Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta
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This Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta is smoky, spicy and 100% creamy. The vegan pasta you need to try out!
We’re taking butternut squash sauce and giving it a kick in the butt with some spice, some smokiness and a whole lot of tastiness. This pasta is creamy and savory – it is everything you could want in a Fall dinner. Served up with crispy sage on top, you’ve gotta give this one a try!
How to make the sauce
The sauce involves a couple of steps. First, roast the squash, onion and garlic with some seasonings until tender (and a little bit browned). I went with pre-cut squash – it will save you prep time and just make your life a whole lot easier. But, if you have the time and patience you can peel, deseed and cube a whole squash.
Once the veggies are tender, add them to a food processor with vegan cream cheese, chipotle peppers, smoked paprika and chili powder. Pulse everything until it is smooth and set aside.
Bring the Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta together
Once the sauce is blended, you’re pretty much done. Cook up the pasta and drain it once it is al dente – don’t overcook, since it will continue cooking in the sauce. Also, be sure to reserve some pasta water before draining.
Place the same pot that you cooked the pasta in back on the stove and melt vegan butter. Add some fresh sage leaves and cook them until crispy – this will be the pasta topping. Remove from the butter and set aside.
Add the blended sauce to the vegan butter with some vegan parmesan and cook down until heated through. Be sure to taste for salt and add a healthy pinch if needed. Add the pasta to the sauce and thin it out with the reserved pasta water. OMG! This is when things come together and look creamy and delicious!
Serve the pasta right away and crumble the fried sage on top! This is a Fall recipe, with a twist, that is fun, different & delicious!
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
Did you Make this Recipe?
If you made this Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta I would LOVE to hear what you thought. Be sure to drop a comment and a rating below! You can also tag me on social media if you snapped a photo. I LOVE seeing your recreations!
Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients
FOR THE ROASTED VEGGIES
- 2 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 small yellow onion cut in large pieces
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- red pepper flakes to taste
- salt & pepper
FOR THE PASTA
- 3/4 pound short pasta
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 8 sage leaves
- 4 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup vegan parmesan
- non-dairy milk unsweetened, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all of the roasted veggie ingredients to the baking sheet and toss to coat evenly. Place in the oven on the center rack for 20 minutes. Flip and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Transfer the roasted veggies, vegan cream cheese, chipotle peppers, chili powder and smoked paprika to a food processor. Pulse until smooth and combined.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
- Place the empty pot back on the stove and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage and cook until the butter starts to brown and the sage becomes crispy. Remove the sage leaves with a fork and set aside.
- Transfer the blended sauce to the pot with the reserved vegan butter. Add the vegan parmesan and cook over medium heat until the sauce is hot and bubbly. Taste and add salt as needed – you will probably need to add a healthy pinch.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Thin with pasta water and add non-dairy milk if you want it even creamier. Serve hot with the crispy sage crumbled on top.
Video
Notes
This dish was delicious! My vegan husband approved (he usually doesn’t say anything about the vegan dishes I cook but he actually said this one was good!). I subbed TJ’s vegan sour cream since I didn’t have cream cheese on hand. I also didn’t have vegan Parmesan but just a little garlic salt and it all came together great!
Yayyy! So glad it was a hit!
I’m looking forward to making this on Wednesday for dinner & have a quick question. Can you substitute nutritional yeast for the vegan parmesan? And if so, how much — 1/4 cup?
Thank you in advance!
This was delicious!! I left out the chipotle peppers since i didn’t have any on hand but it was still so good!! Definetly a keeper recipe. Thanks!
This pasta was absolutely delicious and easy! I used sage from my garden and the crispy vegan-butter cooked leaves were the perfect topping. I used the recipe exactly as written, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Is there a substitution for vegan cream cheese perhaps? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Joan – you could use vegan ricotta, either store bought or make my tofu ricotta:
https://www.thissavoryvegan.com/vegan-tofu-ricotta/
My 14 year old son and I made this last night. SO delicious! It was pretty simple and incredibly flavorful. Easily the best dish we’ve made in a while! Thank you!!
Can you use yellow squash in this recipe? Looks delicious can’t wait to make it!
I haven’t tried it with yellow squash – my only worry with using it is the seeds. You would be better off swapping it for acorn squash or pumpkin.