Vegan Pumpkin Mac ‘n’ Cheese

I love this I’m vegan I tried this recipe love this recipe 😋

This is the second time we’ve made this recipe, and we doubled it because one wasn’t enough! It was so good, and I am NOT a pumpkin fan at. all!

I used corn starch instead of arrowroot and added extra nutritional yeast, like a lot extra, but just for our preference. I toasted the pine nuts before topping and :* Chef’s kiss!

This was really good! I used canned pumpkin because it’s not easy to find a pumpkin thats not just for carving a face in around here! Thanks! Going to add a little more cayenne pepper for Thanksgiving!

Made it for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I only added 200ml of milk and I’m so glad I did as otherwise it would have been way too runny for my liking. I also added some peas to the mixture :)

This mac and cheese was amazing! I made it for dinner last night to celebrate world vegan day and I think it was the best I ever made! I didn’t have arrowroot starch so I used tapioca starch instead and it worked very well. I will definitely make again!

used with banza chickpea penne. used sage with a few shakes of dried thyme. wonderful!

This was nice fall comfort food. My fresh sage turned the sauce a little bit of a funny orange color, but it tasted delicious. I didnt have pumpkin pie spice, so I just used a bit of cinnemon which worked well. The red pepper flakes gave it a lovely warmth. It was creamy and satisfying.

I love this recipe as a variation for mac n cheese! I have done it several times and it’s a hit with my kids. I use butternut squash instead and it works great too! Thanks for all the yummy recipes

I bought a case of canned pumpkin at the start of the pandemic and have been looking for things to do with it. This was my favorite. In addition to the canned pumpkin, I used fresh sage that I had growing. I also did the fried sage and pine nuts. I dumped pinches of the 4 spices for the pumpkin spice in my hand and tossed it in. This was such a hit. The fresh chopped sage and the homemade pumpkin spice was so savory and the consistency was so velvety. I will definitely make this again

It’s creamy, but the pumpkin spice flavour is very out of place, as well as the pepper flakes. I think also too much thyme and sage. I love this as a creamy pasta, but definitely not Mac and cheese! I think it almost needs another flavour than pumpkin, not in just spices- as in it’s quite homogenous and the same in every bite. It’s not the worst, but I would not make it again.

I used some home-roasted pumpkin my neighbor gave me, so I’m not sure the type. It defnitely wasn’t as thick as canned pie pumpkin, so maybe that’s the reason it didn’t turn out tasting super pumpkin-y? I added in extra pumpkin pie spice to try and help with this. It was still very good, just not as strong of a pumpkin flavor as I expected.

Usually I 100% love every MB recipe, but this one was just okay. Maybe it was because I didn’t roast my own pumpkin (I used canned) or maybe I’m just not a fan of nutritional yeast pasta sauces? Not sure. If you’re craving something like this, it’s definitely worth a try (although I would roast the pumpkin). Not sure I’ll make again, but like I said my husband liked it and it was okay to me. Just not “wowed”. Still LOVE this site and pretty much every single recipe on it!

Made this using leftover canned pumpkin puree in the fridge, it was so so good!! I loved how smooth it was, even smoother than cashews! Thank you for this recipe.

Made this dish for thanksgiving and it was my favorite thing I made! I didn’t have vegan parm so I added extra corn starch, nutritional yeast, a pinch more salt + plus a little miso and it was still perfection!

I can’t get over how DELICIOUS this recipe is! Saving it in my favs and going to remake it often for sure. Thank you for such tasty, simple food!

This recipe is amazing!! I made it last night using roasted butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin puree, and it came out ridiculously
smooth and creamy. I love that this recipe doesn’t use cashews, as I don’t have a high speed blender. I really can’t get over how luxurious and velvet-like the texture of this sauce is. I even forgot to add the arrowroot powder, but I didn’t notice a difference. Thank you so much for the fabulous recipe!

This was incredible. I haven’t had a great mac and cheese in ages. Fed it to 4 kids, all of whom loved it. Lightened up on the spices (no thyme, less sage, no pumpkin spice) because they can be a picky bunch. Made a double batch and all of it was gone! Amazing recipe, thanks!

Hello
I made this recipe last night, it was very good and unique. I personally found the flavor of sage too strong, so next time I would use less of it.
I put the pasta and the sauce in a casserole and cooked it in the oven for 10 minutes at 150 celcius , and then grilled it for 5. It made a little crust soo good!

I can’t tell you how delicious this was!! Made it tonight and it is so creamy and flavorful. So easy too…The blender does all the work! I didn’t have sage so added basil and it was still delicious. Thank you for this amazing recipe!

Holy moly was this tasty! The husband and I love pumpkin and pasta so making this dish was a no-brainer, and it delivered! SO good. Except for the use of canned pumpkin – it was already in the cupboard – I followed the recipe to a tee. The husband topped his with some extra cheddar shreds but the end result was so smooth I don’t know if it needed it… The best thing about this dish is it satisfies that love of creamy pasta without feeling like you ate a brick!

This was so YUMMY! I roasted 2 small squashes from my CSA box (Koginut and Black Futsu) and proceeded as directed. Simple to make and so delicious. I was too lazy to add fried sage leaves to the top but I really should have. I imagine it would have been even better. Thank you for a great dinner!

I just made this and it was absolutely delicious! I froze some the sauce, will see how it turns out…
I only used a couple leaves of dried sage as it tasted quite strong, no thyme, replaced the pumpkin spice with just a dash of cinnamon and used espelette pepper instead of cayenne.
It’s definitely going to become a weekly recipe of mine!

WOW!
I will make this all year long. Not just autumn.
What a cozy pasta, and SOOOO easy to prep. I used canned pumpkin, and had enough for the pumpkin biscuits 😋

We made this last night, and my husband couldn’t get over how savory the sauce was! I used canned pumpkin with great results and didn’t buy fresh thyme but the store bought spice version still really stood out in the recipe. Topped with chopped pecans for crunch. Perfect! Thank you for the recipe!

This was delicious! Your recipes never let me down! Thank you for sharing!

We have way too many pumpkins in our yard, so this recipe came in handy! The pumpkin I used was mildly flavored, probably since it was rather large. So I used a little extra nutritional yeast and vegan parmesan. It was a perfect cheesy consistency using the exact amount of “milk” and arrowroot specified. I added the pasta and sauce and some diced tomatoes to a casserole dish, and topped it with more grated vegan cheese, sage and bread crumbs, then put it under the broiler for 5 minutes. It turned out awesome!

This was delicious and very easy to make! I followed the sauce recipe more or less as written using canned pumpkin purée and thyme, and just added a little extra vegan parmesan and a splash of apple cider vinegar for some zing. I mixed a bunch of sautéed kale in with the pasta + sauce and topped it with some hot sauce (Cholula green pepper sauce was A++ on this). I think this would also be great with other veggie add-ins (e.g. broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms). We’ll be making this again regularly!

Oh my, this was just oh so good! I really loved it. I used hazelnut milk as that was the only milk I had and it tasted amazing! Next time, I think I will try doubling the garlic, it smelled so heavenly when I was roasting it so I think I would like to taste it more in the finished sauce.

Made this tonight and mmmm! Used organic pumpkin puree from TJ’s, pan sauteed the garlic in olive oil, used brown rice pasta, and oat milk as subs. Only used 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast since this was the first time we ever tried it (I’ve heard it can upset your stomach if you overdo it the first time). My 2 year old son and I loved it! Thank you for the recipe! We are trying more vegan dishes than not this year and this was a familiar, warm and flavorful dish. Delicious!

Hello Dana,
I made this yesterday and it was so yummy. I used Banza chick pea pasta (and I had my Italian friend on the phone coaching me through the pasta because I’ve never been able to do dry pasta well) I had to use pumpkin puree from a can. I didn’t modify but will likely add more nutritional yeast next time. And the Vegan Parm was so easy.
It came out great and tasted good cold for lunch today at work with plain greens. I love cold mac and cheese so I was very happy. Thank you for all these great recipes and bringing foods to my kitchen that I once thought were only available at restaurants.

As an aside, a DIY video on making great dry pasta would be helpful to me. It seems so simple but I ruin it most of the time.

I recently used chickpea pasta, pumpkin purée, sage only, and added smoked paprika for additional flavor. Love this recipe! I’ve also tried this with jalapeño cheddar cheese in place of the vegan cheese substitutes — and it was delicious!

Spices are brilliant!!!

Loved it! Thank you! Works with store bought pumpkin puree too in case someone wants to save time

A perfect amalgamation of flavors. I used canned pumpkin but would like to try the whole pumpkin route next time. I loved the pine nuts and sauteed sage garnish. Looking forward to trying your other pumpkin recipes soon. :3

First recipe I’ve EVER followed that turned out literally perfect. I’m going to make this again and again and again, it’s absolutely genius. 100% impressed. Making this literally made my week. Thank you!

Wow! This was gourmetish. I made this for my daughter and I. A sauce with sausage for my husband. He preferred ours! Who wouldn’t?! This was nothing like the mac n cheese we have here. This is good enough for company. I too used 1/2 fresh thyme and 1/2 fresh sage. Devine! Added a tsp of veggie broth powder as well. Served with a side salad and baguette. Bookmarked and a keeper! Thank you!

I’m in love I’m love and I don’t care who knows it!!! This is my new favorite fall dinner recipe, and I’m psyched that it’s only the beginning of September. I followed it to a T and you really are missing out if you don’t try this golden dish. <3

I made this by roasting a pumpkin and subbed arrowroot for corn flour. so yum! I couldn’t find vegan parmesan cheese (thnx australia), so only had nutritional yeast. it missed the sharpness, so i shall be adding lemon to my left overs! yum!!!

Made this for Thanksgiving dinner this year and it was a huge hit with the family! Had to share the recipe with several family members the next day upon request :)

I used canned pumpkin and it worked just fine!

My mom gave me 4 cups of left over frozen pumpkin, so I had to give this recipe a try. I used cornstarch instead of arrowroot and used coconut milk for the plant milk. It was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making again.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like the flavor combination but I actually really liked how everything came together. My only suggested change would be using less arrowroot (1 tablespoon max) as this did taste a bit starchy.

I decided not to use the blender since I was using Pumpkin Puree and just made sure to mix everything together in my saute pan. Fewer dishes to clean on a Sunday night can never be a bad thing…

I added a lot of crushed red pepper and sauteed mushrooms to mine, then broiled for 3 minutes with additional vegan parmesan cheese and panko to top everything off.

So delicious !! This confort food is perfect for automn.
Kiss from France
Fanny

Made this as a dish for thanksgiving and it was so yummy! I used corn starch instead of arrowroot (cuz I couldn’t find any) added cinnamon and extra pumpkin pie spice, also lots of the vegan parm cheese which was delicious, and baked it for 15 min after. Would definitely make this again.

This was my first time using fresh sage. Google it. It’s extremely bitter and do not use too much! It ruined the whole recipe. Next time I would just stick with the dried thyme I have in my cabinet. Dana, I feel like it would be helpful to note *dried* in the ingredients list or mention a warning in the post.

I saved time by cooking the whole pumpkin in the instant pot.

I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and tweaked it a bit each time. Since I usually serve it as an entree, I like to bulk it up and add more protein. So, I added 1 can of white beans to the blender with everything else and then adjusted the seasonings. Sometimes, I add roasted kale (tossed with a little oil, salt, and pepper) on top too.

Made this tonight. It’s SO delicious! Thank you for sensational recipe! :)

Hello! I made this recipe yesterday for dinner but apparently I made too much pumpkin purée! I have a lot of leftover. Any idea what I can do with the rest of a pumpkin purée? The sauce was delicious, thank you for this recipe!
Klara

This is my FAVORITE go-to recipe! So cheap, simple, easy, AND delicious! I don’t have a high-capacity or high-powered blender… So I sautee the sage, garlic, and pumpkin pie spice in the oil before adding in the pumpkin. Absolutely no need to blend – it’s delicious as-is! For a bit of added protein, I swap in red lentil pasta… Soooo dreamy and filling! Every time I warm it up at work, I get loads of compliments on the smell.

I mostly loved this! It was creamy, warm, and satisfying. However, I’m not big on sweetness, so the pumpkin pie spice gave it too much of a dessert vibe for me. I tried balancing it out with extra nutritional yeast and cayenne pepper, which helped. I want to try this with canned butternut squash to see what that does to the flavor!

I LOVE this recipe – I’ve made it a couple of times and tonight I really wanted some comfort food – also had fresh peas. It was wonderful- thank you !!
Wish I could send a picture –

This was AMAZING! Used canned pumpkin, and instead of blending I sauteed the garlic, sage, and spices in a pot, added the pumpkin and milk, and then slowly incorporated (TONS) of nutritional yeast until it hit desired flavor and texture! So easy and SO delicious!

THANK YOU for the recipe!!

I added a rinsed tin of white beans, whizzed up in my nutribullet to up the protein content. Tasted delicious!

I made this on a cold Spring night. Amazing texture and flavor! I did not have sage or thyme handy but added 1 tbsp Herbes de Provence, dijon mustard and omitted the arrowroot starch. I placed the pumpkin ‘cheese’ sauce with the gluten free pasta into a casserole, topped it with Daiya cheddar cheese, popped it in the oven for 15 mins for an extra crispy topping. I garnished the dish with fried capers. Really an inspirational recipe, thank you, Dana!

This is amazing!!!!!! Instead of using pasta i used brown rice it was great!

I’ve made this twice and I only used Canned pumpkin. I added garlic infused oil to the pumpkin as instructed in the notes and it really helped!
I added steamed broccoli, vegan cheese, basil and sriracha to it and this is definitely a keeper!
Thank you!!??

Made this for dinner tonight, using canned pumpkin. Was pretty good, but agree that fresh pumpkin would have been better.

For me, this dish needs something to make it interesting. It was bland. I used the fresh pumpkin, and I like pumpkin, but the sauce tasted starchy and flat dispite the seasonings.

I love this recipe! Today was my second time making it and I didn’t have a dairy free milk this time! So I subbed it with Trader Joe’s Veggie Stock and it was just as delicious! Noms, noms, noms in my belly it went!

This was so delicious :)

I just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! It satisfied my craving for something warm and creamy on a rainy day. I could eat this sauce with a spoon! That being said, I actually served it with some gluten free gnocchi and threw in some pan seared tempeh for extra protien. I found that adding the red pepper flakes and a little extra salt really made a difference in the taste.

I made this last night, and I loved it. I was looking for an alternative to tomato sauce and this recipe was a welcomed change. I used canned pumpkin and found my sauce to be a little off (too bitter maybe?) so I added some unsweetened applesauce to take the edge off and that worked out great. I wonder if baking the fresh pumpkin makes the sauce naturally sweeter. I’m too tired when I come home from work to do that extra step. I also liked the consistency of the sauce, very comforting on a winter night. Thanks again for sharing your amazing ideas with us!!

I made this last week (with canned pumpkin) and it was better than I was anticipating. I’ve never had pumpkin pasta before, so I wasn’t really sure what to think before cooking, but this turned out well! Even my boyfriend said that he was surprised at how good it was! The leftovers weren’t my favorite – I find that cashew cream sauces thicken up so much that it makes the leftovers a bit less appealing to me, but I would definitely make this again.

I made this last night for my husband and I. He usually dislikes cheese and never grew up liking mac and cheese, and he loved it! The sauce was perfect and I used red lentil pasta to hopefully up the protein. We made it with salad and roasted veggies as well! Thanks for the recipe!!

I made this tonight. Dear sweet Baby Jesus: the BEST vegan mac and cheese I have ever had. Hands down. We grew “tan cheese” pumpkins in our garden this Autumn which are wonderfully flavorful. I roasted one of those. I subbed cashew milk for almond (I try to minimize almond use due to the water issues in CA). I didn’t have pumpkin pie mix and used cinnamon instead. Added the optional red pepper flakes. Definitely used your vegan parm (love it!). I had fresh sage from my sister-in-law, so I added half fresh sage and half dried thyme. FANTASTIC! My new go-to vegan mac and cheese. Cheesy, creamy, flavorful, comfort food. Thank you!

Tasted before adding spices, was a little too sweet. Swapped pumpkin pie spice with cumin and chili p and tofurkey sausage and it came out nice and smokey. Cayenne is definitely a must on the list of optional items.

Dear Dana,
Thanks again for the incredible recipes! When being a fan of yours it’s difficult to adapt to other recipe creators – so I don’t :)
This one was wonderful, never would’ve thought of using pumpkin as base for mac n cheese.

I made this yesterday, roasted my own pumpkin and added broccoli. I totally recommend this recipe, it was amazing!

I was sooo excited to make this and it did not disappoint! I did half sage, half thyme. I used cornstarch because I did not have arrowroot starch – no issues there. I also used canned pumpkin and still tasty. Maybe someday I’ll roast a pumpkin, but for now, I’m about that #cannedlife. Looking forward to making a bigger batch next time!

I made this with chickpea pasta and WOW that was a filling meal. It was also awesome broiled with both extra cheese and gf panko :)

I made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful! I subbed dry sage and thyme for fresh and also added chopped mushrooms and spinach which worked well. I did everything else the same as written above and it turned out great. My toddler loved this too, so I will definitely be making this again.

Thanks for the great recipe!

Had a craving for rice pasta but w/something different than tomato sauce….shoulda stuck with tomatoe or anything but this..just not a good taste-combo; sorry. Overpowered by fresh sage even though I used a tsp (fresh sage is best sauteed). Saved the meal by adding about 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup fresh chicken bone broth (was very thick pumpkin puree and I didn’t use the arrowroot) and more roasted red pepper/garlic seasoning! Waste of pumpkin…:(

I JUST made this and it’s glorious. It’s so rich even without any added fats (I didn’t use the olive oil). I used canned pumpkin and red lentil penne so I had it on the table in like 20 minutes. I subbed the fresh sage for 1 tbsp dried and the vegan Parmesan for more nutritional yeast (and a little more salt too) because I was lazy and didn’t want to make vegan parm. You could definitely stretch the sauce further and make another serving or two of pasta – but I like it saucy so this was perfect. Gonna bring it to school and reheat it tomorrow for lunch. Yum!