If pasta in a creamy, dreamy pumpkin sauce sounds good to you, you will love this vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese made from real Hokkaido pumpkin, not pumpkin purée.

This is the perfect fall-ified version of mac and cheese: Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese.

The creamy sauce is made with

cashew cream (cashews mixed with water)
roasted Hokkaido pumpkin cubes
roasted onion

You can serve this Pumpkin Mac and Cheese as a main dish or as a side dish with e.g. vegan steak, sausages, or part of a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast.

How to make Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

The ingredients

elbow pasta or macaroni pasta
Hokkaido pumpkin
yellow onion
oil (olive oil for coating the pumpkin cubes and onion works fine)
cashews (I use roasted & salted cashews, but you can also use unsalted, unroasted cashews, just add a bit more salt)
salt
water

Possible Add-Ins

You can also upgrade this Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese by adding:

peas
spinach
caramelized onions
crispy tofu/tempeh cubes
mushrooms
roasted Brussels sprouts

The basic steps

pumpkin cubes and onion on baking tray — Step 1: Roast pumpkin cubes and onion in the oven.

cashews and water in blender — Step 3: Blend cashews and water in a blender to make cashew cream.

cashew cream in blender — Step 3: Blend cashews and water in a blender to make cashew cream.

pumpkin, onions and cashew cream in blender — Step 4: Add the roasted pumpkin, onion, salt, and some of the pasta water to the blender with the cashew cream and blend.

pumpkin cheese sauce — Step 4: Add the roasted pumpkin, onion, salt, and some of the pasta water to the blender with the cashew cream and blend.

Serve it with…

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I hope you enjoy this vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!

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Cheers, Bianca

Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Bianca Haun | Elephantastic Vegan

If pasta in a creamy, dreamy pumpkin sauce sounds good to you, you will love this vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese made from real Hokkaido pumpkin, not pumpkin purée.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Vegan

Servings people

Calories 732 kcal

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

▢ 3 cups elbow pasta
▢ ½ Hokkaido pumpkin halved, deseeded, peeled, cut into cubes (300g)
▢ 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ ⅓ cup cashews roasted & salted are the best to use; but unroasted and unsalted is okay too!
▢ ⅔ cup water
▢ ½ teaspoon salt more to taste

Instructions

Put the pumpkin cubes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Drizzle them with olive oil. Mix well until coated evenly. Spread them out. Add roughly chopped yellow onion. Bake at 400°F/200°C for about 30-35 minutes until slightly brown and soft.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta. (Save the pasta water for the pumpkin sauce)
Blend cashews and water in a blender to make cashew cream.
Into the cashew cream, add the roasted pumpkin, onion, and salt. Blend. Add more and more pasta water until it is thin enough to pour. I added ⅔ cup of pasta water.
Pour the pumpkin sauce over the drained pasta and mix well! And it's ready to serve. I've added chopped fresh parsley on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 732kcalCarbohydrates: 132gProtein: 23gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 411mgPotassium: 1254mgFiber: 9gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 3099IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 4mg

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