Looking for an easy and cosy meal? Try this comforting, vegan, creamy and flavourful roasted pumpkin pasta. It is a perfect dish for a busy weeknight or as a part of weekly meal prep.
This tasty pumpkin sauce has a wonderful ability to tempt even the pickiest kids into eating their meals without fuss. This hidden vegetable sauce is a great way to boost kid’s vegetable intake.
The creamy pumpkin sauce not only elevates the flavour of the pasta but also adds an interesting texture with its smoothness.
Prepare a large batch of sauce and freeze it for use later in the week or month. When you’re ready to make pasta, simply thaw the sauce, toss it with the cooked pasta, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. This saves time and eliminates the stress of weeknight meal planning.
This roasted pumpkin pasta, carrot pasta and pasta with hidden vegetable sauce make an ideal meal for picky kids who have trouble eating vegetables due to their texture or colour or for any other reasons.
Ingredients
- Pasta: I used conchiglie pasta but you can use any shape of pasta.
- Vegetables: Pumpkin, tomatoes and garlic.
- Spices: Salt, crushed black pepper and paprika.
- Herbs and Pantry Staples: Rosemary and thyme.
- Liquid: Coconut milk to blend roast vegetables and herbs, olive oil to roast vegetables and water to cook pasta.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Step by Step instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F).
Step 2: Arrange pumpkin cubes on a lined baking sheet.
Step 3: Place whole tomatoes, unpeeled garlic, rosemary and thyme twigs on a baking sheet.
Step 4: Drizzle olive oil over vegetables followed by salt and pepper.
Step 5: Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
Step 6: Remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool slightly.
Step 7: Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
Step 8: Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
Step 9: Reserve a ladle full (half a cup) of pasta water, then drain the remaining.
Step 10: Now, discard the garlic peels and add the garlic to a blender jar along with tomatoes and roast pumpkin cubes. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme stalks and add them to the jar.
Step 11: Add coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy.
Step 12: Place pumpkin sauce in a wide pan, add reserved pasta water and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens and reaches your desired consistency.
Step 13: Add 2-3 ladles full of pumpkin sauce to the cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.
Step 14: Cook pasta over medium heat for a minute to meld the flavours and switch the heat off.
Enjoy delicious and creamy roasted pumpkin pasta topped with pumpkin seeds.
Store the leftover sauce in the fridge or freezer for future use.
Check out other pumpkin recipes on the blog – pumpkin pasta with spinach and walnuts, oatmeal pumpkin cookies, no bake pumpkin energy balls, pumpkin banana smoothie and pumpkin halwa.
Substitutions and Variations
Pumpkin: Try this recipe with butternut squash or winter squash instead of pumpkin for flavour variation.
Herbs: Use different herbs such as parsley, sage or any other herbs that you have on hand.
Pasta: Any pasta would work here – penne, rigatoni, angel hair pasta or any pasta of your choice.
Liquid: Use vegetable stock instead of coconut milk, or combine both for added flavour.
Storage
Fridge: Store the leftover pumpkin sauce in a clean and dry container with a tight lid in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat: Pour the desired amount of sauce into a bowl, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, and toss the pasta.
Freezer: If you’re making a large batch of sauce to save for a busy day, allow it to cool completely first. Then, divide it into ziplock bags or airtight containers and store it in the freezer.
Tips and Tricks
Pasta: Cook pasta according to instructions on the package just until al dente, do not overcook it.
Pasta water: Save pasta water to use while cooking the pumpkin sauce to adjust the consistency.
Cold Water: Add cold water over the cooked pasta in the colander to prevent it from cooking further and sticking to each other.
Peel Pumpkin: Scoop out the roast pumpkin with a spoon and discard the skin.
Related
Looking for other pasta recipes? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favourite dishes to serve with roast pumpkin pasta:
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you try this roasted pumpkin pasta recipe. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?
Roast Pumpkin Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Blender
- 1 Steel Pot/Saucepan
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 625 gms Pumpkin cut into half, remove seeds and dice into bite size cubes
- 2 medium Tomatoes
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 sprigs Rosemary
- 2 sprigs Thyme
- 2 + 1 Teaspoons Olive Oil
- Salt as required
- Pepper as required
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk
- 200 gms Pasta
- 1.5 litres Water adjust to cook pasta
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F).
- Arrange pumpkin cubes on a lined baking sheet.625 gms Pumpkin
- Place whole tomatoes, unpeeled garlic, rosemary and thyme twigs on a baking sheet.2 medium Tomatoes, 4 cloves Garlic, 2 sprigs Rosemary, 2 sprigs Thyme
- Drizzle olive oil over vegetables followed by salt and pepper.2 + 1 Teaspoons Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
- Remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil.200 gms Pasta, Salt
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
- Reserve a ladle full (half a cup) of pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander.
- Now, discard the garlic peels and add the garlic to a blender jar along with tomatoes and peeled roast pumpkin cubes. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme stalks and add them to the jar.
- Add paprika, coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy.1 Cup Coconut Milk, 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- Add 2-3 ladles full of pumpkin sauce to the cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.
- Heat pasta over medium heat until piping hot and switch the heat off.
- Enjoy delicious and creamy roast pumpkin pasta topped with pumpkin seeds. Store leftover sauce in the fridge or freezer to use in future.1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Seeds
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome to Flavours Treat. I share vegetarian recipes made with wholesome, mostly fresh ingredients. Every recipe has easy-to-follow instructions with process shots (detailed step-wise pictures), a short video and lots of tips to help your cooking journey. Read more
