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Hey, pasta lovers! If you’re on the hunt for a cozy, creamy, and utterly delightful vegan pasta recipe, you’re in the right place. Our Butternut Squash Pasta is here to dazzle your taste buds and provide that warm hug you crave during chilly evenings. No dairy, no problem – let’s dive into the comforting world of plant-based pasta magic!

fork lifting butternut squash pasta out of a bowl.

What You’ll Need to Make Butternut Squash Pasta

Butternut Squash (with Skin): That’s right, no need to peel off the skin! It’s not only a time-saver but also adds a lovely nutty flavor and extra nutrients. Slice, roast, and blend.

A Whole Head of Garlic: Roasting garlic adds a caramelized, almost sweet flavor to the sauce. Plus, the aroma while it’s roasting is heavenly.

Shallots: These little gems provide a delicate oniony flavor that complements the butternut squash beautifully.

Raw Cashews: Creamy, dreamy, and oh-so-healthy. Cashews are the secret to that luscious, dairy-free creaminess.

Pasta of Your Choice: Feel free to pick your favorite pasta shape. Whether you’re into the classic spaghetti or something quirky like fusilli, it’s all about what makes you smile. I used this gluten-free spaghetti, and it was delicious!

close-up image of butternut squash pasta in a bowl.

Tips and Tricks

  • Roast ‘n’ Toast: Roasting the butternut squash and garlic is the superstar move here. The caramelization adds a depth of flavor that’s hard to resist. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes , and pop ’em in the oven.
  • Add a Splash of Lemon: For an extra layer of flavor and a touch of freshness, consider adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to your creamy butternut squash sauce. The hint of citrus can brighten up the dish and provide a delightful contrast to the richness of the sauce. Just a little goes a long way, so start with a modest amount and adjust to your taste. It’s a simple twist that can elevate your pasta to a whole new level of deliciousness!
  • Season to Perfection: Don’t forget to season well with salt, pepper, and maybe a pinch of nutmeg for that extra warmth. Taste as you go to get it just right.
Placing down a bowl of vegan creamy butternut squash pasta.
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Easy and Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta

If you’re on the hunt for a cozy, creamy, and utterly delightful vegan pasta recipe, you’re in the right place. Our Butternut Squash Pasta is here to dazzle your taste buds and provide that warm hug you crave during chilly evenings. No dairy, no problem – let’s dive into the comforting world of plant-based pasta magic!
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2-3 cups cubed butternut squash, skin left on or peeled off
  • 1 whole head garlic, peeled
  • 2 shallots, peeled and cut in half
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound pasta
  • 1 cup vegetable broth, or water
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, unsalted
  • 2-3 fresh sage leaves

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
  • On a large baking sheet, toss together the cubed butternut squash, peeled garlic cloves from one whole head of garlic, peeled and cut shallots, fresh thyme leaves, olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Bake for 30 minutes, or until butternut squash is very soft.
  • Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool slightly. While the squash cools, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add in a big pinch of salt and the pasta. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
  • Once butternut squash is slightly cool, add to a blender along with the vegetable broth, raw cashews, and sage. Blend until completely smooth.
  • Right before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Then, drain the pasta and return to the pot along with the butternut squash sauce. Add ¼ cup of pasta water at a time to the pasta to thin out the sauce, as needed.
  • Serve immediately with additional fresh herbs.

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal

Interested In More Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Pasta Recipes? Try These!

Fresh, wholesome, and delicious pasta with caramelized zucchini! This super simple pasta recipe requires just a handful of ingredients – many of which you probably already have at home. Throw together this easy and healthy weeknight meal in 30 minutes!

fork and spoon lifting pasta with caramelized zucchini out of a bowl.

What You’ll Need to Make Pasta with Caramelized Zucchini

Olive Oil and Butter – The combination of both olive oil and butter are perfect for caramelizing the zucchini in this recipe. Olive oil prevents the zucchini from sticking to the pan, while butter gives it that irresistibly rich flavor.

Zucchini – Use as much or as little zucchini as you’d like in this recipe! Though remember, the zucchini will cook down a ton while cooking, so it’s better to start with more than you may think you need. Thinly slice your zucchini into about 1/8-inch thick rounds. The thinner you slice the zucchini, the faster it’ll cook and caramelize.

Pasta – I used gluten-free linguini for my pasta with caramelized zucchini, but any pasta will work!

overhead image of pasta with caramelized zucchini on a plate with a fork.

Tips and Tricks

  • Don’t forget to save some pasta water before straining! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve meant to save pasta water, but totally forgot when it came time to strain it. Reserved pasta water plays a crucial part in the sauce, so make sure you remember it!
  • Cook the zucchini to your liking. I loooove super soft and jammy zucchini, but if you want zucchini with a little more bite, cook it down for just 10-15 minutes. This light and healthy pasta recipe is super easy to customize!
close-up image of pasta with caramelized zucchini in a bowl.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: Simply use your favorite gluten-free pasta like I did!

Make it Vegan/Dairy-Free: Use your favorite non-dairy butter in this recipe, and leave off any cheese when serving.

close-up overhead image of pasta with caramelized zucchini in a bowl with parsley and parmesan cheese on top.
5 from 1 vote

Pasta with Caramelized Zucchini

Fresh, wholesome, and delicious pasta with caramelized zucchini! This super simple pasta recipe requires just a handful of ingredients – many of which you probably already have at home. Throw together this easy and healthy weeknight meal in 30 minutes!
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch thick)
  • salt, to taste
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 pound pasta, uncooked

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
    pasta with caramelized zucchini step 1
  • Add in the zucchini and a big pinch of salt, cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes.
  • While zucchini cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain pasta from remaining water.
  • Once zucchini is very soft and caramelized, add in the garlic and garlic powder. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant.
    pasta with caramelized zucchini step 4
  • Add the cooked pasta and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet with the zucchini. Stir everything together, and add more pasta water if pasta seems dry. Serve warm with fresh cracked black pepper.
    pasta with caramelized zucchini step 5

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal

A wholesome and comforting rigatoni bolognese! Ground beef, sautéed veggies, red wine, tomatoes, and classic Italian seasoning. This delicious meal comes together in one pot, in under 30 minutes!

overhead image of rigatoni bolognese on a plate with red wine and chopped parsley on the side.

What You’ll Need to Make Rigatoni Bolognese

Ground Beef – I recommend a lean ground beef for this recipe! Also, remember to season it with plenty of salt in the first step.

Italian Seasoning – If you don’t already have Italian seasoning in your pantry, you MUST go get some. It’s a staple in my Italian home, and adds the perfect blend of dried herbs to whatever I’m cooking. Italian seasoning is essential in this rigatoni bolognese, so don’t even think about going without it!

Red Wine – A touch of dry red wine contributes tons of depth to this dish. However, if you don’t like or have red wine, you can use 1/2 cup of beef broth instead.

Rigatoni Pasta – Rigatoni is the perfect pairing to this homemade bolognese sauce! Its wide opening allows plenty of room for the sauce to fully wrap around each noodle. Though if you don’t have any rigatoni, feel free to use whatever pasta you have on-hand! Spaghetti bolognese is always delicious, too.

rigatoni bolognese on a plate with a fork and spoon.

Tips and Tricks

  • Want to make this rigatoni bolognese in the Instant Pot? Follow my Instant Pot bolognese recipe, then serve over rigatoni!
  • The longer you let the sauce simmer, the more flavorful it’ll be. This recipe requires just 15 minutes of simmering, but if you have the time – leave it to simmer even longer! You can simmer this sauce for up to an hour for TONS of flavor.
  • Prep a double batch of this bolognese and store half in the freezer for a later date! To freeze this sauce, let it cool completely then store in an airtight container. It stays fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months!
rigatoni bolognese on a plate with red wine and cheese on the side.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: For a vegetarian rigatoni bolognese, replace the ground beef with two cans of drained lentils!

Make it Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free rigatoni, I love this brand.

Classic Rigatoni Bolognese

4 from 3 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

25

minutes

A wholesome and comforting rigatoni bolognese! Ground beef, sautéed veggies, red wine, tomatoes, and classic Italian seasoning. This delicious meal comes together in one pot, in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 pound ground beef

  • salt, to taste

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped

  • 1 large carrot, finely chopped

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1/2 cup dry red wine, or beef broth

  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

  • 1 pound rigatoni pasta

  • fresh grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef and a big pinch of salt. Cook until beef is no longer pink, breaking the beef apart with a spoon as it cooks.
  • Once beef is cooked through, add in the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook until veggies are soft, about 3 minutes.
  • Add in the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and red wine. Cook for about 5 minutes, using your spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
  • Pour in the jar of crushed tomatoes with its juices, reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
  • While the bolognese simmers, cook rigatoni pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain pasta from water.
  • Remove bolognese sauce from heat, add in cooked pasta, and stir to coat pasta in sauce. Serve warm with fresh grated parmesan cheese on top.

Recipe Video

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This vegan pesto is the easiest and tastiest recipe you’ll make all week! Simply toss all ingredients in a blender, then serve over your favorite pasta. This classic recipe is exploding with fresh, bright, and savory flavor!

overhead image of vegan pesto in a bowl with a spoon.

I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kind of famous for my pesto. Even cheese-lovers rave about my cheese-less pesto! It was just sort of a recipe that evolved over time based on my dietary restrictions. Growing up, my mom would take me to the local farmer’s market on Saturdays and this one bread stand would hand out samples of thick sliced bread with a big ole’ slathering of pesto on it. It was my FAVORITE part of the farmers market and truly where my deep love of pesto began.

When I moved away for college, I had no choice but to start making pesto myself. Also, around this same time is when I started experimenting with a dairy and gluten-free diet. So one day I randomly decided to just leave the parmesan cheese out of my pesto and see how I’d like it. And well, I LOVED it! Then I began playing around with different nuts in my pesto – the traditional recipes call for pine nuts but those can be pretty hard to come by. So I tried literally every nut I could think of and ultimately landed on cashews for creating the best and creamiest vegan pesto EVER. This recipe is perfectly tangy, incredibly fresh, and tastes just as good as (if not better than) the stuff I used to get at the farmer’s market growing up!

vegan pesto pasta in a bowl with a fork and white wine on the side.

What You Need To Make Vegan Pesto

Basil – If you’re growing basil this year, definitely use it in this vegan pesto! I love doubling or tripling this recipe at the end of summer and freezing leftovers to make sure none of that gorgeous, fresh basil goes to waste. And if you don’t have your own basil plant, simply pick up a package of this delicious herb the next time you’re at the grocery store or farmer’s market. To prepare the basil for this recipe, start by giving it a quick rinse under cold water. Once clean, remove the leaves from the stems and add them to your blender. When I say “2 heaping cups,” I mean 2 HEAPING cups – pack that basil in there, and throw in a little extra if you’d like!

Cashews – Traditional pesto is made with pine nuts, but this vegan pesto tastes even better with cashews. Cashews do an incredible job at contributing an almost cheesy flavor to this pesto, in the absence of parmesan cheese! Though feel free to use any nut or seed you’d like to in this recipe. Walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds would all make great substitutions. However, whichever option you choose, please make sure that it is raw and, most importantly, unsalted!

Lemon Juice – Lemon juice adds a touch of brightness to this pesto and emphasizes the delicious fresh flavor. Start small on the lemon juice and add more to taste. I loooove a super lemony pesto so I tend to go a bit crazy, but feel free to customize this recipe to your liking! If you don’t have lemon juice, you can use a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar instead.

vegan pesto pasta being lifted out of a bowl with a fork.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Make it Nut-Free: Use raw and unsalted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in place of the cashews to make this a nut-free pesto!
  • Make it Oil-Free: Substitute 2-3 tablespoons of water for the olive oil in this recipe.
  • Add Cheese: Throw 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese in with the rest of the ingredients if you’d like.

Vegan Pesto

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

This vegan pesto is the easiest and tastiest recipe you’ll make all week! Simply toss all ingredients in a blender, then serve over your favorite pasta. This classic recipe is exploding with fresh, bright, and savory flavor!

Ingredients

  • 2 heaping cups fresh basil

  • 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews, see Notes

  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 3 garlic cloves

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Directions

  • Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Cashews: You can substitute the cashews in this recipe for pine nuts, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds if you’d like!

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More Quick and Easy Vegan Recipes

Vibrantly green and irresistibly creamy avocado pasta, finished off with roasted garlic and tomatoes! Whip up this quick, easy, and healthy dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. Perfect when you’re short on time and/or craving something comforting and delicious.

close-up image of avocado pasta with roasted garlic and tomatoes on a plate

What You’ll Need To Make Avocado Pasta

Avocado – LOL, duh! Pick up two perfectly ripe avocados for this plant-based recipe. To know whether your avocados are ripe or not, give them a gentle squeeze. If the skin gives a tiny bit then they’re ready to eat! Though if your avocados feel hard as rocks, leave them out at room temperature for another day or two until ripe. I almost always buy a big bag of avocados while at the store, and use leftovers to make avocado toast in the morning – yum!

Fresh Herbs – Feel free to use any fresh herbs you’d like, or have on-hand! I used a combo of fresh basil and fresh parsley, which made for a perfectly fresh-tasting sauce. However, a bunch of fresh cilantro would taste equally as delicious.

Garlic – Plenty of garlic is necessary for this avocado pasta recipe! We pretty much use an entire garlic bulb between the roasted garlic and tomatoes, and the avocado sauce. When roasted, garlic releases intense flavor which is straight up heavenly. I could eat roasted garlic all by itself, it’s that good! Together with the tomatoes, olive oil, and a little bit of salt and pepper – the roasted garlic in this recipe is to-die-for.

overhead image of avocado pasta on two plate

Tips and Tricks

  • Use any pasta shape you’d like! I used bow-ties since they’re what I had, but shape truly makes no difference here. I can imagine this avocado pasta tastes just as delicious with spaghetti, penne, fusilli, elbows, etc.
  • Remember to reserve half a cup of pasta water! This pasta water will be added back into the pasta, after you’ve strained it, and added the avocado sauce in. The starches from the reserved water help your sauce latch onto the pasta.
  • Typically served hot, this pasta can also be served cold as an avocado pasta salad. For a cold pasta dish, cook up everything the same. Then, cover and leave to chill for about an hour before serving.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: This pasta is easily made gluten-free with the use of your favorite gluten-free pasta. Now my personal favorite gluten-free pasta is Jovial’s Brown Rice pasta, and is actually exactly what I used in the photos here!

Make it Paleo/Grain-Free: For a paleo pasta, simply use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash in place of the pasta in this dinner recipe.

Avocado Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

Vibrantly green and irresistibly creamy avocado pasta, finished off with roasted garlic and tomatoes! Whip up this quick, easy, and healthy dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. Perfect when you’re short on time and/or craving something comforting and delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pasta, uncooked

  • For the roasted garlic and tomatoes:
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes

  • 6-8 garlic cloves, sliced

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • salt and black pepper, to taste

  • For the avocado sauce:
  • 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pits removed

  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, parsley, and/or cilantro

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Make the roasted garlic and tomatoes by placing tomatoes and sliced garlic on a baking sheet, then drizzling with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes or until soft and very fragrant.
  • While garlic and tomatoes roast, cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente and reserve ½ cup pasta water.
  • While pasta cooks, add all avocado sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Once pasta is cooked, strain then add back into pot along with avocado sauce and reserved pasta water. Toss pasta in sauce before adding in roasted garlic and tomatoes, serve immediately.

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