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CREAMY PUMPKIN PASTA SAUCE

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Chickpea cavatappi pasta tossed with homemade Pumpkin Pasta Sauce. Served here with a salad of mixed greens, radicchio, grated carrot, broccoli micro greens, and crunchy lentils.

Chickpea cavatappi pasta tossed with homemade Pumpkin Pasta Sauce. Served here with a salad of mixed greens, radicchio, grated carrot, broccoli micro greens, and crunchy lentils.

In case you haven’t noticed, I absolutely love all things pumpkin. But given that I’m an October baby, I’m pretty sure my pumpkin crush is almost mandatory!!

In all seriousness though, there is a lot to love about this fabulous fall fruit.  Pumpkin is packed with fibre and vitamins & minerals such as A and C, magnesium and potassium.  It is also rich in powerful antioxidants that have anti-aging benefits for the eyes and skin and may help to protect against cancer, hypertension and heart disease.

Here pumpkin combines with cashews, bone broth (or vegetable broth), nutritional yeast, and spices to make a rich, creamy, dairy-free sauce that is packed with both flavour and nutrients.

For this recipe, you can use homemade or canned pumpkin purée.  Homemade purée is actually very easy to make (see directions at the bottom of my pumpkin overnight oats recipe here).  If using canned, be sure to get pure pumpkin and not pie filling, which is full of processed sugar.  In Toronto, I have purchased organic purée from Summerhill Market, Pusateri’s and Whole Foods.

Above I combined Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with grain-free Chickpea Pasta (cooked according to package directions) and topped my bowl with pumpkin seeds, microgreens, and crispy fried sage.

Ingredients (makes approximately 3 cups of sauce):

  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups pure pumpkin purée (I use one 15-oz can)

  • 1 cup vegetable or bone broth, plus additional broth as needed to achieve desired consistency

  • 1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes then drained

  • 3-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast, adjusted to taste

  • 2 Tbsp avocado or extra virgin olive oil

  • 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar, adjusted to taste

  • 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard, adjusted to taste

  • 1 tsp ground cumin

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp sea salt, adjusted to taste

  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

  • pinch ground cayenne (optional)

  • fresh ground pepper, adjusted to taste

Directions:

  1. Put pumpkin purée, broth, and remainder of sauce ingredients in blender container and blend until smooth, using tamper as needed. I use the "purée" setting on my Vitamix.

  2. Add additional broth as needed to achieve desired consistency and adjust vinegar, mustard, spices, and seasoning to taste.

  3. Serve the sauce mixed with your choice of pasta — or try as a topping for roasted veggies, baked sweet potato, rice, or quinoa!

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for longer.

Chickpea cavatappi pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce and a mixed salad.

Chickpea cavatappi pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce and a mixed salad.

SIDE NOTE: Try turning this into a CREAMY TOMATO LENTIL PUMPKIN SAUCE!

My husband is NOT much of a pumpkin fan. However, he loves this sauce mixed with marinara sauce and lentils!

To make this, combine 1 cup Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with 1 jar Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce (or canned tomatoes or tomato-based pasta sauce of choice) and 1 cup pre-cooked or canned lentils (optional).

Creamy Tomato Lentil Pumpkin Sauce

Creamy Tomato Lentil Pumpkin Sauce

Chickpea cavatappi pasta tossed with Creamy Tomato & Pumpkin Pasta Sauce (no lentils).

Chickpea cavatappi pasta tossed with Creamy Tomato & Pumpkin Pasta Sauce (no lentils).