Vegan Butternut Squash Carbonara

This Vegan Butternut Squash Carbonara is a dairy-free spin on the traditional Italian Carbonara recipe with a creamy cashew cheese butternut squash carbonara sauce! Serve with crispy roasted smoky bacon-ish tofu.Jump to Recipe

This easy vegan Butternut Squash Carbonara is the perfect fall and winter dinner. It’s a creamy spin on my popular Pumpkin Sage pasta and trust me, it will likely become a staple you will make again and again. Traditional Italian Carbonara Sauce is made from parmesan cheese and egg yolks.  This vegan version is just as deliciously rich and creamy (even without egg or dairy), thanks to cashew cream, and even quite cheesy thanks to nutritional yeast, and a hearty thanks to miso paste and fresh sage!

While traditional Carbonara is often topped with bacon or pancetta, I wanted that smoky “chew” on top and went with oven-roasted tofu. Before roasting the tofu, we coat it in a whole bunch of spices to bring on the smoky-sweet notes.

Let me tell you this dish has a perfect balance and blend of cozy fall flavors (butternut squash + sage = fall central)! A simple plant-based pasta dinner or plant-based lunch your whole family will love. Even your kids will give this a big thumbs up!

Let’s make this gorgeous fall meal.

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5 from 5 votes

Butternut Squash Carbonara 

This Vegan Butternut Squash Carbonara is a dairy-free spin on the traditional Italian Carbonara recipe with a creamy cashew cheese butternut squash carbonara sauce! Serve with crispy roasted smoky bacon-ish tofu. Options for Nutfree Glutenfree Soyfree

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 5 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butternut squash carbonara, vegan carbonara recipe

Servings: 2

Calories: 569kcal

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the pasta sauce:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 tsp pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp fresh sage
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 1/4 cup veggie broth or water
• 2 cups butternut squash cubed
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp miso paste optional
• 8 oz fettuccine

For the Tofu:

• 7 oz firm or extra firm tofu pressed for at least 15 minutes, and then drained and cubed into 1/4th inch cubes
• 2 tsp oil
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar or maple syrup

Instructions

• Add oil to a skillet over medium heat, add in the onion and garlic and cook until transluent.
• Add in the sage and pepper flakes and mix in. Add in the butternut squash and cook until the butternut squash starts to get golden on some edges. This may not happen if you're using frozen butternut squash.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients under sauce, and cover and mix well. Then cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the butternut squash is tender to preference.
• Take off heat and let the mixture cool a bit before adding to a blender and blending until smooth.
• Meanwhile make your fettuccine according to instructions on the package and cook until al dente, then combine the sauce to the fettuccine in a bowl, or you can also add it to a skillet to reheat, and cook it a little bit more. This helps thicken the sauce and also melds the flavors together
• Meanwhile, make the smoky tofu by combining the cubed tofu with the oil, soy sauce, smoked paprika, garlic, and maple syrup in a bowl to coat really well.
• Spread out the tofu on a parchent-ined baking sheet. Spread it out so that most of the cubes are not touching each other. Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 c ) then add the baking sheet to the oven when it's heated up. Bake for 10 minutes, then move it around, and then bake for another few minutes, and then keep an eye on the tofu. Take it out once the pieces start to get dry-ish and crunchy. The tofu can burn easily, so keep an eye after 14-15 minute mark. Serve the tofu on top of the butternut squash fettuccine.

  To store, keep the topping separate from the pasta and refrigerate for upto 3 days.,

Notes

• Nutfree: To make this without cashews, omit the cashews and use a 1/3 cup of pumpkin seeds, or while blending the sauce, add in a 1/3 cup of silken tofu. This tofu based sauce will have to be reheated to thicken again
• Glutenfree : use Glutenfree pasta of choice 
• Soyfree: use chickpea flour tofu to make the topping with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce or use coconut bacon 
• You can actually use canned butternut squash puree, which cuts the prep time down by an hour at least! Use 3/4 cup butternut or pumpkin purée 
• fresh sage sub: use a mix of dried and rubbed and not more than 1 tsp. Is using just dried then use 1/4 tsp 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Butternut Squash Carbonara 

Amount Per Serving

Calories 569 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 33mg11%

Sodium 570mg25%

Potassium 913mg26%

Carbohydrates 65g22%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 25g50%

Vitamin A 15695IU314%

Vitamin C 34mg41%

Calcium 238mg24%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Butternut Squash Carbonara Ingredients:

• Like with any Italian-inspired pasta sauce, we start this off with olive oil, onions, and garlic. 
• Butternut squash – you can use any other squash or pumpkin puree for this recipe.
• Nutritional yeast – can be omitted, – just add 1 tsp miso for a similar flavor
• Miso Paste – skip or add more nutritional yeast
• Sage – if you’re using dried, use a mix of rubbed and ground. Dried ground sage is pretty potent so add less in the beginning and add more to taste as you go.
• Cashew nuts make this pasta sauce extra creamy and smooth without having to add egg yolks or dairy. For Nutfree, use silken tofu
• My pasta of choice here is fettuccine. 

Tips

• You can actually use canned butternut squash puree, which cuts the prep time down by an hour at least!
• Add some coconut bacon For additional texture
• Serve this sprinkled with some chopped sage or grate some almonds on top.
• additional flavors you can add: cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, or a pinch of cayenne pepper

How to make Butternut Squash Carbonara

Add oil to a skillet over medium heat, add in the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.

Add in the sage and pepper flakes and mix in. Add in the butternut squash and cook until the butternut squash starts to get golden on the edges. This may not happen if you’re using frozen butternut squash.

Add in the rest of the ingredients listed under ‘sauce’, and mix well. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the butternut squash is tender to preference. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool a bit before adding to a blender and blending until smooth.

Meanwhile, make your fettuccine and cook until al dente, then combine the sauce to the fettuccine in a bowl, or you can also add it to a skillet to reheat, and cook it a little bit more.

Meanwhile, make the tofu by combining the cubed tofu with the oil, soy sauce, smoked paprika, garlic, and maple syrup in a bowl to coat really well.

Spread out the tofu on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread it out so that most of the cubes are not touching each other. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, then add the baking sheet to the oven when it’s heated up.

Bake for 10 minutes, then move it around, and then bake for another few minutes, and then keep an eye on the tofu. Take it out once the pieces start to get dry-ish and crunchy. The tofu can burn easily, so keep an eye out after the 14-15 minute mark. Serve the tofu on top of the butternut squash fettuccine.

Can I make this Butternut Squash Carbonara without Cashews?

To make this recipe without cashews, omit them and use a 1/3 cup of pumpkin seeds, or while blending the sauce, add in a 1/3 cup of silken tofu. This tofu-based sauce will have to be reheated to thicken again.

MORE VEGAN FALL RECIPES

• Jalapeño Cornbread chili Casserole 
• Pumpkin Mac and cheese Bake 
• Pumpkin Sage Biscuits
• Pumpkin Sauce Chickpea Pizza
• Pumpkin Cornbread
• Pumpkin Sage pasta with Crisp Sage