Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash & Sage Pasta

This creamy vegan butternut squash & sage pasta is cozy, seasonal, and nourishing. A perfect fall recipe blending plant-based comfort with ancestral wisdom.

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Golden leaves scatter across the ground, and the farmers markets glow with the season’s harvest. Stacked high in crates and nestled into fall CSA boxes, butternut squash makes its annual return. It's a sign that autumn meals will be warm, grounding, and deeply nourishing. With its sunlit orange flesh and natural sweetness, it feels like the season itself placed in your hands, ready to be transformed into something super comforting and incredibly abundant. In my kitchen, it often becomes the heart of a meal that’s both grounding and uplifting - like this creamy vegan butternut squash & sage pasta.

This dish is a conversation between sweetness and earthiness, between bright lemon and nutty cashew parmesan. It’s a reminder of the rhythm of fall harvests, of listening to the land and nourishing our bodies with what is seasonally abundant.

Why Butternut Squash & Sage Belong Together

From both Ayurvedic and Blue Zone perspectives, this pairing makes sense:

• Ayurveda & Autumn: Autumn is a season of dryness and lightness (Vata energy). Butternut squash, naturally sweet and grounding, helps balance this airy quality. Sage adds a slightly bitter, earthy note that keeps the dish from tipping into heaviness. Together, they restore warmth and steadiness.

• Greek Blue Zone Wisdom: In Greece - one of the world’s Blue Zones - simple, seasonal ingredients are the foundation of longevity. Squash, olive oil, and herbs are everyday staples, combined in ways that are satisfying but never fussy. This recipe reflects that same ethos: whole, plant-based, seasonal.

Recipe: Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash & Sage Pasta

Servings: 4 Prep & Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (30 ml)

• 3 to 3 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 1 pound / ½ large squash)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter (Miyoko’s, Earth Balance, or similar)

• 1 small shallot, finely minced (about ¼ cup)

• 1 handful fresh sage leaves, finely minced (about ¼ cup loosely packed)

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml)

• 1 pound pasta of choice (i.e. orecchiette, penne, farfalle, or rotini)

• ½ to ¾ cup Treeline ricotta (plain flavor) or plant based ricotta

• 3–4 tablespoons homemade cashew parmesan, plus more for topping

Preparation

1. Cook the squash (sweetness + texture): Heat olive oil in a large stainless steel or cast-iron skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add squash, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and tender, about 5–7 minutes. Taste a cube: notice the natural sweetness deepened by caramelization. Transfer half the squash to a heatproof bowl, leaving the rest in the skillet for texture later.

2. Build the base (aroma + bitterness + depth): Add vegan butter and shallot to the skillet with the remaining squash. Cook until the butter foams and smells nutty (umami + aroma), about 1 minute. Add sage; it should sizzle and give a faintly bitter, grounding note. Stir in lemon juice for brightness. Transfer everything from the skillet to the bowl with the reserved squash.

3. Blend the sauce (balance sweet, sour, and rich): Add Treeline ricotta and ½ cup hot pasta water to the bowl. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree until smooth and creamy. Taste here:

   • Too sweet? Add another squeeze of lemon or a pinch of salt.

   • Too tangy? Blend in more squash or a drizzle of olive oil.

   • Flat? Stir in a spoonful of cashew parmesan for umami depth.

4. Cook the pasta (salt + texture): In a medium saucepan, cook pasta in generously salted water until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Taste the pasta water - it should be seasoned like a light broth. Reserve 1–2 cups cooking water, then drain.

5. Bring it together (shine + balance): Return the blended sauce to the skillet over medium heat. Add drained pasta and toss, loosening with splashes of pasta water until glossy and perfectly al dente. Stir in 3–4 tablespoons cashew parmesan. Taste again:

   • Needs brightness? Add a splash more lemon.

   • Too sharp or salty? A drizzle of olive oil softens.

   • Missing savoriness? Another sprinkle of cashew parm does the trick.

6. Serve (final layering): Plate hot, topped with more cashew parmesan for nutty umami, a crack of black pepper for subtle heat, and a few crispy sage leaves if you’d like.

✨ How to Taste lens: The immersion blender makes it easy to adjust on the spot - taste at each stage, layering sweetness (squash), acidity (lemon), umami (cashew parm), bitterness (sage), and richness (ricotta + butter) until they feel balanced to you.

If you don't have Treeline ricotta (or any vegan ricotta), this dish is still totally doable - the squash itself gives enough creaminess when blended.

Here are some easy swaps:

Option 1: Just skip the ricotta

• Blend the roasted squash with the sage–shallot–butter base and pasta water.

• Stir in extra cashew parmesan (½ cup instead of 3–4 tablespoons).

• This will still give a creamy, nutty sauce with plenty of body.

Option 2: Add creaminess another way (choose one)

• Silken tofu: ½ cup blended into the sauce (mild, adds protein).

• Soaked cashews: ½ cup soaked in hot water, then blended with the squash (extra creamy, neutral flavor).

• Unsweetened plant milk: ¼–½ cup blended in (lighter, but keeps things silky).

Option 3: Go rustic

• Skip blending entirely and leave the squash cubed.

• Toss the pasta directly in the sage “brown butter” with the cubes, then finish with cashew parmesan.

• It’ll be less saucy, more of a light pan-sauce feel, but still delicious and seasonal.

Your Turn in the Kitchen

We’d love to hear how this creamy vegan butternut squash pasta makes its way into your autumn table. Leave a comment below to share your twist, or snap a photo and tag @ConsciousVeganKitchen_ on instagram so we can celebrate your creation with you. Sharing this recipe with friends and family helps spread the joy of seasonal, plant-based cooking.