg: Adds warmth and a hint of sweetness to the sauce, complementing the pumpkin flavor.
- Cinnamon: Adds a touch of warmth and depth to the sauce, enhancing the overall flavor profile.
How to Make Pumpkin Pasta
Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water.
In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic and sage, and sauté until tender, golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth and combined, gently heating.
Add the salt, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and cinnamon. Taste and adjust salt and heat to taste. If it tastes bland, it needs salt. Once hot, turn the heat off.
Drain the pasta water (save a cupful just in case) and toss pasta with the sauce. Taste and season once more with salt and pepper.
Serve with parmesan or pecorino cheese (or vegan cheese), crispy sage leaves, or garlic chips (see notes).
How to Make Garlic Chips & Crispy Sage
Slice 4-5 fat garlic cloves lengthwise into very thin slices. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sear the garlic slices 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. These can be made in advance.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and place 12 sage leaves in the oil until darkened (but not brown) then flip. Once the other side is golden, place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. These can be made ahead of time.
Expert Tips
- Salt the water generously. When preparing the pasta add plenty of salt to the pot of water. This will enhance the overall flavor.
- Cook the pasta al dente. Be careful not to overcook the pasta. It will continue to cook after it is drained and added to the pot with the pasta sauce.
- Make the pasta more or less saucy depending on your preference. Following the instructions below will result in a very saucy pasta. If you prefer less sauce, simply increase the amount of pasta used!
- Make a bechamel sauce in lieu of the coconut milk. If you wish to leave out the coconut milk, you can create a bechamel instead. When the shallots/garlic/sage mixture is golden, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons flour, toasting the flour in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add in 1 ½ cups of milk (or plant-based milk, like almond milk) and whisk while heating, just until it comes to a simmer, whisking often. Stir in the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth, and heat until hot. Add salt and spices and continue with the recipe.
- Meal prep the pasta sauce. The pasta sauce can be made in advance and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or freeze!
What To Serve with Pumpkin Pasta!
- Perfect Roasted Broccoli
- Savory Leek Bread
- Pear Salad with Vanilla Fig Dressing
- Waldorf Salad
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Substitutions
- Gluten-free: You can make this pasta dish gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta, like fettucini or linguini.
- Canned pumpkin puree: If you wish to change it up, you can swap the pumpkin puree for canned butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree. Or make your own Pumpkin Puree!
- Coconut milk: You can leave out the coconut milk and make a bechamel instead. See the notes for instructions!
FAQs
Because this recipe is divinely saucy and creamy, it works best with long and thick noodles like fettucini, linguini, tagliatelle, or pappardelle. However, cylindrical pasta shapes like penne or rigatoni work well too.
Pumpkin is subtly sweet, which is why we use shallot and garlic in this recipe to create a perfectly sweet and savory, aromatic dish. Spices like nutmeg and cayenne pair well with pumpkin too!
Yes! If you prefer to use homemade pumpkin puree it works just as well as canned in this recipe.
Yes! Canned pumpkin puree is used for this recipe. Be careful not to buy pumpkin pie filling.
This pasta tastes delicious with freshly grated parmesan or pecorino on top. You can also serve it with vegan parmesan to keep it dairy-free. See the notes for instructions on how to make garlic chips and crispy sage for garnish. Garlic bread or any other kind of bread is great with this recipe for dipping into the sauce.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, add the pasta to a saucepan or large skillet on the stove with a little oil and heat on medium until warm all the way through. If you’re in a pinch, you can always reheat in the microwave too.
You can also reserve some extra sauce in a sealed jar and reheat the pasta with the extra sauce to help create that creamy, saucy texture once again. Just pull aside some sauce before adding the pasta when preparing this dish.
We hope you enjoy this cozy pumpkin pasta! Leave us a note in the comments to let us know what you think!
xoxo
More favorite vegan pastas!
Pumpkin Pasta Recipe Video
Pasta Pumpkin Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: dinner, pasta recipe,
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy Pumpkin Pasta recipe is made with simple ingredients in under 15 minutes. Deceptively vegan, it will soon become your new favorite!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta- fettucini, linguini, tagliatelle, papperadelle
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large shallot- diced ( 1/2 cup)
- 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 10 sage leaves, chopped
- 14-ounce can of pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie puree)
- 14-ounce can of coconut milk or coconut cream (see notes for alternatives)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional: Serve with grated parmesan, pecorino, crispy sage, or garlic chips. (see notes)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water.
- In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic and sage, and saute until tender, golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth and combined, gently heating.
- Add the salt, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and cinnamon. Taste and adjust salt and heat to taste. If it tastes bland, it needs salt. Once hot, turn the heat off.
- Drain the pasta (save a little hot pasta water in case you need it to loosen the pasta) and toss the sauce with the pasta. Taste and season once more with salt and pepper.
- Serve with parmesan or pecorino cheese (or vegan cheese), crispy sage leave, or garlic chips (see notes).
Notes
Pasta to Sauce Ratio: This produces a very “saucy” pasta- which I like. You can increase the dry pasta amount ( 10-12 ounces) if you prefer a less saucy pasta.
Instead of coconut milk, you can make a bechamel. When the shallots/garlic/sage mixture is golden, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons flour, toasting the flour in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add in 1 ½ cups of milk (or plant-based milk) and whisk while heating, just until it just comes to a simmer, whisking often- it will thicken. Stir in the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth, and heat until hot. Add salt and spices and continue with the recipe. Coconut adds a bit of sweetness, so feel free to add a tiny amount of maple syrup (½ teaspoon) if you like.
Crispy Garlic Chips: Slice 4-5 fat garlic cloves lengthwise into very thin slices. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sear the garlic slices 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. These can be made ahead.
Crispy Sage: Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and place 12 sage leaves in the oil until darkened (but not brown) then flip. Once the other side is golden, place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. these can be made ahead.
The pasta sauce can be made ahead as well and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 464
- Sugar: 5.7 g
- Sodium: 746.5 mg
- Fat: 23.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 14.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.8 g
- Fiber: 5.8 g
- Protein: 10.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This is divine!!! And so easy to make. I’m vegan and this might end my search for a good vegan mac and cheese. Who needs that when you can eat this instead? Thank you!
Great to hear Emily! You might be interested in our pasta with carrot miso sauce also vegan mac and cheese. 🙂
Delicious! Everyone loved this pasta and I love that it is so easy to make!
Nice, so glad to hear it!
Another easy, amazingly delicious and nutritious recipe – thank you! I used onion instead of shallots and topped with sauteed mushrooms instead of the garlic chips and sage.
Yummy! So glad you enjoyed.
Another excellent recipe! I added shiitake mushrooms and topped it with some Dukkah that I had made for another of your recipes. It was a big hit!
Sounds great Karen!
Very tasty! Neither the pumpkin or coconut were too strong, but blended together beautifully. I added some Italian sausage and used rotini pasta.
Great to hear Marga!
Thank you, for another one of your quick, delicious recipes. The sauce is simple and packs a lot of flavor.
So glad you enjoyed this one!
Very tasty & easy to make.
Glad you enjoyed Shari!
I made this with some cooked banana squash and it turned out incredible.
Great to hear!
The flavor is excellent, particularly with the garlic and crispy sage. The one thing I would “add” to this recipe would be to suggest saving some pasta water to thin the pasta out as it cools. Everything thickens up pretty quickly, so some additional liquid might help. I may also try light coconut milk next time to cut down on the richness.
Overall, a quite good recipe. Highly recommend.
Thanks Mary, good point, will add. 🙂
Delicious! So easy, quick, and simple.
Great to hear Melissa!
Easy, fast, and delicious! My husband loved it. Made both crispy sage and garlic. Added sauteed chef-blend mushrooms. Thanks so much.
Awesome Linda!
I’m giving this 5 stars even before I’ve made it, because when you know, you know. Also I wouldn’t dream of leaving off the fried garlic and fried sage garnish. I’ve devoured many a dish with zucca (Italian for pumpkin) and there really is so much more to pumpkin than Thanksgiving pie! (Although that has its own special place too!)
Thanks so much Terri! 🙂
Delicious worth the time and will make again!
Great to hear Bhakti!
This is SO good! I made this last night, exactly as written. So flavorful and satisfying. My husband and teenaged boys all loved it too.
Thank you!
Great to hear Kamilah!
I made this tonight and it is hands down the best pasta I’ve ever made. My whole family loved it too! This will go into our weekly rotation this fall!
Awesome Sue! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
We really enjoyed this, plus it was quick and easy to pull together–a double win! I had no sage leaves, so added some “rubbed sage” I had in my spice cabinet instead. Next time I’ll plan ahead and make those Crispy Garlic Chips, too. They sound amazing, and we are garlic lovers, but tonight had to be quick.
Thank you!
Glad it worked for you Linda!
This was good. Thank you for all the delicious recipes on your site!
Thanks so much Angeli!
Delicious! This dish came together quickly too!
Yes, it is such an easy one! Happy you liked it!
Excellent!
This is excellent. It’s like a really flavorful Alfredo without the cream. Delicious. Will definitely make again!
Glad you enjoyed Jessica!
Made this tonight with some fresh pumpkin purée from some pumpkin I roasted earlier and served over gluten free tagliatelle pasta. Follow instructions exactly and make both the crunchy garlic and sage. Turned out great. Even my husband (he is not a big fan of combining pumpkin and pasta and was very skeptical) cleaned his plate and said the only thing that would make it better would be some salty crispy prosciutto or garlicky mushrooms. Will be making this again!
Great to hear Leah!
I appreciate your clear explanations.
Like your husband I couldn’t resist a second helping!!!
Oh good! Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Read this recipe, then went directly home and made it. It’s delicious, cozy and super easy! The family loved it, thanks!
Awesome to hear!