Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta with Truffle
This is the ULTIMATE fall pasta dish! It is rigatoni in a blend of roasted butternut squash and truffle arrabbiata mixed with vegan ricotta and parmesan. This vegan butternut squash pasta is creamy, full of flavor, and super easy to make!
When I think fall, I immediately think of butternut squash. It’s one of those ingredients I never use unless we’re in the colder months. I’ve tried cooking with it in the summertime, but I feel weird! Is anyone else like this!? Maybe I’m just weird… haha. With that being said, butternut squash makes for an AMAZING base for pasta because of the creamy texture it provides and then, of course, the deliciously nutty and slightly earthy flavor it has.
This recipe is incredibly easy to prepare!
I know it looks fancy, and it is, but it is also extremely simple to make! First, I roast butternut squash until I can easily scoop out the delicious inside. Then, I blend some of the roasted squash with TRUFF’s arrabbiata pasta sauce, but you can use whatever pasta sauce you love, and vegan ricotta, vegan parmesan, fresh sage, and salt and pepper! Lastly, I heat the sauce with cooked rigatoni and some of the pasta’s cooking water. I then use black truffle oil, red chile pepper flakes, shaved vegan parmesan, and fried sage leaves to garnish my vegan butternut squash pasta!
At a glance, this pasta might look like a boujee mac n’ cheese (because of the vibrant orange pasta sauce), but it’s not! This creamy sauce is very rich and nutty, with a strong autumn flavor. I know that sounds weird, autumn flavor, but you know what I mean! This vegan butternut squash pasta makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside because it’s so rich and creamy from the roasted squash and vegan ricotta, and it has an incredible earthy flavor from the truffle. The use of truffle pasta sauce and truffle oil is optional, but I HIGHLY recommend it if you can afford to use it! Also, do not skip on the fried sage! It only takes about a minute to make them, and it’s the most delicious and unique garnish that completes the dish!
If you make my vegan butternut squash pasta with truffle recipe, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta with Truffle
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked rigatoni
- 1 butternut squash
- Olive oil, for greasing
- Salt and pepper, for seasoning the squash
Pasta Sauce
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash (Directions on how to roast the squash will be down below!)
- 1/2 cup TRUFF arrabbiata pasta sauce (Or your favorite pasta sauce will work fine too!)
- 1/4 cup store-bought vegan ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup grated vegan parmesan (I use Follow Your Heart's)
- 4 medium-sized fresh sage leaves (If all your sage leaves are tiny, you can add in a few more!)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water
Garnishes
- TRUFF black truffle infused oil
- Red chile pepper flakes
- Vegan parmesan block, for shaving (I use Violife's parmesan block, but you can use grated vegan parmesan instead!)
- Fresh sage leaves, fried (Directions on how to fry them will be down below!)
Instructions
How to Roast a Butternut Squash
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- Cut the squash in half length-wise, then scrape out all inside seeds and stringy bits and discard them. Lightly drizzle the insides of the squash with olive oil and rub it around with your hand to evenly coat it. Then, lightly season them with salt and pepper.
- Flip the squash onto the prepared sheet pan, so the insides are lying flat on the pan. Next, place the pan on the middle oven rack and bake the squash for 1 hour. Then, you should easily be able to remove the insides with a spoon. But, depending on the size of your squash, you may need to bake it for another 15 minutes or until you can easily spoon out the insides.
Pasta Sauce + How to Assemble the Dish
- First, cook your pasta according to its package instructions. Don't forget to salt the cooking water! Once the pasta has finished cooking, scoop out 1/2 cup of the water before draining it off. This is important, as you will need this starchy water for the pasta sauce! Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water to stop them from cooking. Toss the pasta in a tiny bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
- To make the sauce, blend all of the 'Pasta Sauce' ingredients, except for the reserved pasta cooking water, until completely smooth.
- Then, pour the sauce into a large saute pan. Add in the cooked pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water that you saved. Turn the heat to medium-low, stir well, and cook until the pasta is hot; this will only take a couple of minutes. Do not overheat this, or the sauce will dry out. If this happens, add in the other 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water and stir well. Alternatively, you could also add in a splash more of your store-bought pasta sauce.
- Garnish your serving of pasta with a drizzle of truffle oil, a pinch of red chile pepper flakes, vegan parmesan shavings, and crispy sage leaves. See directions below for frying the sage leaves!
Fried Sage Leaves
- Place a small saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in about one tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in a few sage leaves and cook them for around 20 to 30 seconds, turning them over halfway through to get them evenly crispy. In the end, they should be darker green and slightly brown in color and crunchy!
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