Butternut Squash Vodka Sauce

This vegan butternut squash vodka sauce is the perfect fall dinner. Ready in about 30 minutes, it is so easy to make. You will want to make it all the time.

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Course Dinner, Pasta

Cuisine Italian American

Servings servings

Equipment

high speed blender

Ingredients

½ cup (60g) raw cashews
1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (14g) vegan butter
3 cloves garlic whole
½ sweet onion (about 112g/4 ounces) , roughly chopped
⅓ cup (80ml) vodka
2 teaspoons (8g) organic sugar
½ cup (120ml) non-dairy milk, unsweetened and unflavored
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
½ cup (130g) butternut squash purée, canned
12 ounces (314g) pasta, of choice

Instructions

Soak cashews ahead of time the night before or boil them for 30 minutes prior to cooking.
In a pan sauté the onions and garlic in oil and vegan butter over medium low heat for 5 to 7 minutes until translucent and fragrant.
Once done sautéing, remove from the heat, then pour in the vodka. Return to heat and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until the vodka has been mostly cooked off.
Boil pasta in salted water and cook until al dente.
Into a blender add the soaked cashews, non-dairy milk, and cooked onions and garlic. Blend until smooth.
Add the blended mixture back into the pan, along with the butternut squash purée, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook for about 10 minutes over low heat stirring occasionally.
Once the pasta is done, strain and add in the pasta the sauce. If you are using gluten free pasta, don't reserve any pasta water. However, if you are using regular pasta you can add a few tablespoons of pasta water in.
Mix together, taste, and add any salt if desired.
Enjoy immediately.

Video

Notes

For your vodka choice, choose something mid price range and something you would normally like to drink. Tito's is a good choice. Don't use anything flavored.
Vegan butter I like Earth Balance or Miyokos.
For the raw cashews if you can find the cashew pieces from Trader Joe's use those to save some money.
You can either soak cashews the night before or I boil them for 30 minutes before blending.

Keyword butternut squash vodka sauce, fall pasta