This one pot creamy pumpkin sage pasta is the best thing I have made this entire fall. Any of you who love my creamy garlic pasta will LOVE this recipe too. Everyone else, you will also love this. Trust. Naturally vegan and dairy-free without any weird ingredients. Just pasta deliciousness!
I feel like the yearly onslaught of food blog pumpkin recipes is such a truism that even stating that I’m “not that into pumpkin” is cliched at this point. So I’m going to skip any further intro about pumpkin trends and just get to the recipe!
Like last year’s pumpkin garlic knots, this creamy pumpkin pasta is a showcase of how beautifully pumpkin can play with savory flavors.
To play against the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin I added some fresh cherry tomatoes and dry white wine to this vegan pumpkin pasta. Back when I developed this recipe it was still tomato season and the tomatoes were a lovely gift from my coworker’s garden. I realize that now a lot of you probably can’t get fresh tomatoes. Go ahead and used canned, just reduce the amount a little bit.
Another nice thing about preparing creamy pumpkin pasta using the one pot method is that the sauce comes out TRULY creamy. I see a lot of vegan cashew-based versions of this dish and I just don’t think there’s any comparing to the creaminess produced by cooking the sauce and pasta together. This sauce coats the pasta perfectly and is a lot lower fat, no cashews required!
Despite being fairly healthy, and pretty darn cheap and lazy, my one pot vegan pumpkin pasta is a gourmet-tasting dish that I’m confident you will love!
One Pot Creamy Pumpkin Sage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large shallot diced
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes (or use 1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 and 1/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 and 1/2 cups plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 3/4 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp salt plus more to taste (reduce if using a salty broth)
- 8 oz. dry pasta
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- chopped fresh chives (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. (The wider the skillet, the better). Add the garlic and shallot to the pan along with a sprinkle of salt, and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the garlic is softened and the shallot is turning translucent; avoid browning.
- Add the chopped sage, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to the pan, and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes, stir well, and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to break down a little bit. Stir in the white wine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, nondairy milk, pumpkin puree, and salt, and stir. Add the dry pasta and stir it around to submerge it under the liquid.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally, gently separating any pasta that starts to stick together. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened onto the pasta and the texture is to your liking. If too much of the liquid is cooking off, reduce the heat a little bit, and add more nondairy milk.
- Adjust the seasoning to taste, and serve topped with toasted walnuts, and fresh chives or other fresh herbs if desired (crispy fried sage could also be a nice addition!). Best served immediately, but leftovers will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge (cool completely to room temperature before boxing up and refrigerating).
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Ellen says
Followed the recipe exactly. It was ok, but a little bland. I don’t think I’ll make it again. Got some fresh sage in from a CSA and I’ll be looking for other recipes to use it up.
Carie says
OMG – soooooooooo good! Thank you for this recipe. Outstanding!
Stephanie says
This is DELICIOUS. I can’t wait to make this again. So creamy, so satisfying, rich and filling. I added mushrooms at the beginning – highly recommend the addition! This recipe is so, so good. Thank you.
Becca says
One of my favorite pasta recipes EVER! So easy, amazing flavor! I will be making this one again and again.
Kate says
Could you use fresh pumpkin?
Vanessa says
This recipe is amazing! I’m not vegan so I modified it a bit and used 3% milk, chicken broth, seared scallops, and also a sprinkle of nutmeg. I skipped the wine as I’m pregnant so we don’t have any white wine in the house. My husband went back for seconds and my 2 year old polished off her plate!
Rena says
Where has this recipe been all my life? I tried to optimize my use of items from the garden (originally found this recipe to use some extra roasted pumpkin), so used 2 Hawaiian Chili Peppers in place of the red pepper, and increased the sage to 5 tbsp (maybe my sage is weak). I left out the walnuts b/c lazy. I like the idea of adding greens to this too, will try it out soon. Tonight I ate it with Okra as I had some that needed to be cooked immediately. Somehow, they played well together.
Many thanks for this one!
Tara Kiser says
Would this be good over gnocchi?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I’m not sure that gnocchi would work very well with the one pot technique. I would worry about the gnocchi overcooking or the sauce being too thin.
Lisa says
This was delicious! Huge hit with hubby and my 2 year old. I added in some spinach at the end, which worked well !
Judson J Rappaport says
SO SO Delicious! I even added a few mushrooms I had in m fridge that gave it even more flavor
Jacqueline says
This is one of my favorite pasta recipes for sure! It’s so simple yet really special and delicious. I sometimes use sweet potato puree or another squash puree depending on what I have in my pantry.
Zoe says
This was SO delicious and SO easy!!! I think it’s the most delicious pasta sauce I’ve ever tasted, much less made myself! I couldn’t stop tasting. In addition, I am a vegan that has an unfortunate allergy to cashews, which most every dairy imitation recipe uses, so I really appreciate this recipe even more for the alternate creaminess method. Absolute A+.
Kara says
Any suggestions for a nut other than walnuts?
Im allergic…do you think almonds would work…?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds, toasted pumpkin seeds, or just omit them if needed.
Jessi Summers says
This was super tasty! Will definitely make again for my pumpkin loving friend!
christine says
what kind of pasta is this? looks like maybe broken up pieces of lasagna noodle? i would like to use it and am making this delicious recipe this chilly weekend!!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Not broken lasagna noodle, the picture pasta is rombi. I believe I found it at Whole Foods. Hope you enjoy!
Emily Fenech says
Thank you so much ! This was amazing … even my 11 year old pumpkin hater loved it!
Maureen says
Amazing flavor! Had to make it with gluten-free pasta. I use Banza which is chickpea pasta. Cooked at a head of time though as gluten-free pasta can be tricky. Then added it to the sauce and let it simmer for 15 minutes. It was amazing!
Stefanie says
Had this for dinner and it was truly delicious. My husband and son were licking the plate.
Leni says
This was really really really good tasting. I could see myself making it even when it’s not pumpkin season. The flavors are perfect.
Lindsay Sapaugh says
Hi Shannon! This recipe looks delicious. Did you use lasagna noodles? I am not a big fan of the one pot pasta dishes because mine get so dry. I made the taco spaghetti which haf a fabulous taste but sooo dry. Could it be because i use gluten free pastas? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent the dryness?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Lindsay, changing the composition of pasta used can definitely result in a different texture. The pasta pictured is made with durum wheat rombi shapes. But you should be able to adapt it to GF, just different liquid amounts might be required. If your dish is coming out dry then you need to either add more liquid or you might be cooking it at too high of a heat, so by the time the pasta is done, too much sauce is cooked away. (This is a common mistake). Good luck!
Megala says
Looks absolutely delicious !