TL/DR – Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta. This delicious pasta bake is reminiscent of mac and cheese, featuring roasted butternut squash and sage, garlic, cashews, veggie broth, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and topped with crunchy bread crumbs and pepitas. Dairy free, soy free, gluten free. –
The original idea for this pasta bake, (which is gluten free thanks to Barilla Gluten Free Elbows,) was to create something non-dairy but also creamy… which I then realized was just a craving for mac and cheese. But isn’t everything just a craving for something else?
For this dish, start by soaking cashews overnight or at least a couple of hours. Then roast cubed butternut squash and a couple of whole garlic cloves with a good amount of fresh sage. As the squash roasts, boil water for pasta and cook it al-dente.
Process the soaked, drained cashews, roasted squash, garlic, low sodium vegetable broth, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper in a food processor on high until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the pasta, then place the mixture into a baking dish. Top it with bread crumbs and pepitas lightly toasted in plant based butter with a touch of salt and then bake it for about twenty minutes.
The result is a super tasty pasta that can be a side or a main dish. Picky eater approved! For another vegan pasta option, try Summer Chunky Marinara.
Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta
While not trying too hard to mimic macaroni and cheese, this pasta bake is definitely reminiscent of cheesy pasta. With roasted butternut squash and sage, it is a delicious side or main dish with a crispy breadcrumb and pepita topping.
Ingredients
- 1/2 c cashews, soaked in water overnight or min. 2 hours
- 3 c cubed butternut squash
- 2 whole cloves garlic
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 3 T minced sage
- 3 t kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 t pepper, divided
- 2 c Barilla gluten free elbows
- 1/2 c low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 T lemon juice
- 2 T nutritional yeast
- 1/4 c GF panko crumbs
- 1/4 c roasted salted pepitas
- 1 t plant based butter
Directions
- Step 1 Soak the cashews overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Step 2 Heat the oven to 425.
- Step 3 Peel and cube the butternut squash and mince the sage, then toss them with the whole garlic cloves in the olive oil with 1/2 t kosher salt and 1/8 t pepper, and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes.
- Step 4 As the squash roasts, boil the water for pasta with 2 t of the kosher salt. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- Step 5 As the pasta cooks, set up a food processor and add the drained cashews, vegetable broth, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, 1/2 t kosher salt and 1/8 t pepper. When the squash and garlic are finished roasting, lower the oven to 350 degrees and add the roasted squash and garlic to the food processor, careful to get as much as the sage off of the pan. Blend until the sauce is smooth, about two minutes.
- Step 6 Pour the sauce over the drained pasta in the saucepan used to cook the pasta, stir well, and pour into a baking dish coated in nonstick spray.
- Step 7 Quickly melt the plant based butter in a small skillet and carefully toast the breadcrumbs and pepitas with a pinch of salt, about 2 – 3 minutes.
- Step 8 Top the pasta in the baking dish with the pepita mixture and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
