Pumpkin Rigatoni
Dive into a bowl of creamy, dreamy pumpkin rigatoni made with fresh pumpkin. Enjoy fresh seasonal fall flavors with a creamy pumpkin and sage pasta dish with very few ingredients. Or add kale and peas to add some greens. Two sauce options (one nut-free) are available.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 315kcal
Ingredients
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- 16 ounces Rigatoni Pasta I used whole wheat; or any pasta of choice.
- ½ roasted small pie pumpkin equivalent to 1 and ¼ cup pumpkin flesh
- ½ white onion cut into large wedges
- 1 shallot cut in half
- 2 cloves garlic
- 8 sage leaves or ¼ cup cut into thin strips
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked overnight
- 1 cup organic vegetable broth
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Nut-free Option
- 1 cup plant milk instead of vegetable broth blended with 1 Tablespoon gluten-free flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder.
OPTIONAL:
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups chopped kale
- Red pepper Flakes
- Cashew Vegan Parmesan “Cheese” to sprinkle on top optional
- Small sage leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cut the pumpkin in half from the stem down.
- Remove the seeds and stringy flesh (save seeds for roasting)
- Place both halves of the pumpkin cut side down on the baking pan.
- Add onion, shallot, and garlic cloves to the baking sheet around the pumpkin halves.
- Cover with aluminum foil tightly.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and leave covered for an additional 10 minutes so it can continue cooking outside of the oven.
Creamy Pumpkin Sauce
- Drain the cashews and rinse them (cashews do not need to be soaked if using a quality high-speed blender).
- Remove the pumpkin flesh from the skin (one side of the pumpkin should yield enough pumpkin, depending on the size of the pumpkin).
- Add pumpkin, onions, garlic, shallot, cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth to a high-speed blender; blend on high until smooth.
- Blend the plant milk and flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder if making the nut-free version. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend again (skip the nuts and vegetable broth).
- Set aside (If you make the sauce in advance, put it in the refrigerator and reheat it while the pasta cooks). If using immediately, leave it at room temperature.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- If using frozen peas, cook with the pasta in the last 3 minutes.
- Rinse pasta (with peas if using).
- Return pasta to pan; pour in 1 cup of reserved pasta water, then sauce.
- If adding kale, add it now. It will wilt immediately as it combines with hot pasta and reserved pasta water.
- Stir to combine; add chopped sage.
- Serve with small fresh sage and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and Cashew Vegan Parmesan “Cheese."
Notes
- Fresh sage is always the best bet, but if it isn't in season, dried works. Just remember the rule: ⅓ the amount of dried herbs is equal to fresh herbs.
- Even though I only use half a pumpkin pie pumpkin for this pumpkin pasta, roast both sides, double the sauce, freeze it, or use the other half for another dish like pumpkin hummus. YUM.
- Roast the onions and the pumpkin simultaneously; when in doubt, always cook veggies together to maximize your space and time.
- Choose gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free option.
- Sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese for an added cheesy taste.
- If you don't have a high-speed blender, like my Nutri bullet, soak the raw cashews overnight to make them easier to blend.
Nutrition
Serving: -4g | Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 465mg | Potassium: 626mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 9112IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 3mg