Today, we will show you how to make a creamy and roasted butternut squash pasta sauce that is both gluten-free and delicious. Trust us - once you try this butternut squash sauce recipe, you'll never return to plain old spaghetti again!
During our time in Italy, we loved making many Italian-inspired veganized versions of staple butternut squash recipes and enjoyed its slightly sweet flavor in dishes varying from simple soups and roasted butternut squash to fill ravioli or making butternut squash risotto.
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🧡 Why you will love it
- Creamy Indulgence: Luxuriously smooth texture that beautifully coats each strand of pasta.
- Quick & Easy: A fuss-free sauce that comes together in no time, ideal for busy weeknights.
- Flavorful & Healthy: Packed with the natural sweetness of butternut squash and a nutritional boost.
- Perfect Pairing: Complements various pastas, from spaghetti to fusilli.
- Versatile Serving: Suits any season, served warm for comfort or cool for a light meal.
🧾 Ingredients
The ingredients to make this creamy sauce SO awesome:
- Butternut Squash: This vibrant veggie is the heart of the sauce, offering a creamy texture and a natural sweetness.
- Garlic: A flavor powerhouse that adds a zesty kick to the sauce.
- Fresh Thyme: This herb elevates the dish's earthy and slightly minty notes.
- Vegan Butter: Adds that rich, buttery flavor we crave without the dairy. It also helps in blending the sauce to a silky-smooth consistency.
- Leek: Provides a subtle onion-like flavor without overpowering the dish.
- Raw Cashews: These nuts are the secret to the sauce's luxurious creaminess.
- Nutritional Yeast: The vegan's answer to Parmesan is that it gives the sauce a cheesy, umami flavor.
- Lemon Juice: Adds a brightness to balance the sauce's richness.
- Bow Tie Pasta: Its unique shape holds onto the sauce well, making every bite a flavor bomb.
- Frozen Green Peas: These little green gems add color and a pop of sweetness.
- Optional: Nutmeg: A pinch can add a warm, nutty aroma that complements the squash and spices up the dish.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Butternut squash - Instead of a baby butternut squash to make the creamy sauce, you can also use your favorite winter squash like pumpkin, sugar pumpkin, kabocha squash, or acorn squash. Cooked pumpkin also works.
- Leeks - use shallots and yellow or white onion. You can also use the white bottoms of spring onions.
- Lemon juice - lime or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Cashews - although we strongly recommend using cashews, you could achieve a similar result using soaked hulled almonds.
- Thyme - or Rosemary makes an equally yummy pasta dish. We also like using fresh basil or fried crispy sage.
- Frozen peas - you could use canned peas; add the drained peas before serving instead of exposing them to heat. You can skip them, although we think they add a lovely texture and color to the dish.
- Nutritional yeast - replace nutritional yeast with your favorite vegan parmesan cheese.
- Vegan butter - you can use olive oil instead. To make butternut squash pasta vegan, the trick is to use good quality vegan butter. I like this vegan butter recipe if you want a homemade version.
🍽 Equipment
A high-speed blender or a quality food processor is crucial for a creamy roast butternut squash pasta sauce.
Also, opt for a large baking sheet to ensure even roasting the butternut squash.
🔪 Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200 ºC).
Step 1: Start by roasting the squash and garlic. Place diced butternut squash and garlic cloves (or the entire garlic head) on a parchment-lined baking tray. Add vegan butter and thyme—Roast in a preheated oven. Alternatively, roast a whole butternut squash and reserve any leftovers for different recipes.
Hint: remember to keep the seeds to make roasted squash seeds.
Step 2: Sauté sliced leeks; cook pasta until al dente, keeping some starchy water to blend the sauce ingredients.
Step 3: Place all pasta sauce ingredients, including roasted squash and garlic, into a high-speed blender.
Step 4: Blend until smooth.
Step 5: Strain the pasta, keeping a cup of starchy water, and use the same saucepan.
Step 6: Combine all the ingredients using more pasta water if needed.
Step 7: Season with a pinch of sea salt and freshly grated nutmeg.
Serve with freshly ground black pepper and vegan parmesan cheese; use our homemade vegan parmesan.
Hint: If you find it too thick, add some reserved pasta water to help coat the pasta.
💡 Expert tips
Swift Serving: Mix the freshly blended sauce with your pasta of choice immediately to prevent it from thickening; if it does, a quick warm-up may be necessary.
Pasta Water: Keep a cup of the pasta's cooking water; its starchy quality is perfect for finessing your sauce to the desired consistency.
Temperature Versatility: Enjoy this dish warm, nestled in a comforting bowl, or chilled as a chilled pasta salad.
Save some time: Instead of using roasted squash, you could simply steam or boil the squash and add a couple of drops of smoked paprika to make up for the umami flavor.
🥢 How to serve
Serve with roasted vegetables or steamed veggies.
Comfort Bowl: Serve the pasta and sauce in a deep bowl, topped with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan and a dash of fresh thyme. Add a side of garlic bread for that extra comfort factor.
Family-Style Platter: Lay out the pasta on a large platter and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with fresh herbs and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Perfect for family dinners where everyone can dig in!
📖 Variations
Spicy - add red pepper flakes to imbue heat into the dish while cooking.
Herbs - Use crispy fried sage leaves instead of thyme to add a more accentuated fall flavor.
Pasta - to make vegan butternut squash macaroni and cheese, switch the pasta selection to macaroni (elbow pasta).
Baked- Why not transform this sauce into a heartwarming Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese for those who crave extra indulgence? A delightful twist brings a crispy, golden layer to your creamy pasta.
🥡 Storage
Storage & Reheating Instructions
In the Fridge
- Keep it Fresh: Store any leftover sauce and pasta separately in airtight containers. They'll stay good for up to 2 days.
- Reheat and Eat: To reheat, place the sauce in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. A quick 2-minute zap in the microwave should do the trick for the pasta. Combine and enjoy!
Meal Prep
- Batch Cook: Make a double batch of the sauce and freeze half for later. Cook the pasta and peas only for the meals you'll eat within the next 3-4 days.
- Mix 'n' Match: Keep the sauce, pasta, and peas separate. This way, you can easily switch it up—think stuffed bell peppers one day and a creamy pasta bake the next!
🍝 More vegan pasta recipes
You will love these house-favorite pasta dishes if you like this butternut squash pasta recipe.
We love pistachios, and this vegan pistachio pesto sauce is so satisfying, elegant, and easy to make that it will have your guest asking for the recipe immediately!
Discover more quick and delightful vegan Italian recipes by learning how to make puttanesca sauce. Ready in just 15 minutes, it features a robust base of capers and black olives, offering a sharp and captivating taste!
After indulging in the creamy, comforting delight of our vegan mac and cheese, you might be on the lookout for another hearty, plant-based meal. For those evenings when you crave something equally wholesome and delicious, we've got just the thing.
Our friends have mastered a classic with a twist: a vegan hamburger helper that's not only packed with flavor but also aligns perfectly with a health-conscious, plant-based lifestyle. This dish promises to be a hit at any dinner table, offering a nutritious alternative to a beloved comfort food.
Read on: making fresh vegan pasta dough, homemade noodles, and butternut squash ravioli!
⭐ If you try this vegan mac'n'cheese recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
🎥 Video
📋 Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butternut squash About ½ small butternut squash, diced or cut into ½ inch slices.
- 3 cloves garlic Unpeeled
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter Or olive oil
- 1 cup leek Thinly sliced (about 3 oz)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast See notes.
- ½ lemon Juiced
- ½ cup green peas Frozen
- 1 cup pasta water
- ½ teaspoon sea salt Plus, extra to roast the butternut squash and boil the pasta
- 12 ounces bow tie pasta Gluten-free
Optional
- pinch nutmeg Freshly ground
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200 ºC).
- Prepare Garlic: If using a whole garlic head, slice off the top to expose the cloves. Wrap it in aluminum foil with a tablespoon of vegan butter and a pinch of salt. If using cloves, wrap them similarly.
- Season Squash: Arrange diced butternut squash on the baking sheet. Add melted vegan butter (or olive oil), three thyme sprigs, and a sprinkle of salt.
- Roast: Place both the butternut squash and the wrapped garlic in the oven. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
- Sauté Leeks: In a pan, sauté sliced leeks with a tablespoon of vegan butter and the remaining sprig of thyme, over medium heat. Cook until the butter is infused with the flavors. Then, remove from heat.
- Cook Pasta: Follow the package instructions to cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Remember to save one cup of the pasta water for blending.
- Blend Sauce: In a blender, combine one cup of roasted butternut squash, peeled garlic cloves, sautéed leeks, reserved pasta water, raw cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, thyme leaves (stems removed), and salt. Blend until creamy. Add more pasta water if needed to achieve a creamy but not too runny consistency.
- Combine: Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add in the green peas. Pour the butternut squash sauce over the pasta. Stir well. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with some reserved pasta water.
- Season: Finish with a pinch of sea salt and freshly grated nutmeg for flavor. Enjoy your delicious roasted butternut squash pasta sauce!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutritional Disclaimer
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
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Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend all of the products listed because they are companies I have found helpful and trustworthy.
As the lead content writer and recipe developer at Our Plant-Based World, he combines his passion for health and sustainability with a Plant-Based Nutrition Certification to create accessible, delicious vegan recipes. His expertise in plant-based cooking supports the blog's mission of fostering a healthier, environmentally conscious lifestyle through simple and seasonal dishes. His commitment to making vegan cooking enjoyable and inclusive for everyone shines in each recipe and article.
Katherine
This creamy sauce is such a great way to eat more veggies at a meal!
Gina
Always love trying new vegan recipes and this pasta sauce was incredibly delicious! This will for sure be a regular of mine to make from now on!
Kathleen
This creamy roasted butternut squash sauce sounds marvelous. It's pure comfort in a bowl.
Elaine
I've got to say - this pasta sauce is amazing! My friend is making something similar and it always delights me. It's time to surprise my friends with making my own sauce next time!
Tara
This pasta looks absolutely amazing! I love that creamy texture and how easily the flavors come together.
Emily
I made this as a cold pasta salad for a picnic and everyone loved it. It's a bonus that it's gluten-free! So good. I'm looking forward to making it over the fall and winter, too.
Gus
Thank you for trying our recipe, Emily! I'm glad to hear that you and your friends enjoyed it. Autumn and winter are great times of year to make this dish. The flavors of the season really shine through.
Suja MD
I love how versatile this recipe is! It's a perfect fit for my family! So delicious!
kushigalu
One of my favorite pasta recipes. SO delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Sara Welch
This was such a rich and creamy dish that does not disappoint! My kind of comfort food, indeed!
Gus
Thank you for trying our Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, Sara; I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! This dish is definitely a favorite among our readers.
Jacqueline Meldrum
That looks heavenly. I am definitely adding it to my meal plan.