Name: Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 pound pasta (I used orecchiette); 1 tablespoon vegan butter; 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1 cup pumpkin puree; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 cup full fat coconut milk; 1 cup reserved pasta water

This Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce is an easy weeknight meal that's full of flavor. It's the perfect fall recipe that everyone will enjoy!

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Pasta shells in creamy pumpkin sauce on a white serving dish.

Nothing says fall quite like pumpkin and with all the pumpkin baked goods and desserts, I thought we could all use a savory dish. Insert this deliciously creamy pumpkin pasta sauce.

This is the perfect weeknight dinner if you're looking for something new, plus it comes together in about 20 minutes. This sauce is a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree. If you're looking for more easy pasta sauce recipes, check out my Simple Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce or Easy Lemon Ricotta Pasta.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Recipe

Ingredients

Pumpkin puree- make sure you use pumpkin puree, which is just plain unsweetened pumpkin. Don't use pumpkin pie filling.
Coconut milk- full-fat coconut milk makes this sauce extra creamy and does not taste like coconut at all.
Pasta- a short noodle goes great with this sauce, I used orecchiette.
Minced garlic
Spices- onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

See the recipe card below for all ingredient quantities.

Instructions

Creamy pumpkin pasta sauce in a pan with a whisk.

Cook the pasta. Follow the directions on the package of the pasta you are using.

Make the sauce. Cook all of the sauce ingredients in a large skillet until creamy and well combined. Toss with the pasta and serve.

Pasta shells in creamy pumpkin sauce on a white serving dish with a spoon.

Substitutions

If you don't have all of the ingredients on hand, here are a few substitutions you can make.

Pumpkin- instead of pumpkin puree, you can use butternut squash or mashed sweet potatoes.
Coconut milk- coconut cream is a good replacement here but you will need more reserved pasta water. You can also use heavy cream, however, the sauce will no longer be vegan.
Vegan butter- you can use regular butter, but again this will not be a vegan recipe.

Vegan Pumpkin Pasta on a white plate next to a blue linen.

Variations

Here are a few tasty additions to spice up this recipe even more.

Meat- this is a vegan dish but if you want to add some protein, cooked ground sausage would be a great addition. Mix it into pasta with the sauce.
Fresh herbs- add fresh herbs to freshen things up! Fresh sage and rosemary will pair great with the pumpkin.
Vegetables- add roasted red peppers or crushed tomatoes to the sauce to add in some veggies.

Vegan pumpkin pasta on a serving dish with a spoon and topped with basil.

Equipment

Grab what you need for this recipe:

Large pot or Dutch oven
Colander
Large skillet
Whisk
Measuring cups and spoons needed: 1 teaspoon, 1 cup and ½ cup.

Storage

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Top tip

If the sauce is too thick, pour in reserved pasta water to thin it out. Pour the water in ¼ cup increments and mix until the sauce reaches the desired texture. Vegetable or chicken broth will also work for thinning out the sauce if needed.

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Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce