ramyaramesh3007This 30-min caramelized pumpkin pasta sauce is creamy, tangy, spicy with a subtle hint of sweetness – and pairs perfect with fiery baked tofu bites!
When I made this around 2 years ago, I never realized that this recipe would become popular. I was experimenting something with leftover pumpkin (we always ending up having those during pumpkin season) and I was like wait…I need to use this in a pasta sauce!
What makes this pasta sauce special is that we’re not just adding pumpkin puree – but we’re caramelizing pumpkin cubes over stovetop before adding it to the blender. The creaminess comes from tahini and cheesiness from the nutritional yeast.
Not forgetting the chili tofu bites – with this slightly sweeter sauce, I needed something with a spicy kick to offset it. Add spices to the tofu and bake them until they’re crispy. Then, simply top it off on the pasta (kind of like croutons but they’ve got more texture!)
What You Need
- Pumpkin – you definitely need a butternut squash pumpkin for this recipe. Cut them up into cubes and roast them on a pan with some oil until they are caramelized.
- Bells Peppers – to add a depth of flavour. You can roast them or not – roasted means more flavour but without roasting, you still get a good pasta sauce.
- Spices – nutritional yeast, chili flakes, garlic & onion powder
- Creaminess Factor – tahini or cashew butter
For gluten free option, simply swap out the pasta for your favourite gluten free version. The rest of the ingredients are naturally gluten free.
Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta with Chili Baked Tofu
Ingredients
Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta
- 2 servings pasta
- 1 cup cubed butternut squash pumpkin
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp pasta water
- salt
Chili Baked Tofu
- 200 g firm tofu
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- salt
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat over to 220C. Boil pasta according to packet instructions.
- Cut the tofu into cubes. Coat them in the seasonings and spray some oil on top. Bake for about 15 minutes until crispy.
- Drain pasta and keep the pasta water aside.
- On a pan, add some oil and pan fry the cubes pumpkin until it's fully cooked and caramelized.
- Combine these into a blender – pumpkin, red bell pepper, nutritional yeast, spices, tahini, and pasta water. Blend until smooth.
- Add the pasta sauce to the pasta and top with the crispy chili baked tofu. You can add some coriander on top too!