I’m often craving a rich and creamy pasta, but also something a little different from the typical cream sauce. Enter this Dairy Free Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe. Not only is it super delicious, it’s really easy to make!
How to Make Dairy-Free Butternut Squash Sauce
Start by soaking cashews in water. Next some garlic and onions are sautéed together. The squash is then added and cooked until everything is very lightly caramelized. Some of the broth is added because it’ll help to soften the squash until fork tender. The mixture goes into a blender along with the remaining sauce ingredients, therefore adding flavor. Next, everything is blended together until smooth and creamy. The dairy free creamy butternut squash pasta sauce is tossed with pasta and topped with fried sage and chopped bacon.
The bacon and sage go really well with this Dairy Free Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta recipe. You can also totally leave them out and have an equally amazing dish. Opting to leave out the bacon in this dish makes it entirely vegan!
Most items in this dish are easily found in regular grocery stores. Nutritional yeast is the only ingredient that may be tricky to find. If you’re having a hard time finding it at your grocery store, you can order some online here. Nutritional yeast is a really wonderful and diverse ingredient that can be used in a number of ways including as a really great topper for popcorn or in our Roasted Garlic Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo. Enjoy! xx, Jenny
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Dairy Free Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
EQUIPMENT
- blender
INGREDIENTS
pasta
- 12 ounces dry fettucine
butternut squash sauce
- ½ cup cashews raw
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ sweet onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1½ cups vegetable broth (or water) divided as needed
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
garnish
- 8 sage leaves fried
- 4 strips bacon chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Submerge cashews under water for at least an hour an up to 12 hours.
- Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat. Once water begins to boil, add a small handful of salt and fettuccine. Cook paste until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove pot from stovetop an drain. Return cooked fettuccine to pasta pot and set aside.
- Place large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil.
- Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until onions just begin to brown.
- Add butternut squash and continue to sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour 1 cup broth/water over squash mixture and lower heat to medium. Cook until squash is fork tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Pour squash mixture into the well of a high powered blender. Drain cashews and add to blender.
- Add all remaining sauce ingredients to blender and blend on high. With motor running add 2 tablespoons broth or water to blender, then add an additional 2 tablespoons at a time until sauce is smooth and creamy. Generously season with salt and pepper.
- Pour sauce over pasta and fold together until pasta is completely coated.
- Top coated pasta with fried sage and bacon. Serve.
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Oh, wow! This pasta looks simply phenomenal, Terry and Jenny. I am trying to go easy on dairy and I love to eat creamy pastas so I’ll definitely have to try this recipe.
Suggestions for tree but allergy?
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, tofu
What’s the purpose of the nutritional yeast?
It adds a nice “cheesy and nutty flavor” to the sauce
I so nearly went for it till I saw Bacon. Horrific.
What do you mean? If you don’t like bacon – simply don’t make it and don’t add it to your pasta at home! Easy as that! :)
Very nice sauce recipe! I loosened it up with pasta water. And if you’re vegetarian or plant-based, simply disregard the mention of the bacon.
There are no instructions on when to add the nutritional yeast, onion and mustard powders, etc.
Step #9 mentions adding all remaining sauce ingredients