Cheesy pasta just got way better. This comforting dish is tossed with roasted pumpkin and three types of dairy-free cheese. First, a creamy cashew cheese sauce. Next, a cheesy corn sauce and finally, a crumble cashew Parmesan. It's cozy, delicious, and the perfect weeknight dinner, since you can save all your leftover cheese sauce for meals later in the week.

Pumpkin 3-Cheese Pasta [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Serves

8

Cooking Time

20

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Ingredients

For the Pasta:

  • 1 batch cheese sauce (recipe below)
  • 1 batch cheesy corn sauce (recipe below)
  • 1 batch cashew Parmesan (recipe below)
  • 1 small pumpkin, cut into cubes
  • 9 ounces gluten-free pasta
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Fresh thyme (optional)

For the Cheese Sauce:

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon tahini

For the Cheesy Corn Sauce:

  • 1 15.25-ounce can corn
  • 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Cashew Parmesan:

  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • A pinch of salt (optional)
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Preparation

To Make the Cheese Sauce:

  1. After soaking the cashews in hot water for 15 minutes, drain them and transfer to a blender. Add vegetable broth and tahini. Process until smooth.

To Make the Cheesy Corn Sauce:

  1. Combine corn, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to taste in the bowl of a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is well combined. Don’t over-process or it will end up too smooth.

To Make the Cashew Parmesan:

  1. Use a blender to process all ingredients to a Parmesan-like texture.

To Make the Pasta:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. First, prepare the pumpkin cubes. Put them on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper, drizzle with olive or coconut oil (skip if you are oil-free) and roast them for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. While the pumpkin is roasting, cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s direction.
  4. When both pasta and pumpkin are ready, warm a casserole dish and combine the prepared cheeses and the pasta. Let the mix cook a bit until warm, serve, and garnish optionally with fresh thyme.
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