Creamy Double Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce (nut-free, dairy-free & oil-free)

Enjoy all of the pumpkin with this creamy, vegan-cheesy, double pumpkin cream sauce. Pumpkin seed cream and pureed pumpkin are blended together with savory onions, garlic, nutritional yeast, and sage to make a deliciously creamy, autumnal pasta sauce.

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Pumpkin seed cream + pumpkin puree = pure creamy double pumpkin bliss.

When fall began this year, I set out to create a uniquely creamy pumpkin sauce recipe using all different parts of the pumpkin. I’ve seen other vegan pumpkin alfredo sauce recipes which use pumpkin puree along with cashews or coconut milk to make it creamy, but I had never come across a recipe using pumpkin seeds to make the cream before, so I started experimenting.

To make this super easy to throw together, I used canned pumpkin puree and raw shelled pumpkin seeds. If you wanted, you could roast a whole pumpkin to make your own pumpkin puree and then individually remove the shells off each pumpkin seed until you completely lose your mind, but I don’t recommend going that route if at all possible. This time of the year, grocery stores tend to make the canned pumpkin puree easier to find, so take advantage of that and save yourself from a potential pumpkin-induced breakdown.

The pumpkin taste in this sauce is very subtle and the flavor that comes through the most is a rich cheesy flavor from the nutritional yeast and the miso paste. If you want to taste more of the pumpkin, you can reduce the amount nutritional yeast, but I prefer the cheesier version.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds or pepitas

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1/2 cup yellow onion or shallot, diced

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tsp fresh sage, minced, or 1/4 tsp dried

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin, canned will work well

• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, or less if desired

• 3/4 - 1 tsp salt, or to taste

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1 tsp white miso, optional

First, make the pumpkin seed cream by blending the pumpkin seeds with water until completely smooth. If you have a high speed blender there’s no need to soak the seeds, but if you have a regular blender, soak the pumpkin seeds overnight first to soften them. Once blended, set the blender with the pumpkin seed cream aside for a moment.

Next, sauté the chopped onions and garlic for about 7 minutes until browned. Stir in the sage, pumpkin puree, nutritional yeast, pumpkin seed cream, salt, and pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for another 5 minutes while slowly stirring everything together. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a moment before pouring the contents of the pan back into the same blender. Add in a teaspoon of white miso paste (optional) and blend the sauce together until it is totally creamy and smooth, then pour over prepared pasta of choice. This makes about 27 oz of pasta sauce, or enough for 4-6 bowls of pasta. I keep mine in a jar in the fridge and use it all week.

I used whole wheat linguine, but you can use gluten-free noodles or any kind or shape pasta you’d like. It makes a great fall version of vegan mac and cheese as well!

This pumpkin alfredo sauce is a crowd-pleasing recipe that’s easy to make and perfect for pumpkin season. The pumpkin seed cream is a pale green color which makes the color of this sauce a bright almost lime-tinted yellow that is so vibrant and unique. I hope you enjoy this fall recipe as much as I do.

If you love creamy vegan-cheesy sauces, check out some of my other recipes-

• Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

• Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese with Mushroom Bacon

• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Leave a comment below if you try this out, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

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Creamy Double Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo (oil-free, nut-free, dairy-free)

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce

Ravioli is one of those foods that can be difficult to find vegan versions of. Since it seems like the idea of ravioli without a ricotta cheese stuffing is unthinkable to food manufacturers, I set out to make my own healthy vegan version using butternut squash.

Don't let the pasta dough making step intimidate you, I promise it's way easier than it seems and after you do it once you'll want to try stuffing just about everything you make inside pasta dough. Sure it's quite a bit more time intensive than some of my other recipes, but the time your spending is well worth it and the process of making these is actually really fun.

This past weekend I tried Hot For Food's pierogi recipe which was just amazing! It was my first time ever making a pasta dough and it was way easier than I expected. I replaced the oil in her dough recipe with more water and everything worked out just fine without it. So this week, when I remembered that I had a butternut squash waiting to be used up, I knew that I wanted to utilize that pasta dough recipe to make butternut squash ravioli.

I decided to go with a rich and creamy alfredo sauce which complements the squash perfectly. Though I'm sure these would be great with a marinara or pesto sauce as well! I used a microplane grater to grate one macadamia nut for some "parmesan" on top, but this was more just for the aesthetic as the sauce is creamy and indulgent enough as is. 

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Mash steamed squash with the rest of the filling ingredients.

Before:

After:

Prepare the dough and allow to rest in the fridge. Then roll it out really thin and make evenly sized little circles or squares. I like to use a cup with a sharp edge. My cup was about 3 inches in diameter which made 30 whole ravioli, but the number you get will depend on the size you make them and how thin you roll the dough. 

Place each dough circle on a parchment paper lined tray to keep them from sticking to the surface. 

Take 1 or 2 teaspoons of filling and plop right in the center of half of your dough circles. 

Use a small cup of water to wet your finger, then run your finger around the outside of the whole circle, then sandwich your dough circles together and press gently to seal together. You can decorate the edges with a fork, but only if you want to. They will stay sealed just from the gentle pressing alone. 

Heat a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt on the stovetop. Once boiling, add in a few ravioli and wait a minute or two for them to float to the top. Then scoop them out using a slotted spoon and place on a plate. 

Garnish with vegan alfredo sauce or any sauce of your choosing and then enjoy right away. 

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Butternut Squash Ravioli With Vegan Alfredo Sauce