Are you a pasta lover? What’s not to love! If you’ve been searching for a healthy and gluten-free way to enjoy your favorite comfort meal then look no further than my Red Lentil Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo and Fresh Spinach.
This pumpkin alfredo is a quick version of my vegan cashew cheese sauce. But just because it’s quicker doesn’t mean it’s any less delicious.
So what’s different? In this version I used canned pumpkin in place of roasting fresh butternut squash and I’ve omitted the oil used for roasting.
Not only are we saving a whole lot of time, we’re also lightening up on the calories by knocking out the oil. Bonus!
Let’s talk about ingredients for a second; if you’ve been yearning for the creamy cheesiness of a traditional alfredo pasta dish, you won’t be disappointed with this Red Lentil Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo.
The pumpkin and cashews combine to make the ultimate dream team in the creaminess stakes – you won’t even miss the heavy cream and butter!
And for the cheesy factor; the white miso, nutritional yeast and lemon juice do a brilliant job of lending a sharp, tangy and cheesy flavor that’s just as addictive as the real thing.
To keep it gluten-free and to add a protein punch, I love using the red lentil pasta by Bentilia. Unlike a lot of gluten-free products, there are only two ingredients in this brand of pasta – red lentils and water. Doesn’t get much better than that!
But if you’re desperate to make this dish and haven’t got any red lentil pasta on hand, any other type of pasta will also work. For gluten-free varieties try looking for rice, quinoa and even chickpea pasta.
My family absolutely loves this dish, so I make up a huge batch to ensure there’s always leftovers. The great news is that it reheats really well and sometimes it tastes even better the day after as the flavors in the sauce have had more time to develop.
Will you make this recipe? If you do, please come back and let me know what you thought of it.
Red Lentil Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo and Fresh Spinach
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 cups (1 can) canned pumpkin you can substitute frozen pumpkin or squash
- 1/3 cup raw cashews soaked in water for an hour or two
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp white miso
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Frank’s red hot sauce
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Pasta
- 3 8 oz. packets red lentil pasta
- 4 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender add all sauce ingredients and blend on high for 1-3 minutes or until completely smooth.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the red lentil pasta according to the package. Drain and add back to the pot.
- Turn the burner back on at medium heat. Add the fresh spinach to the pot with the cooked pasta. Add the pumpkin Alfredo to the pot and stir well. Serve immediately.
