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.
Pumpkin Alfredo with Spinach + Corn
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
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Make your cashew cream by combining the raw cashews (drained + rinsed) + pumpkin + salt + almond milk in your blender and blend until smooth
Alfredo
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In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter
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Whisk in the arrowroot
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Whisk in the almond milk
** NOTE: at this point it will be very clumpy
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Whisk in the pumpkin cashew cream
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Pour the alfredo sauce into a blender and blend until smooth
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At this point, cook your pasta
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Make your vegan parmesan cheese (blend all ingredients together)
** NOTE: I HIGHLY suggest making this ahead of time and keeping it in your fridge
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Place your corn in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for a couple of minutes
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Add the alfredo sauce back to the large skillet and turn the heat down to low, stirring occasionally while your noodles cook
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Drain and rinse your pasta, add to the alfredo sauce, stir to coat all the noodles
** NOTE: if your alfredo is too thick, you may add more almond milk to thin it out
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Add the vegan parmesan cheese + spinach and let your pasta simmer until the spinach starts to wilt
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Spoon into pasta bowls, sprinkle with black sesame seeds + nutmeg (if desired) and more vegan parmesan
Notes
** Vegan Parmesan Cheese is from Minimalist Baker
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
