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Home » Pasta » Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Published: Apr 1, 2019 · Modified: Dec 13, 2021 by Kelsey· This post may contain affiliate links ·

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

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This creamy butternut squash pasta sauce is a delicious balance of sweet & savory flavors. It's perfect to serve as an easy 30 minute recipe.

A bowl of creamy orange vegan pasta sauce

This butternut squash sauce is one of my favorite plant based pasta recipes!

If you enjoyed this recipe try my Coconut Milk Pasta Sauce or my Rigatoni Arrabbiata next.

Jump to:
  • Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Substitutions & Additions
  • Instructions
  • Serving Recommendations
  • Storage and Tips
  • More Vegan Pasta Recipes You'll Love
  • Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Reasons You'll Love This Recipe

  • Vegan: This recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, and doesn't contain any meat! It's vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
  • Gluten-Free: We don't use any gluten or wheat in this sauce recipe. Serve with your favorite gluten-free pasta for an easy gluten-free meal.
  • Meal Prep Approved: You can make this sauce in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer for later.

Ingredient Notes

Labeled ingredients including: onion, broth, oat milk, spices, nutritional yeast, butternut squash, and garlic.

Butternut Squash: This delicious squash is the star of this recipe. You can use either fresh or frozen butternut squash, I usually prefer frozen due to cost and accessibility.

Onion: I used a fresh yellow onion in this recipe.

Garlic: I always use freshly minced garlic for the best possible flavor.

Broth: Organic vegetable broth or homemade veggie broth are always my favorite broth picks.

Be sure to check out my recipe for homemade Vegetable Scrap Broth.

Oat Milk: The oat milk gives this creamy vegan pasta sauce its texture and consistency. You can use almond or cashew milk if you prefer.

Spices: This sauce uses a combination of salt, pepper,

Nutritional Yeast: This vegan ingredient is a great way to add a little bit of a savory, "cheesy" flavor. It also has some added health benefits like supplemented vitamin B12, which is important to incorporate into your diet if you don't eat any animal products.

Maple Syrup: This ingredient isn't pictured above because I actually added it in as a last minute, game-time decision. I felt like the sauce would benefit from a little sweetness and the maple syrup offers a burst of fall flavor.

See recipe card below for full ingredient list and quantities.

Substitutions & Additions

Frozen butternut squash: Using frozen butternut squash rather than fresh is a great way to skip a few steps. You'll save time and can find it in the grocery store year round.

Make it spicy: Add one teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to make a spicy butternut squash sauce.

Add more vegetables: You can mix in any of your favorite vegetables to make this a more veggie-forward dish.

Swap the oat milk: If you don't have oat milk on hand you can swap it for coconut milk instead. This is also a great way to sweeten the sauce up even more.

Instructions

Two side by side pictures of pans. One filled with onion and garlic, the second has butternut squash and broth added.

Step One: Start by sautéing the onion and olive oil in a pot or sauce pan over medium-low heat. Allow them to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until they soften. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.

Step Two: Add the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a boil. Once it reaches a boil reduce the heat to a simmer and allow it to cook for another about 15-20 minutes.

Step Three: Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before using an immersion blender to blend the sauce until it is smooth and creamy.

If you don't have an immersion blender, let the contents of your pot cool all the way before transferring to a blender, blend, then return to the pot to reheat.

Step Four: Serve over your favorite noodles and enjoy this creamy veggie pasta!

A close up shot of creamy squash sauce and spaghetti noodles

Serving Recommendations

This butternut squash sauce is delicious when served with a variety of different pastas. These are some of my top recommendations:

  • Spaghetti
  • Fettucchini
  • Ravioli
  • Penne
  • Lasagna
  • Elbows
  • Rigatoni
  • Fusilli
  • Farfalle
  • Gnocchi

Storage and Tips

This vegan pasta sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

This is already a dairy free pasta sauce and the sauce itself is gluten free, but to make it a fully gluten-free pasta dish, be sure to use gluten free noodles.

Even though this recipe was originally developed as a classic butternut squash spaghetti recipe, you can also use this recipe to make butternut squash ravioli sauce. Simply make your ravioli and pour this sauce on top!

noodles tossed in an orange squash pasta sauce

More Vegan Pasta Recipes You'll Love

  • A bowl filled with bright pink pasta.
    Beet Pasta Sauce
  • Pasta with red sauce and fresh green basil on top.
    Coconut Milk Pasta Sauce
  • A pink bowl filled with penne pasta and creamy sauce.
    Creamy Hummus Pasta
  • A white bowl filled with rigatoni covered in a red sauce and fresh basil.
    Rigatoni Arrabbiata

If you loved this recipe or any recipe on my website, please consider leaving a star rating or a comment below. I love hearing your feedback!

A bowl of creamy butternut squash sauce over spaghetti noodles

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Kelsey Riley
This creamy butternut squash pasta sauce is a delicious balance of sweet & savory flavors. It's perfect to serve as an easy 30 minute recipe.
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 163 kcal

Equipment

  • Immersion blender or high speed blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup oat milk
  • 4 cups butternut squash peeled and diced
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon sage
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 teaspoon maple syrup

Instructions
 

  • Combine the olive oil and onion in a large pot and sauté over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for an additional minute or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower to a simmer and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes.
  • Let the contents of the pot cool before using an immersion blender to blend the sauce into a creamy consistency. See notes below for using a traditional blender.
  • Serve with your favorite pasta and enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have an immersion blender, let the sauce cool all the way before transferring to a traditional blender. Blend until smooth and creamy, then reheat before tossing with your pasta and serving. 

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcalCarbohydrates: 27.2gProtein: 6gFat: 4.9gSodium: 1567mgPotassium: 725mgFiber: 4.5gSugar: 9gCalcium: 136mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag @plantedinthekitchen or tag #plantedinthekitchen!

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About Kelsey

Planted in the Kitchen is a plant based food blog. Here you will find healthy and delicious vegan recipes!

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On my blog you will find delicious and easy vegan recipes. I'm a registered nurse turned blogger with a passion for plant based food.

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