This vegan butternut squash pasta with kale and onion sprouts recipe is not only a showstopper, but it's packed full of nutrients and is also gluten-free, grain free, dairy free, and paleo friendly. Dive into this creamy savory dish in under 15 minutes!
Vegan butternut squash pasta!
Who doesn't love warm bites of smooth butternut flavor all wrapped up in a big ol' bowl?!?
Whether it's in a creamy pasta sauce like this vegan pasta dish, or in a paleo butternut squash soup like the delicious sweet and savory slow cooker recipe from Dishing Delish, you can't go wrong with butternut squash.
So you're looking at this vegan butternut squash pasta.
I mean look at it!
Okay so if you have 15 minutes, you have the time to make this recipe.
You don't need magic kitchen skills either, I believe in you.
If I can make this dish then you can too.
It's pretty obvious from the pictures that this dish is ultra creamy and slurp-able.
You're so right.
It's also a tad sweet from the butternut squash and a whole mess of savory from the garlic and cream.
I topped it with onion sprouts which I know a lot of people are opposed to since the fairly recent "sprout crisis". I was feeling daring y'all.
Just kidding, I found some amazing looking onion sprouts and couldn't resist them plus they have a lot of added nutritional benefits. I mean we're talking 20% protein and high in vitamins A, B, C, and E kind of perks. Not to mention that they contain calcium, iron, potassium, and amino acids.
No worries though, an easy solution for not having or wanting onion sprouts are subbing them out for green onion pieces since onion sprouts taste so much like them already.
I also love how sneaky I feel that this oh-so creamy dish is vegan. That's right, I didn't use cheese or cream in the pasta sauce and Alex had no idea.
Waaa? Yes! Grab yourself your fav dairy-free and vegan cream cheese alternative and there you have it.
You can either use a butternut squash puree or make your own (which obviously adds a few extra minutes to the recipe's time) and I'll walk you through how to do either option.
And to keep things going on the simple train, use whatever vegetables you have on hand to throw in the dish. I love it with sauteed kale or spinach, but I've had it with peas and carrots, broccoli rabe, and roasted brussels sprouts too.
Okay, now that I'm drooling for another bowl, let's dive into the recipe folks:
Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta with Kale and Onion Sprouts
This vegan butternut squash pasta with kale and onion sprouts recipe is not only a showstopper, but it's packed full of nutrients and is also gluten-free, grain free, dairy free, and paleo friendly. Dive into this creamy savory dish in under 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 8-10 oz . gluten free pasta, I used Sprout's brand GF Linguini
- 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed + 2 tablespoon olive oil (OR 1 cup butternut squash puree)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup kale, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup unsweetened almond, cashew, or coconut milk
- 3 oz . vegan cream cheese spread
- 1 cup prepared onion sprouts or ⅓ cup green onion, diced, see notes
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you are making your own butternut squash puree from scratch, do that first (see notes below).
- Cook your noodles according to package instructions.
- While the noodles are cooking, you can start to make the sauce by warming a large skillet over medium heat and saute the 1 tablespoon olive oil, chopped kale, and minced garlic together until the kale turns bright green, soft, and the garlic becomes browned and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
- Add the squash puree, milk, and cream cheese spread to the skillet and heat until completely melted, stirring occasionally.
- Lastly, add the prepared onion to the creamy sauce for 1-2 minutes.
- Once the noodles are cooked to al dente, add them to the sauce and stir together under low heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
If you would like to make your own butternut squash puree, here's how!
1. Heat your oven to 400*F.
2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place the cubed squash on it. Drizzle the cubes with 2 tablespoon olive oil and bake for 25-35 minutes or until the squash can easily be poked with a fork.
3. Remove the squash from the oven, allow to cool, and then puree in a food processor (takes only seconds in the processor)
Notes on the Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta:
- Okay, so onion sprouts:
- If you are going to eat them raw, please wash them very well first.
- I recommend cooking them under heat before eating, even if just for a short period of time.
- Eat your onion sprouts at your own risk. I don't want to be responsible for someone getting sick... but these sprouts sure our tasty and add a ton of texture.
- You can easily sub out the 1 cup onion sprouts for ⅓ cup green onion.
- Cream Cheese:
- Find your favorite cream cheese alternative. Mine was dairy-free as well so no stomach ache for me, yay!
- If you don't have food allergies or dietary preferences, by all means go for original cream cheese y'all. Do you.
- Pasta:
- I loved using Sprout's gluten-free corn & quinoa linguini noodles for the recipe. They come highly recommended by my fam.
- If you want to make this recipe grain-free, sub the corn & quinoa noodles for a grain-free noodle or make spiralized vegetable noodles.
- Ze` butternut squash puree:
- Okay so I'll stop trying to sound fancy, but you've got two options here:
- Buy already made butternut squash puree. I buy this butternut squash puree (affiliate link).
- or, easily make it yourself with a little added baking time. My preferred method for sure. I love the smell of my house after roasting squash! Mmmmmm! Gives me Thanksgiving feels. I show you how to do this step in the "notes" section of the recipe card (above).
- If you are interested in making this dish into a grain-free or paleo version? Simply swap out the gluten free noodles with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash and make sure that your cream cheese alternative is paleo-friendly as well (look for one that is nut-based).
What else are y'all doing this Monday evening besides scoping out your next meal? I'm watching the first season of Shameless on Netflix. I'm a little slow to the ballgame but I'm definitely hooked now! I'll be all caught up with the show soon and will need other recommendations. Who's got binge-worthy recommendations for me? Happy Monday y'all!
Looks delicious, but I must point out that you need to remove the "grain free" tag, since corn is a grain, and it in the GF pasta. Quinoa is debatable as a grain, but corn is definitely a grain.
Thanks for pointing that out Judy. I did make a quick mention about a substitution for the noodles but have now also made a note about it under the "tips" section of this post to make extra clear. Thanks so much for the suggestion 🙂
the pasta looks creamy and appetizing. thank you for sharing your recipe
And thank YOU for stopping in and commenting! 🙂
I've been really into butternut squash lately, it has the best flavor! This looks so delicious!
Isn't it the best right now? I can't get enough of fall squashes. I guess I could have a worse obsession, right?!? 🙂