Vegan Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

This Vegan Pumpkin Pasta recipe is creamy fall goodness!

The perfectly plant-based creaminess comes from dairy-free pumpkin cream sauce.

Made with only T E N ingredients; this will soon to be a go-to during the fall and winter month! Let’s get started on the perfect bowl of fall creamy carbs to get you through those cozy months!!

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound De’ Cecco Penne Pasta
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk (Full-Fat)
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling!)
  • ⅓ cup nutritional yeast 
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shells & stir to prevent sticking. Cook to al dente according to package directions, 10-11 minutes. Prior to draining the pasta, reserve about 2 cups of the starchy pasta
  2. Blend the pumpkin cream sauce: Meanwhile, as the pasta boils, make the pumpkin cream sauce. Add the coconut milk, pumpkin purée, nutritional yeast, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cayenne, salt, & ground black pepper to a high-speed blender. Blend until it’s nice and smooth & creamy sauce consistency.
  3. Assemble the vegan creamy pumpkin penne: Pour the pumpkin cream sauce over the pasta. Stir to combine, adding in the reserved pasta water little by little until your desired consistency is reached. The sauce should be very creamy, but cling to the pasta nicely.
  4. Serve immediately, topped with fresh herbs, red peppers, or vegan parmesan; as desired.
Buon appetito!

I hope you and yours enjoys this recipe as much as mine has!

De Cecco Penne found at Walmart

De Cecco uses only the finest Durum Wheat Flour Bronze cutting dies
for a pasta texture that holds sauces evenly. Their pasta is air dried (instead of heat dried) to keep the pasta
porous to further hold sauces evenly. Lysine and other vitamins bake
out of pasta when using the drying process of other brands!

Love, Health, & Veggies,

The Vegan Momma

Vegan Madeleines

In French, “Madeleine” means “small rich shelled cake” and “something which brings back a memory; a source of nostalgia or evocative memories”. Make it vegan, and you have the perfect addition to a mid-day cup of coffee or evening tea. The perfect fall & winter addition!

I’ve had Madeleine on my “to-make” list for a while; this small—yet oh–so delightfully delectable recipe that you’re going to want to bake up throughout the upcoming fall & winter months!

Cozy up with your current read, fuzzy soaks, a warm blanket, a cup of tea and truly enjoy these delicate little cakes! My 9 year old daughter is learning French, so this recipe was also integrated into our French studies— a yummy win-win!

Bon appétit!

The Vegan Momma Madeleines

EQUIPMENT

  • Madeleine Shell Pan
  • Mixing Bowl

INGREDIENTS  

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (or oil of choice)
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (or non dairy milk or choice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Preheat oven at 350 F and brush the madeleines pan with oil.
  • Mix water and ground flax in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
  • In a mixing bowl add coconut oil and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
  • Add in almond milk, flax egg, and vanilla.
  • Finally, add the baking powder and all-purpose flour.
  • Fold in gently and transfer the batter in the prepared madeleines pan.
  • Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.
  • Remove from oven, let them cool on ventilated baking rack.
  • Serve or store in air right containers. Enjoy!

I’m looking forward to seeing what you think of these delicious “little cakes”, my little ones had a blast helping make these, and have now put in madeleine orders for their birthdays!

Best Health Wishes,

Gabrielle

The Vegan Momma

A Vegan’s Guide to Dining-Out

So, your friends invite you out after work or your family wants to go out for dinner, and you’re not sure how to do this vegan thing while eating out…don’t panic!

Vegan Quiche

Vegan Momma to the rescue!

I fancy myself as a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to eating out as a vegan, I love going out to eat with family and friends, and I always say that no matter where we go, I can and will find something!

There are a variety of options at almost any restaurant. Sometimes you’ll have to substitute or take off the dairy, but it is definitely easy and do-able! I typically first look if there’s already an item on the menu that’s vegan or vegetarian. If there isn’t, remove the meat and or dairy. Depending on the type of restaurant you are at, you could add other yummy vegan add-ons, such as avocado, potato, beans, rice, extra veggies, etc.

Vegan Coconut Ceviche, Plantain Chips

Do your research

Google the restaurant and menu. Often times you can Google “[Restaurant name] vegan items” to see what is or can be made vegan. You could also look up the menu to see what your options are, that way you can plan ahead on what you can order, or if there doesn’t seem to be many options you like and you have a say in the restaurant choice, you can chose another restaurant that better suit you.

Lettuce Tacos with Black Beans & Mexican Rice

Be clear, nice and polite

If you’re making substitutions and changes, try to be as clear and as polite as possible. Don’t just say “make it vegan”, you need to be clear that you do not want any dairy, eggs, meat, or fish in your meal. Be extra nice and polite about your requests, most restaurants will be happy to accommodate you!

Look for codes on the menu

Many restaurant menus these days have a key code guide that will list if an item is vegetarian or vegan. Sometimes it will be a leaf or a green “v”, or some other type of icon. The guide will usually be at the bottom of the menu. I’m always excited when I find these, since it makes it so much easier to find items that will work. Some restaurants will even have a vegetarian or vegan section of their menu, I get super excited when I see this! Vegan win, yay!

What to order

Veggie Wrap

Depending on the type of food you’ve gone out for, I have go-to items that I tend to order at each type of restaurant. Here’s a handy guide to show you some of the options at various restaurants.

MEXICAN

Guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips are a fav of mine! Bean, bean & rice, or veggie burritos, rice, veggie tacos, veggie fajitas, taco salad. Ask if there is cheese, sour cream, lard (in the beans), bacon (in the beans), or if the rice is made with chicken broth. Sometimes, the refried beans will have lard, but the whole black beans or pinto beans won’t. I like to add extra guacamole or avocado to most items as well!

Veggie Tacos

ITALIAN

Pasta (I like to add grilled veggies) with a non-dairy based sauce. Bread with olive oil & balsamic, salad, bruschetta, olives, grilled artichokes, veggie pizza with no cheese. Tips: Double check that there are no cheese or eggs (in the pasta), also say no parmesan on top of anything.

THAI

Pad Kee Mao, Pad Thai

 I’m half Thai, so I know my way around a Thai restaurant and love the vegan options you can find. What I love is that almost any dish with tofu instead of meat and no fish sauce. Fried rice with no egg, add tofu and extra veggies. I like to add cashews to stir fry, noodle, and rice dishes. Curry, no fish sauce. Soups that are veggie broth based. Vegetable spring rolls for appetizer. For dessert: coconut sticky rice with mango!

CHINESE

Vegetable fried rice (no egg, add tofu), vegetable noodle dishes, vegetable dumplings, vegetable spring rolls, vegetable dumplings, vegetable soups (check that it’s vegetable broth base), bean curd, vegetable stir fry, steamed rice. Make sure that the dishes have no egg, no oyster, and no fish sauce.

JAPANESE

Avocado, Cucumber, & Asparagus Roll

Miso soup, make sure the base is vegetable broth. Vegetable sushi, avocado roll, vegetable tempura (make sure it doesn’t have egg), vegetable stir fry, seaweed salad, steamed rice, edamame. I love either doing miso soup and a vegetable roll and avocado roll or a bento box with a roll, vegetable tempura, and steamed rice.

AMERICAN

Double Veggie Cheeseburger

French fries, veggie burgers or mushroom burger, veggie dogs, potato wedges, onion rings, baked potato. Ask about no dairy in the dishes you order. It’s usually easiest to pick items off of the side-item section and making a meal out of it. Unless you luck out and they have a veggie burger options, always double check that there is no dairy or egg in the veggie patty.

BBQ/STEAKHOUSE

Mushroom “steak”, Sweet Potato Fries, Olives & Pepperoncinis

Yes, I have even found vegan friendly options at steakhouses and BBQ restaurants! The side-items list is going to be your best friend. Here you can usually find, fried pickles, French fries, sweet potato fries, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, green beans, and corn. House salad, mushroom “steak”, vegetable sandwiches, and sometimes vegetable chili can be found as well. Make sure to ask for no cheese, butter, sour cream, mayo, and any batters that contain buttermilk. I like to order several side dishes to make a meal, get creative!

INDIAN

 Curries, vegetable samosa, channa masala, naan bread (check if it’s made with butter or yogurt), rice, saag, dal, and there’s usually other veggie dishes. Make sure to ask for no butter, cream, ghee, or paneer.

MEDITERRANEAN

Pita & Hummus, Greek Salad

Greek salad, hummus, pita bread, tahini, grilled veggies, pan-friend potatoes, vegetable dolmades, roasted eggplant, grilled veggie wrap, falafels, tabuleh, cous cous. Ask for no cheese or yogurt to make it vegan friendly.

VEGAN & VEGETARIAN

What vegan dreams are made of! You can order anything here, if it’s vegetarian, just make sure it doesn’t have any dairy in it. I like to order items that I can’t typically find vegan, like vegan french toast, vegan quiche, vegan breakfast burrito, and vegan cheese cake! Yum!

Vegan French Toast, Vegan Quiche, Vegan Breakfast Burrito

Last Tip: Use the Apps

Vegan eating has gotten easier with the awesome apps you can download and use on the go right at your finger-tips! This is my favorite way to find vegan friendly restaurants when I travel. My favorite apps are: Happy Cow, Vegman, and VeganXpress (helps you find vegan options at chain restaurants). I also like to use Yelp and search “vegan or vegetarian restaurants”.

Have fun finding vegan items at any restaurant! Let me know what your favorite items to order are or your go-to tips!

Love & Veggies,

The Vegan Momma