Fire-Roasted Squash Pasta Sauce

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Dairy.

As you may have guessed by now, I love cooking over the campfire. I love it so much that I often end up with extra fire-roasted goodness, which is how this recipe began. If you have extra roasted squash you can easily turn it into a delicious dairy-free pasta sauce that is just as comforting as mac and cheese!

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PREP TIME
1 hour 15 minutes

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COOK TIME
5 minutes

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YIELD
2 cups

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Ingredients

• 1 cup seasoned, roasted squash (See Note 1)

• 1 cup vegetable broth

• 1/2 cup raw cashews

• 2 cloves roasted garlic

• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/8 tsp black pepper

• 1 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast

• Salt to taste (See Note 2)

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable broth to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the cashews. Let soak for about 1 hour.

2. Once the cashews have soaked, add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend well, until smooth.

3. Add the sauce to your favorite cooked and drained pasta, stir to combine and heat briefly, just enough to warm the sauce.

4. If you want to get extra fancy, top the sauced pasta with some bread crumbs, melted butter, and parsley and pop it under the broiler until golden and toasty.

Notes

1. The first time I made this recipe it was with leftover squash that I had filled with curry and cooked over the fire in a dutch oven. So far, that has been the best batch to date. I’ve since repeated the process with squash that was roasted in the oven and squash that was roasted by itself over the fire. The fire roasted version was the best, for sure, but the oven roasted version was also delicious. In all cases, I used kabocha squash for its complex, sweet flavor. If you are using another type of squash, consider adding some caramelized onion to the mix to amp up the complexity and sweetness.

2. There are a lot of variables when it comes to the salt levels in this recipe. It all depends on how much the squash is seasoned while roasting and what type of vegetable broth is used. Salt levels in broth can vary wildly! Taste your sauce before adding to pasta and adjust salt levels to your liking!