I’ve been really into carbs lately, I mean, I’ll be honest I am always into carbs, but now it seems to be more than ever. And you know what, I’m going with it. Rather than trying to fight my body or stifle my needs with more protein or fat, I’m letting myself have the carbs. Because this will also pass. The good thing about my recent carb extravaganza is definitely this roasted vegan butternut squash pasta sauce. I’ve been slathering it on all the pasta. Add in some crispy sage, pumpkin seeds and some greens and you’re all set!
This post was originally shared in 2018 but has since been updated with newer photos. The recipe has not changed.
Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
This butternut squash sauce is so creamy and delicious, you’ll be blown away that it contains zero dairy at all. It tastes like a rich creamy, cheesy sauce but it’s made with simple everyday ingredients like squash, cashews, nutritional yeast and a few spices.
The Ingredients You’ll Need for Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make this vegan butternut squash pasta sauce recipe:
Squash
You can use either a butternut squash, or the smaller and sweeter variety- honeynut squash. Either will work!
Cashews
To make this vegan butternut squash sauce even smoother and creamier, I use some raw cashews.
Nutritional Yeast
To add some vegan cheese flavour, some nutritional yeast is a good idea. I love this stuff and put it on nearly everything.
Kale
Any type of green will work, spinach, arugula or kale.
Pasta
Choose your favourite type of pasta and enjoy! I loved serving this with some big rigatoni, but penne, rotini, shells or even linguine will all work.
Pumpkin Seeds
Toasted pumpkin seeds add some crunch and texture to this pasta dish. I love toasting raw pumpkin seeds with some oil and using the oil and seeds in the final dish.
Sage
Crispy, fried sage is excellent in this pasta dish! It pairs so well with the squash so I don’t recommend skipping it.
Smoked Paprika
I love adding some smoked paprika for flavour and depth. It really helps balance out the natural sweetness from the squash.
Ancho Chile Powder
Chili powder is often a blend with other spices, whereas ancho chile powder is ground ancho (poblano) pepper only. I love using it in lots of recipes, if you don’t have it, just use chili pepper.
Here is where to find Ancho Chili Powder!
Garlic
An easy addition to roasting the squash is to add some garlic cloves in with it too. Roasted garlic is much more mellow and it works very well in this vegan butternut squash pasta sauce. You can also use raw garlic, but why not throw in some cloves and roast them with the squash.
Carb Cravings
And back to the cravings for carbs for a minute because I think it’s important. So often I hear about those in the health and wellness community talk about cravings as a bad thing. And they are constantly coming up with ways to make the cravings healthier and to trick ourselves, our bodies and minds.
But our bodies are pretty smart and they know whats up. When you attempt to always stifle your cravings for things with something that doesn’t quite measure up, our bodies and our minds know. And what usually follows are more cravings and rummaging through our cupboards and kitchen to find something that can ward it off. We end up angry that our tricks didn’t work and eating more foods to make up for it.
Rather, if we just listened to our bodies, gave it what it needs and moved on without thinking twice, we could avoid this problem entirely. If you want to read more about cravings and emotional eating, have a look at this post.
How to Make This Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
The first thing you’ll want to do is soak your cashews. Soak your cashews in water for at least 1-2 hours, or in a pinch in just boiled water for 20-30 minutes.
Cook your Squash
Cut the butternut squash in half, removing the seeds and place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Add in some garlic cloves too!
Fry the Sage Leaves
Wash and dry your sage leaves and heat up a small pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or ghee and fry the sage until crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Then remove and set aside.
Prepare the Vegan Butternut Squash Sauce
Remove the butternut squash and let cool while you boil some water in a pot for your pasta and cook according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and add back into the pot.
Add your greens to the pasta so that it has time to wilt a little with the heat of the pasta.
Once the squash has cooled slightly, scoop out 2 cups and add to a blender along with the remaining pasta ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. It’s important to use about 2 cups, if you add more, increase the other ingredients as well. You’ll have some leftover cooked squash, which you can add to your pasta, or eat it later.
Add the sauce to your pasta, top with toasted pumpkin seeds and crispy sage. Devour!
Other Recipes Using Squash That You May Like
I love squash in the fall and winter. Here are some other squash recipes you may like:
- Stuffed honeynut squash with farro and mushrooms
- Butternut squash hummus with dukkah
- This roundup of 15 healthy and delicious butternut squash recipes!
Key Ingredients to Make This Butternut Squash Sauce
This butternut squash pasta sauce is amazing! A lot of times, I find that squash sauces tend to be a little more on the sweet side and I wanted this to be super savoury.
So, I added in a few key ingredients such as:
- Smoked paprika
- Ancho Chili powder
- Fried sage
- Cashews
- Roasted garlic
Usually I would say that you can get away without some ingredients if you don’t have them, but with this one, I would say don’t miss out on the sage. When you fry it in a little but of oil or ghee it gets all crispy and tastes so amazing in this dish. It really helps balance out the sweetness of this vegan butternut squash pasta sauce in my opinion.
Substitutions For Making This Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
No Nuts: omit the cashews, it will be less creamy, but still delicious. You can also sub with sunflower seeds (soaked) instead as well.
No Greens: omit. Any type of green leafy vegetable would be nice in here if you have. Or just serve some veggies or a salad on the side!
Make it Gluten Free: use your favourite gluten free pasta.
More Protein: add in some cooked protein such as chicken to the dish. Or, sprinkle some hemp seeds on top for a little boost.
As always, if you make this vegan butternut squash pasta sauce recipe please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or paprika
- 1/4 tsp ancho chile powder or chili powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
For the add-in’s:
- 1 bunch sage
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds toasted
Instructions
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Soak your cashews in water for at least 1-2 hours, or in a pinch in just boiled water for 20-30 minutes.
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Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Cut the butternut squash in half, removing the seeds and place cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Add the garlic cloves (wrapped in foil) alongside if roasting.
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Wash and dry your sage leaves and heat up a small pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or ghee and fry the sage until crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Then remove and set aside.
-
Remove the butternut squash and let cool while you boil some water in a pot for your pasta and cook according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and add back into the pot.
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Once you add the pasta back into your pot, add the spinach to it so that it has time to wilt a little with the heat of the pasta.
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Once the squash has cooled slightly, scoop out 2 cups and add to a blender along with the drained cashews, water, roasted garlic, vinegar, smoked paprika, chili powder, sea salt and 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Blend until smooth and creamy.
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Add the sauce to your pasta, top with toasted pumpkin seeds and crispy sage. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have spinach, simply omit, or add in another green like kale or even cooked brussels sprouts.
If you can’t have cashews, you could try using soaked sunflower seeds to create a creamy consistency.
This sauce makes just over 2 cups.
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This dish looks amazing! So rich and hearty!
Thanks! I’ve made it so many times and always enjoy it 🙂
everyone in our family (even the picky kids) LOVED it and ate every bite.. even had 2nds.. then I told them it was butternut squash and cashews and they couldn’t believe it. haha 🙂 Such a great recipe!
Hi Laura! Thanks so much for letting me know. I am so happy you and your family liked it. It can be a sneaky way to add veggies into our meals haha 😉
I think I maybe had too much butternut squash (I used precut squash). It was VERY hard to get to a puree. I added some water and then almond milk. My poor blender has seen better days. I haven’t put it on pasta yet, but plan to have it for dinner tonight. I’m freezing some for my husband so he can have something easy to prepare for our son on nights when I’m working late. I liked the chili and paprika. I did add a pinch of nutmeg. I love sage, but skipped it as it can impact breast milk supply. 🙁
Sorry to hear about your blender! For the sauce, you only need 2 cups of squash, perhaps you had a little more than that? Please let me know how you like it once you’ve tried it, I’d love to hear from you. It makes a great sauce for quick week nights when you freeze it. Thanks for trying it 🙂
I am definitely going to make this and I will look for your new book on Amazon!
Yay! Thanks Cindy, I appreciate it so much!