Serves 4
Total time: 1 hour (plus cashew soak. 30 minutes if using canned butternut.)
Active time: 20 minutes
Whether you’re lugging them home from the farmer’s market, or plucking them out of your backyard garden, October means it’s time for butternut everything. If you’re a butternut maniac like I am, then this is good news. But perhaps in your zealous lust for the creamy orange flesh you’ve come down with a severe case of Butternut Burnout ™.
Yes, butternut in your breakfast, soup, muffins and in your salads…it has taken its toll. No more sweet gingery autumnal goodness, you say. No more spicy warm cinnamon goosebumps. Butternut Burnout ™ means a steady diet of kale and chocolate forever more or at least until Spring.
However, there is a way to combat BB. And that’s by treating it with savory elements, rather than sweet. This Roasted Butternut Alfredo is sure to combat all of the damage done to you by those butternut waffles. The squash is roasted first, and then pureed with cashew cream to make a thick, autumnal sauce, that is lush, creamy and most importantly, savory. White wine, some sauteed onions and garlic…oh yes, keep it coming. Butternut forever! Butternut for life!
Notes
~ An average butternut weighs like 3 lbs. You don’t need that whole 3 lbs for this recipe, but you should roast the entire thing anyway. To roast, Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large chef’s knife, cut the the round part of the butternut from the long part. Slice the round part in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush or spray parchment lightly with oil and place squash pieces, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until squash is very tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the squash needed for this recipe. Save the rest for whatever you like: soup, muffins, or just mashed up with some ginger, maple syrup and cinnamon.
~ You can make this with a can of butternut or pumpkin puree, too. Of course you won’t have the roasted squash to put on top, but them’s the breaks. It will still be yum.
~ You can also make this with any winter squash, I’d imagine. Pumpkin, delicata, acorn, kabocha….all good choices.
~ I like to have extra sauce to serve with veggies and stuff. If you have no such need, then this sauce will probably be sufficient for an entire pound of pasta.
~ I would have loved to use fettuccine or linguine here, but I didn’t have any. I ended up using strozzapretti, but that’s a bit hard to find. Fusilli would be a great choice, or a smaller pasta like orecchiette. I can see penne working, too! What I’m trying to say, I think, is that this is a great sauce for any kind of pasta.
~ As always, you can soak cashews overnight. Or soak em all day. Just try to remember to soak ‘em in advance so that you’re not waiting for the cashews to make the recipe. If you have a Vitamix or Blendtec type million dollar blender, well, luck you! You can skip the soaking step.
Ingredients
1/2 pound pasta (see note)
Sauce:
1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups roasted butternut squash (see note)
2 tablespoons mellow white miso
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the rest:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry rubbed sage
3/4 cup dry white wine
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
For garnish:
Extra roasted squash
Pepitas, or chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts
Directions
Once the squash has roasted, bring a salted pot of water to boil for the pasta. When boiling, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, drain the cashews and place them in a blender with the vegetable broth. Blend until very smooth. Rub sauce between your finger and when hardly any grittiness remains, add the roasted butternut, miso, nutritional yeast (if using) and lemon juice. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure you get everything.
While the sauce is blending, start the onions. Preheat a large cast iron pan over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, just until fragrant. Mix in the sage and pepper. Then add the wine and salt and turn the heat up to bring wine to a boil. Let boil for about two minutes, to reduce a little.
Turn down the heat to medium low. Now add the butternut cream to the pan, and stir to incorporate the onions and everything. Heat through, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. The sauce should thicken a bit. Taste for salt and seasonings.
Oooh, creamy!!!!
Set aside some of the sauce (you can reserve a cup or so for veggies if you’d like to throw some on top.) Add the pasta, and toss to coat. Serve topped with additional roasted squash and a sprinkle of nuts.
I made this last night and it was fantastic! Loved the flavor of the onions and wine combo; it added some nice complexity to the dish. My butternut had gone bad (sigh Trader Joe’s and its wonky produce) so I used pumpkin puree instead, so if anyone is wondering about the substitutions, go right ahead!
Okay, just made this as is and it was FANTASTIC!!! Definite keeper! Everyone loved it, vegans and omnivores alike. I wouldn’t change a thing! Except I made a whole pound of pasta (cellentani, perfect) and there was plenty of sauce. This was much better than some vegan cheesy pasta dishes I’ve had at restaurants 😉
Keep ’em coming!
I just finished eating this and it was INSANE!!!! Thank you for coming up with all these great recipes .Seriously, you are such a genius – I don’t even bother looking at any other cookbooks anymore. I used cheapie Holland House cooking wine and it was still great. Thank you!!!!
Love this! Tried it this week and me, kids and hubby loved it. The nooch does tie everything together. Also, I used veggie stock instead of wine and it was great. There was enough sauce left over for extra veggies and then some. I actually just had some toast with leftover sauce on them. It’s that good!
I keep a bottle of $3 dry vermouth (Gallo) on hand for use in recipes. It doesn’t go bad and can be used when ever dry white wine is called for in recipes. Then you don’t have to open a bottle of good stuff and worry about not finishing it up in a timely manner…although we like to do that too.
This was delicious!
It was really good! I made it with an acorn squash (a standard sized one was the right amount) and I feel like that had enough of a neutral taste as to really fool you into thinking there’s cheese in it- and no butternut burnout! I put lots of pepitas on top which made for a nice crunch. Thanks!
i used this as a sauce instead of tomato sauce in lasagna! i layered it with steamed kale and basil tofu ricotta from VwaV. delicious! there was plenty of sauce left over, so i’m saving some in the freezer. hope it freezes well!
Thank you! I made this last night with red wine and without the sage… it was still great. I love your recipes.
Word to the wise: this does not freeze-thaw with a lot of success. Will likely still use it anyway, because it’s delicious, but the sauce did separate a little. For a gal who has never liked pasta or alfredo too well, I’ll say, this is one of the best damn dishes I’ve had in a long time.
OMG loved It
Isa, another winner! this is SO good! I’m serving next week instead of mac & cheez at our thanksgiving dinner. I used tinkyada pasta and I’m pretty sure this recipe only makes two servings. Perfect, since I’m carb loading for a 25-mile run tomorrow! Thanks SO much for your great recipes.
This was simply AMAZING. Yum. I licked my bowl clean.
this is amazing! I used more veg stock and lemon juice in place of wine and dijon mustard as advised in place of miso and topped with sun dried tom’s as someone said. Gorgeous. Can’t wait to make this for people 🙂
So freaking good. I ate it like dip on baguette. I ended up with about 2 cups of extra sauce I added more squash to the mix and I am glad I did because the flavor was more dominant. I also used fresh sage because that is all I had on hand. I could imagine making this with a mix of carrot, squash and sweet potato or yam if that is what I had on hand. The wine and onions make it deliciously savory for fall and winter.
This is seriously good. I haven’t gotten to try it with miso yet, but without it-with the dijon as suggested, it’s still amazing. I also subbed brazil nuts for cashews, because that’s what i had. I also didn’t have veg. broth, so the first time i used a boullioun (sp?) cube, and this time I just used some almond milk and water.
So, just like literally everyone else that wrote a comment on this recipe, this is the most delicious food ever. I am so happy I made this. The white wine, onions, and sage made it taste really sophisticated. I used a whole pound of pasta and some roasted broccoli and there was plenty of sauce for all of it. Thank you so much for your recipes. I have learned so much about vegan cooking from your cookbooks. It’s recipes like this that make a transition into a vegan diet much easier…not to mention really tasty! 🙂
O…M…Goodness BEST SAUCE EVERAH. I made it per the recipe (although I only had mellow brown miso) – Delicious. We ended up using the extra to dip our roasted veggies in and couldn’t stop. Highly recommend
This was amazing. My husband started telling me how good it was before I could get my first bite in. It’s on the rotation list. I used Dijon mustard instead of miso since my husband has a soy allergy. And we used all the sauce of half a pound of fusilli.
Honestly one of the best meals I have ever had! I made it exactly as directed and served braised mixed greens tossed with white balsamic vinegar on the side. My picky 14 year old daughter had seconds and my husband scraped the leftover sauce out of the pan with a spatula so he wouldn’t miss a drop. My 17 year old son’s omni friend said it was his first ever vegan meal. He loved it and ate three helpings. Glad I doubled the recipe!
Just made this last night. So creamy and delicious!
Hi Isa! I just discovered your blog and this was the first recipe I’ve tried. It was amazing!! My husband didn’t even notice it was vegan! Yay! I will definitely be making this one again 🙂 I also can’t wait to start exploring your other recipes!
Cool, welcome!
I made this last night! So good! Even the 2 year old had seconds! Didn’t have miso paste but threw in an instant miso cup ‘o soup thing and extra nutritional yeast and some vegan ricotta to make extra creamy. Like Whoa!
Amazing recipe-so delicious and very easy. I soaked the cashews and roasted the squash the night before. Made a double recipe. Everyone absolutely loved it and could not believe there was no cream in it.
I did the pumpkin version and it was AMAZING!
*Incredible!* Beautiful, velvety, satisfying. Favorite fall squash pasta EVER.
Threw in a tiny mushroom medley that needed to be used today; let it sauté with the onion. Roasted some lovely kabocha chunks while the butternut was in the oven – and sprinkled a few caramelized bits of kabocha goodness on top of the finished bowl. *divine*
We’ve made this twice now, and it’s gorgeous in every way: delicious to eat and beautiful to look at as well! I love the deep orange color of the sauce, and I love reading all the different ways people have been eating this. 🙂 Tonight we agreed that next time (which will be very soon), we’ll saute some chopped spinach with the onions, because we think the flecks of green will look gorgeous in the orange. I also read the comment about eating this with roasted cauliflower, and that got me to thinking that this might be the perfect sauce to use in a beautiful fall casserole, maybe with roasted cauliflower, broccoli, and potatoes… I’m looking forward to further experiments! Thanks so much for another fabulous recipe that also serves as a fantastic inspiration! 🙂
Wow, Made this for Thanksgiving the other day with canned butternut and man is it good. Unlike any vegan mac and cheese I’ve ever made. My omni mother said it was the best vegan meal she’d ever had! Now, I love nooch as much as the next vegan, but it’s very refreshing to try a mac that isn’t screaming it.
Just made this today, it turned out wonderful!!!! It felt like I was eating a dessert:). Thank you so much, amazing!
Firstly Isa you are awesome. I love your site and books, and have gotten 4 friends hooked on your cooking as well.
Secondly, if someone isn’t comfortable with oven roasting squash just loads as many as you can into your slow cooker, prick the skin of each one with a fork. Then add a bit of water to keep them moist. Turn on low for 8 hours, and let cool. They are easier to cup open, and scoop out seeds. What ever you don’t use you can freeze for the next time you make this. It looks like a lot work, but most of the work you don’t have to be there for.
I’ve just made this sauce. It’s amazing. However mine is somewhat fluorescent rather than a pale orangey due to the kobucha squash used. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
This was so good!! I made it for my boyfriend and myself with pumpkin fettucini…so delicious!
If one doubled the sauce recipe could a portion of it be frozen? … now I just need to be able to cut the squash without cutting myself!
Full disclosure: we’re not vegan and my 6 yo’s fav food is mac and cheese. And he’s a notoriously picky eater. I told him this was a new kind of mac and cheese. He tasted it, pronounced it delicious and had a full bowl. My ten month old is a more adventurous eater and she loved it too!
I made this a few weeks ago for a dinner party. I can’t stop thinking about it! I didn’t have miso on hand, so I used a bit of tamari. Thanks for posting this. It’s now my go-to fall recipe. I’m going to try it with the pumpkin I just processed (and also used to make the Best Pumpkin Muffins in the World)j
Made this for dinner last night in an effort to use up some leftover butternut squash. Oh my. I about attacked my husband when he got home so that we could get to eating it as soon as possible. A very savory flavor and definitely a winner. We had it over whole wheat penne (13oz. package that I mixed in with the sauce) and with a side of steamed green beans. I can’t wait for leftovers at lunch today! Thanks Isa for another great recipe.
Thank you Isa, this recipe was a hit at our house tonight. I made it with bow tie pasta and my 9-year-old son ate 3 bowls! (I also made your easy breaded tofu per his request, the recipe where you don’t have to press the tofu, just roll it in the tamari first – he asks me for that at least once a week). This was seriously rich and delicious and the perfect recipe for the giant butternut squash that came in our CSA box today! (Oh, and I didn’t want to buy an entire bottle of white wine so I used a small single can of Sophia – a sparkling wine – and it worked out just great).
Oh, and one other thing I wanted to mention; my son won’t eat squash. But he LOVED this!
I’ve made this three times in the last month–officially obsessed! Great recipe, Isa. It goes with everything. And just when I thought I was bored with butternut. Well done!
Holy crap that was the best thing I’ve ever cooked!
I love this recipe so much that I would like to double the sauce part of the recipe! How do you think it would freeze???
This recipe is amazing! So rich & creamy, with a sophisticated flavor. So glad I tried it!
THANK YOU!!! Being new to veganism I thought I’d have to give up my creamy Alfredo…but then I found this dish- and I’ve never even tried butternut before but I knew I had to try it. And boy am I happy I did 🙂
This will be a great sauce replacement for cheese fondue that I also use to love…dip some bread, pretzels, veggies and apple slices in it…yum!
No Miso so I just added Dijon and a little more Yeast Flakes…using a power blender made it so easy. I added broccoli to the final dish to replicate my Alfredo and broccoli dish.
Can’t wait to try more PPK dishes, thank you for helping me in the transition to a new lifestyle!
I have made this three times now – it’s so delicious and absolutely hits the spot when we need something creamy and comforting (like every day this winter!) Thank you Isa for your amazing recipes you inspire me back into the kitchen!
I just made this and it is SO GOOD. I mixed in some caramelized onions and sauteed kale. This is definitely one of my new favorite and “go to” recipes!
I don’t ever “comment” but I just had to with this recipe…it’s so amazingly delicious!!! I never thought I’d be able to taste that “creaminess” with a vegan recipe but this proves you can have a healthy alternative alfredo. This will definitely go into our repertoire!!! By the way I think a little douse of sherry would add another layer of richness. Thanks for a great dinner….
I’ve been giving occasional cooking lessons to a newly vegan friend, and this was the recipe she wanted to make today–which was perfect, since i’d been meaning to make it for weeks. It was FANTASTIC. We used more broth in place of the white wine (she avoids it for health reasons), and it was so good and so easy. Thank you!