Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Written by
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett has written five books about plant-based cooking and has developed hundreds of vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Jolinda Hackett
Updated 07/22/21
Vegan pumpkin pasta recipe

The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
98 Calories
7g Fat
8g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 98
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 10%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 296mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 4mg 18%
Calcium 30mg 2%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 148mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

If you're bored of the usual spaghetti and marinara, try this pumpkin pasta recipe for something different. Savory and aromatic, this vegetarian and vegan pumpkin and sage sauce is naturally lower in fat than others and is perfect for an unique main dish for autumn or winter months when pumpkin seems to be everywhere.

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Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 large onion, diced

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 3/4 cup non-dairy milk

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons dried sage

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for the water

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts, finely chopped, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for pumpkin pasta
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. In a medium-sized pot or large frying pan, sauté the garlic and onion in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes.

    Saute garlic and onion
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Add the sage and heat for another minute.

    Saute
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Reduce heat to low, and add the soy milk and pumpkin. Stir gently to combine ingredients.

    Reduce heat to low
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. Allow the mixture to simmer until flavors are well-combined, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and walnuts or pine nuts if using, stirring to combine, and then remove from heat.

    Allow mixture to simmer
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Sprinkle the top of the pasta with breadcrumbs or a vegan Parmesan cheese substitute.

    Sprinkle top of pasta
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Serve over cooked pasta and enjoy.

    Serve over cooked pasta
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Tips

  • Serve the pumpkin sauce over cooked shaped pasta, such as rotini or penne. The shaped pasta is better than spaghetti or other forms of long noodles because it has plenty of crevices to hold the sauce.
  • If you don't need the recipe to be vegan, substitute the non-dairy milk with dairy milk. Use at least 2 percent milk to increase the flavor, but you can use heavy cream for a real indulgence.
  • For extra protein, add baked tofu or soy chorizo. If you're not vegetarian, add chicken or chorizo sausage.
  • Save about a half-cup of the water that the pasta cooked in, and add it to the pumpkin sauce. The starch in the water allows the sauce to adhere to the cooked pasta better.
  • Make this dish after Thanksgiving when you have a few cans of leftover pumpkin puree left in your fridge or pantry. However, make sure that it's plain pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix, which has sugar and spices already mixed into it.
  • Play around with the herbs and spices that you use in the dish, adding other classic pumpkin flavors like nutmeg or all-spice.

Recipe Variations

  • Replace the pumpkin puree with another type of winter squash puree. Try butternut, acorn, or maple squash puree, or a combination of winter squashes.
  • Turn this into a baked pasta dish by combining al dente pasta and sauce in a prepared casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the dish for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling. If it seems to be drying out, add a little bit of vegetable broth to moisten it.