Pumpkin Alfredo with Spinach + Corn

Are.You.Ready.For.This?! If you’ve been dreaming of pumpkin everything like I have been, then you’ll know exactly how I felt when I had this pumpkin epiphany, a #pumpkiphany think that’ll stick?  Pumpkin + alfredo. Ahh! Why didn’t I think of this before?!  So it all started when I looked in my fridge to try to come up with my next meal. I saw that I still had a lot of my pumpkin cashew cream leftover from my  Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Chickpeas + Pomegranate Seeds + Pumpkin Cashew Cream recipe (which is also dreamy btdubbs). I was like ‘hmmm what can I do with all of that?’ light bulb Pumpkin Alfredo.

I was torn between calling it pumpkin alfredo and pumpkin mac n’ cheese, because it turned out that creamy, but the alfredo made a bit more sense for this recipe. However, stay tuned for a pumpkin mac n’ cheese recipe coming soon. The pumpkin cashew cream has only 4-ingredients, and the amazing part is you can make one batch and literally use it for 2 meals like I did. Now that’s meal planning at its finest, people. I used Banza pasta in this recipe to up the protein (if you haven’t tried it yet, you should! It’s my new fav). Honeslty, I was nervous about pairing the pumpkin alfredo with corn and spinach, but to my surprise it was delicious! The corn added a bit of sweetness that I wasn’t expecting, and I could probably add spinach to everything. Lastly, I garnished it with black sesame seeds to give this dish a tiny bit of nutty flavor. My mouth is seriously watering as I’m blogging about it. Made in 20 minutes, I hope you enjoy this creamy dreamy pumpky sketty as much as I do.

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Pumpkin Alfredo with Spinach + Corn

Yield: 4 pumpkin people

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients

• 16 oz Rotini, (2- 8 oz boxes- Banza chickpea pasta)
• 2 large handfuls fresh spinach
• 1 cup frozen corn
• black sesame seeds, (for garnishing)
• nutmeg, (optional for garnishing)

Pumpkin Cashew Cream

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp salt

Alfredo sauce

• 3 tbsp Earth Balance butter
• 4 tbsp arrowroot starch , (or cornstarch)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 2 cups pumpkin cashew cream

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

Pumpkin Cashew Cream

1. Make your cashew cream by combining the raw cashews (drained + rinsed) + pumpkin + salt + almond milk in your blender and blend until smooth

Alfredo

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter
2. Whisk in the arrowroot
3. Whisk in the almond milk
4. ** NOTE: at this point it will be very clumpy
5. Whisk in the pumpkin cashew cream
6. Pour the alfredo sauce into a blender and blend until smooth
7. At this point, cook your pasta
8. Make your vegan parmesan cheese (blend all ingredients together)
9. ** NOTE: I HIGHLY suggest making this ahead of time and keeping it in your fridge
10. Place your corn in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for a couple of minutes 
11. Add the alfredo sauce back to the large skillet and turn the heat down to low, stirring occasionally while your noodles cook
12. Drain and rinse your pasta, add to the alfredo sauce, stir to coat all the noodles 
13. ** NOTE: if your alfredo is too thick, you may add more almond milk to thin it out
14. Add the vegan parmesan cheese + spinach and let your pasta simmer until the spinach starts to wilt
15. Spoon into pasta bowls, sprinkle with black sesame seeds + nutmeg (if desired) and more vegan parmesan

Notes

** Vegan Parmesan Cheese is from Minimalist Baker

Did you make this recipe?

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Ingredients from this recipe that can be purchased in my Vittle Shop:

nutmeg
raw cashews
salt
arrowroot starch
nutritional yeast
garlic powder
black sesame seeds