Easy Creamy Gluten-free Pumpkin Pasta
This easy and oh so creamy Easy Creamy Gluten-free Pumpkin Pasta is full of flavor and nutrition. You'll want to add it to your meal rotation not only for fall, but for all year round!
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta gluten-free
- 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 13 1/2 ounces coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 6-7 sage leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 tablespoons vegan parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Wash the pumpkin well. Cut into large chunks. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin softens enough to make a purée.
- Alternatively, for added flavor, you can roast the chunks in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Highly recommended, but not mandatory!
- Carefully remove the skin and discard it.
- Transfer the flesh to a food processor or high-speed blender. Add the coconut milk, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste and blend until creamy.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Add a spoon or two of olive oil and fry the sage leaves until they turn darker and hardened. If using dried leaves, they might darken just a little but not much. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of salt water to boil. Once it's boiling, add pasta of choice and cook for the amount of time recommended on the packaging.
- While the pasta is boiling, transfer the pumpkin sauce to a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the paprika and mix it with the sauce.
- Cook the sauce for about 4-5 minutes, depending on how thick you prefer your sauce. Add thinning or thickening liquids as mentioned in notes as needed. Remove from heat.
- Once the pasta is ready, transfer it to the frying pan and add walnuts. Toss the pasta until covered in sauce.
- Top with vegan parmesan cheese (of course regular cheese works as well) and fried sage. You can use the sage leaves whole or break them down into smaller pieces.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- – Either will work. Just make sure that if you’re buying canned pumpkin that it’s PLAIN pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling pumpkin.
- You can use either for this recipe, but fresh is best. For 6-7 fresh leaves you can use about 1.5 tablespoons of minced, fresh leaves or 1.5 teaspoons of rubbed sage or about 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
- Coconut milk makes the sauce really creamy, but you can also use dairy milk or another dairy-free alternative, or skip this altogether. Make sure to not use a sweetened non-dairy milk.
- While parmesan works great, romano cheese would also be lovely. You could even branch out and try feta, pecorino, halloumi, goat cheese.
- The walnuts add great flavor and crunch to this dish. I highly recommend the toasting part here, or at the very least,
- them for better flavor.
- You can keep the pasta up to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container. If the sauce dries out, add some coconut milk or water to make it creamier.
- Prevent Mushy Pasta – You want your pasta tender on the outside but not mushy and with a little bit of firmness on the inside. Test the pasta before you think it’s done because if you wait too long, it can easily overcook. The pasta will cook a bit more once you add it to the sauce, so keep that in mind!
- Whole vs canned pumpkin puree – Either will work. Just make sure that if you’re buying canned pumpkin that it’s PLAIN pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling pumpkin.
- Fresh sage vs dried sage – You can use either for this recipe, but fresh is best. For 6-7 fresh leaves you can use about 1.5 tablespoons of minced, fresh leaves or 1.5 teaspoons of rubbed sage or about 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
- Coconut milk alternatives – Coconut milk makes the sauce really creamy, but you can also use dairy milk or another dairy-free alternative, or skip this altogether. Make sure to not use a sweetened non-dairy milk.
- Cheese alternatives – While parmesan works great, romano cheese would also be lovely. You could even branch out and try feta, pecorino, halloumi, goat cheese.
- Walnut alternatives – The walnuts add great flavor and crunch to this dish. I highly recommend the toasting part here, or at the very least, soak and dehydrate them for better flavor.
- Storage: You can keep the pasta up to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container. If the sauce dries out, add some coconut milk or water to make it creamier.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4 people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 713
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 713kcal | 36% |
| Carbohydrates | 96g | 32% |
| Protein | 15g | 30% |
| Fat | 33g | 51% |
| Saturated Fat | 23g | 115% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Cholesterol | 3mg | 1% |
| Sodium | 1034mg | 43% |
| Potassium | 464mg | 10% |
| Fiber | 7g | 28% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 14524IU | 290% |
| Vitamin C | 7mg | 8% |
| Calcium | 104mg | 10% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
| Net Carbohydrates | 89g |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.