It's the fall season, so that means one thing - it's the perfect time to cozy up with this delicious pumpkin pasta sauce without cream or tomatoes with all the family! Super easy to make, we use seasonal pumpkin puree, herbs and spice to cook up a vegan pumpkin pasta in about 30 minutes.
Love a pasta dinner but can't do tomatoes? Do have a peek at my pasta sauce recipes without tomatoes for so many flavorful ideas!
Much like my gnocchi with butternut squash sauce and my vegetarian baked butternut squash pasta, this no cream pumpkin pasta sauce feels quite indulgent and special, but is very easy to make. No hard to find ingredients? Check. No tricky recipe steps? Check. Both kid and adult friendly? Check!
We simply soak some nuts to make a vegan 'cream' so we have a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce without cream (well, dairy cream!). And then add lots of flavorful herbs and a touch of spice to make it extra delicious.
If you love pumpkin recipes come fall (or out of season too!), then you may like to see my pumpkin pesto soup for a cozy lunch and my pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies for a sweet treat!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Fall flavors. We all look forward to fall in my home, and all the pumpkin recipes we can enjoy! This pasta in pumpkin sauce is a lovely savory meal making the most of seasonal produce.
Vegan recipe. As we don't use any dairy, eggs or honey, it is suitable for a vegan diet and can be gluten free if you use alternative pasta.
Easy recipe. After the nuts are soaked, there are just a few quick steps to make your pumpkin pasta sauce in your skillet for a tasty fall dinner!
🍝 Ingredients
For this vegan pumpkin pasta sauce without cream recipe you will need:
- Fettucine or other pasta - I suggest to use fettucine or spaghetti, but most forms of pasta will work great!
- Pumpkin puree - personally I prefer to make fresh pumpkin puree as I think it tastes so much better, but you can easily use canned pumpkin also. I suggest my low histamine readers may wish to make fresh puree.
- Pistachios - these thicken the sauce and provide a plant-based source of protein. Be sure to use unsalted nuts!
- Garlic - use fresh if you can. Adapt the number of cloves used to preference.
- Sage - the perfect herb to complement pumpkin. Decide how herby you like your sauce!
- Ground ginger and sweet paprika - to add flavor, and give a hint of 'pumpkin spice' to the sauce.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap pistachios for cashews. It is more traditional to use soaked cashew nuts to make vegan pasta sauces, but these are likely not suitable for those looking for low histamine diet recipes given their higher histamine level.
Swap fresh pumpkin puree for canned pumpkin puree. Both can be used for this recipe. Canned pumpkin puree tends to be slightly thicker, so adjust with a little added water if needed.
Swap sweet paprika for ground nutmeg. Using ground nutmeg will give a lovely warming flavor to the pumpkin alfredo sauce!
🔪 Step by step instructions
This pumpkin pasta sauce without cream recipe may seem to have a lot of steps, but they are all very easy and quick to do! The only real time spent is soaking the pistachio nuts in water for the base of the pumpkin sauce.
Step 1
Add the pistachio nuts (or cashews) to warm water in a container that can be sealed and set aside to soak for at least two hours. Then rinse the nuts in fresh water in a sieve.
Step 2
Cook your fettucine pasta or other pasta according to packet instructions in salted water. Reserve a quarter cup of the pasta water.
Step 3
Blend the rinsed pistachios along with a cup of fresh water in a blender to get a thin cream consistency. This is how we make a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce without cream! It won't look too pretty at this point - but it will taste good once we cook up the sauce.
Step 4
In a large skillet sauté onion and garlic until softened. Then add the sage, sweet paprika and ginger. You can use fresh ginger if you have it, or ground ginger powder if not.
Step 5
Pour the pistachio cream and pumpkin puree into the skillet. Cook the pumpkin sauce for 4-5 minutes so that it slightly thickens in texture. It shouldn't be needed, but you can add a dash of reserved pasta water to help thicken also.
Step 6
Add the pasta and use tongs to toss in the pasta sauce. Make sure to coat it well!
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Don't skip soaking the pistachios! It is necessary to soak the nuts so they soften and can be blended into a pistachio cream.
- If you are not following a low histamine diet, cashews can be swapped for pistachios if you like.
- If you are using canned pumpkin puree you may need a little less and to add some water as it tends to be thicker than homemade pumpkin puree.
- Adjust the amount of herbs and spice to taste preference.
📋 Frequently asked questions
You can easily use canned pumpkin puree to make a pasta recipe if it works for you!
Soaking nuts and blending them with fresh water is a good way to add some creaminess to a pasta sauce and is a dairy free option.
The traditional pasta for alfredo is fettucine, but other dishes use all different types of pasta including spaghetti, penne and fusilli.
In this recipe we use pistachio cream which is quite thin in texture and contains water, so it isn't necessary to add pasta water.
📝 A note for my low histamine readers
Pumpkin scores 0 on the SIGHI list for histamine, which is the list I use in the recipes here. I have had a couple of readers mention that they were advised not to eat pumpkin. As always, follow the advice of your medical doctor or dietician. This post is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical or dietetic advice.
🍲 More pasta recipes
Enjoy all the fall flavors with my roasted pumpkin cauliflower soup and my pumpkin quinoa salad, as well as so many ideas on my fall recipes page. And if you're looking for more pasta recipes, I have you covered!
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And please do leave a star rating ⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce Without Cream
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pistachios or cashews*
- 6 oz fettucine or other pasta quantity to preference
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ white onion diced
- 1 garlic clove finely diced or minced, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoon sage leaves diced
- 1 cm ginger grated or finely diced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Add the pistachio nuts to warm water in a container that can be sealed and set aside to soak for at least two hours. Then rinse in fresh water in a sieve.
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
- Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the sage, ginger and sweet paprika.
- Pour a cup of fresh water into a blender and add the pistachio nuts. Blend to a cream consistency (it will be fairly thin, rather than a thick cream).
- Add the pistachio cream and pumpkin puree to the pan and stir well. Allow to cook for 4-5 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Then use tongs to add the pasta and stir so that it is well coated in the sauce. Add salt and black pepper (if using) to taste.
Notes
- Don't skip soaking the nuts as they need to soften to be blended into the nut cream.
- Adjust the amount of sage, ginger and sweet paprika to taste preference. This recipe is quite subtle in terms of flavour so increase quantities if you prefer more herbs or spice. I suggest seasoning fairly well with salt.
- Use gluten-free pasta if you prefer or are sensitive to gluten.
- Please note that nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- garlic, ginger and pasta (wheat) which score 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- pumpkin scores 0, but is rated higher on other lists.
Kimberly says
This is so good!! My family is vegan so it's perfect for all of us. We add some broccoli. For myself, I add chicken. It's one of our favorites.
Claire says
So glad you like it Kimberly! It's always lovely to hear that all the family enjoys a meal together.
AC says
Yummm!! I used canned coconut milk instead of pistachio cream and it’s very good!
Claire says
So glad you liked it! And I hadn't thought to do just coconut milk - glad it worked out.
Michael says
This works great for me when bringing a dish to a family gathering or similar event. I can make enough to share and it can be most of the meal for me. I adjust it by using a full 15oz can of pumpkin and adjusting the other ingredients. Also, when I use rotini pasta can put it all in a casserole dish and bake. It has great consistency. Super recipe!!
Claire says
I hadn't thought to do it as a bake - great idea! So glad it works as a sharing dish too.
R says
Curious if you could sub pistachios for macadamia nuts as pistachios are high FODMAP
Claire says
I haven't tried it, but I don't see why not. Macadamias should make the sauce quite creamy!