This festive autumn Date Night Pumpkin Pasta is the perfect romantic and cozy dish for a stay-at-home date night! Vegan with a gluten-free option.
It’s October, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!! This month is Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays. I always stress out about what I want my costume to be, but I found this really cute glitter unicorn horn at Walmart the other day so a unicorn it is!! I do have a penchant for all things shiny and glittery, so this is the perfect costume for me! ;)
After months of dealing with some weird medical issues and fighting to get to the bottom of them, I feel like I’m finally in a position where I can enjoy my fall. I have some really exciting projects lined up that I can’t share just yet, but I can’t wait to tell you all! However, I can reveal that these projects will really be a test of my culinary abilities, so I’ve been reading cookbooks and food literature to broaden my horizons. I have also been actually thinking about taking some formal cooking classes, to really hone my craft! I’d love to be able to take my recipes to the next level :)
Today’s recipe is a bit of a riff on a similar pumpkin pasta I made three years ago, but this one is a little more elegant and elevated. The combination of pumpkin and tomatoes makes for a delicious savory and full-bodied sauce. The addition of almond milk also makes it creamy while still being vegan (though I’ve included notes for a vegetarian version in the recipe). I hope you enjoy it! :)
Date Night Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 Lb Gluten-Free or Whole Wheat Spaghetti
Sautéed Elements
- 4 Tbs Olive Oil
- 1/2 White Onion chopped
- 6 Cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- 2 Tsp Dried Basil
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 15-oz Cans Pumpkin Purée
- 1 15-oz Can Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
- 1/3 Cup Water
For the Blender
- 1 1/2 - 2 Tsp Salt to taste
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Possible Toppings
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Arugula
Instructions
- To start, cook your pasta in salted water according to the package instructions (al dente). When done, drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large pot, bring the olive oil to medium heat. Add in the chopped onion, and sauté until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Then, add in the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add in the spices, and stir until garlic and onions are evenly coated.
- Then, add in the pumpkin purée, tomatoes, and water, and simmer for about 5 minutes. When done, let cool slightly.
- Once the pumpkin sauce is slightly cooled, add it into the blender with the other blender ingredients, blending until everything is smooth and creamy. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Add the sauce back to the pot and toss with the pasta until all of the pasta is evenly coated.
- Serve pasta with any toppings you like - ideas can include pumpkin seeds, red pepper flakes, or arugula.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- No need to finely mince the garlic here - it will be blended up in the end!
- For this recipe I used gluten-free brown rice spaghetti, but any other variety will do. Just be sure to not overcook the pasta!
- To make a vegetarian version of this dish, replace the olive oil in the sauté with butter and top with vegetarian parmesan at the end.
- This recipe will easily serve 2 with leftovers.
P.S.
If you make this Date Night Pumpkin Pasta and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)
4 Comments
Katya
October 12, 2019 at 2:43 amI mean, October is the best, right? The most amazing month with achingly beautiful colours, romantic mists and cool winds. I love it :) Plus it’s got the best foods available with their rich autumn flavours.
Fun fact, btw: here in Poland we haven’t got canned pumpkin. If I wanna some pumpkin puree, then guess what? I need to prepare it myself beforehand. I always find it kinda funny.
All the best with your health and new exciting projects!
Sarah
October 16, 2019 at 1:30 pmOctober is such a great month!! Over here in America the leaves are starting to change color and it’s absolutely beautiful :) And that’s so crazy that you don’t have pumpkin purée! I use up so much of it, if I had to make it myself it would take up so much time lol ;)
Katya
October 17, 2019 at 1:54 pmActually, when pumpkins are in full season and you can get all the varieties, I buy tons of them, make pumpkin puree and freeze it for later use :) So throughout the winter and spring my freezer is stocked with boxes of pumpkin puree and I can make myself a lovely bowl of soup if I feel like it. So there :D
Sarah
October 18, 2019 at 4:01 pmThat does sound delicious ;)