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Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce

ByHiya, I’m Shashi
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Packing a nice kick from chili and cayenne, this Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce is a filling and tasty vegetarian dinner.

pepper pasta with dairy free spicy pumpkin cashew cream sauce

As you know from my last post (and the statement above); in honor of it being National Pasta Month, The National Pasta Association and The Recipe Redux are hosting a Pasta Recipe Challenge for Recipe Redux members.

As pasta is something I don’t mess with too often – I figured I would take on the challenge and post one recipe to enter the contest and be done with it.

One and done – right?!

Or so I thought…

peppers

Last night, sauteed peppers and black beans were on the menu…simple and quick and easy as my daughter and I had a “dine and dash” kind of night – actually it was more like a “dash and dine and dash some more” kind of night!

pumpkin and cashew cream sauce

But, then I spied some soaked cashews in the back of the fridge when I was getting the peppers out, and they bumped into some unused pumpkin on their way…and…that same hamster (who was responsible for that Chocolate Manicotti yesterday) started making my belly moan at the fact that dinner was only gonna be veggies and beans!

And then, as if my daughter and said hamster were on the same page, my daughter started mumbling something about being a growing child and veggies and beans needed carbs to keep her from starvation and it was her day of the week to eat some energy-boosting, brain-power-enhancing pasta and …blah…blah..blah…

pepper pasta with spicy pumpkin cashew cream sauce - dairy free

So, I did what any other lactose-intolerant parent of a hungry (bordering on hangry) teen would do and made a sauce with the cashews and pumpkin to go with the peppers and beans; and my daughter suggested – maybe some leftover pasta (used for painting) could be added in too…

…and well…

…that is how this sauce happened…

…this sauce…

…this creamy dreamy sauce…

…I am at a loss for words…

The mix of soaked cashews and pumpkin and cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika had our taste-buds humming – and quietened that high maintenance hamster and mumbling teen in the process!

This sauce is slightly spicy – but more or less chili and cayenne can be used according to your preference. Mixed with the peppers and pasta and beans – my daughter suggested this was worth an entry into the contest too.

This dish -from start to finish- took less than 25 minutes, it is extremely budget friendly and perfect for an energy-draining night of “dash and dine and dash some more”!

spicy pumpkin cashew sauced pepper pasta
epper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce

Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce

5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Shashi
Packing a nice kick from chili and cayenne, this Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce is a filling and tasty vegetarian dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry pasta
  • Olive oil
  • 1 red onion -chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 green bell pepper -chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper -chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper -chopped
  • 1 cup black beans soaked and cooked or canned
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1 cup soaked cashews Mine were in the fridge overnight
  • 1/3 cup almond milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Bring water to a boil and add pasta and cook for 10 minutes – or according to package directions
  • Coat a pan with olive oil, and saute the chopped onion and garlic for about 10 minutes
  • While the onions are sauteing, add the cashews and almond milk to a blender or food processor and whiz till creamy and set aside for a moment
  • Add the peppers and black beans and stir well for about a minute
  • Add the creamed cashews and pumpkin to the pan with the sauteed peppers and onions and garlic
  • Add the pasta and all the spices, season to taste and sprinkle with chopped fresh peppers

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Sodium: 303mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 8g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @SavorySpin or tag #savoryspin so we can share your ceation.


As the CEOH (chief eater on here), I hope to cajole you to enjoy cooking at home more. To experiment with ingredients and have fun in the kitchen. And, I hope to do that by sharing mostly easy, dairy-free, budget-friendly, fusion recipes that can be made with ingredients from your local grocery store.

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60 Comments

  8. Sashi…. So great to connect with you! Your daughter (and you) make me laugh. The pasta dish looks amazing…going to share on the blog’s FB page—everyone loves unique recipes like this one! Total YUM!

    Reply

  11. I just want a kilo of this pasta now. Never prepared a sauce using cashew cream: it’s time for me to throw together a delicious vegan pasta sauce! You’re recipes are always very inspiring.

    Reply

  13. I am fully on board with this recipe! It looks FANTASTIC and reading the ingredients…it sounds delicious. This is a winner!! (and GOSH it’s pretty!!) –Lisa

    Reply

  16. Wow! What an amazing combo of flavors! And this is the sort of dish I really like — using whatever I have in the refrigerator for inspiration. Very creative — thanks for this.

    Reply

  17. Your creativity in the kitchen always amazes me – that sauce is incredible sounding!!!
    I hope that tonight is quite as jam packed for y’all!!

    Reply

    1. Tonight was much less jam packed – specially with leftovers of this to make dinner even easier! Thanks so much Kim – I so appreciate your sweet comment, my friend. Hope your hand is feeling better

      Reply

  20. This looks really tasty and full of flavour and I love how it has a little heat. Great that it’s a budget-friendly meal too! xx

    Reply

  22. The sauce is amazing and I LOVE creating things from stuff I find in the refrigerator. Well done you!

    Reply

  29. Pumpkin cashew sauce sounds like the best thing ever! Love that there’s a kick of spice too – it looks amazing! I could eat this for breakfast lunch and dinner so sign me up for the whole batch please 🙂

    Reply

  30. Did I read that right? A cashew pumpkin sauce? My mind is blown. This meal looks so incredibly delicious…and easy, too. I’m not going to ask you to send me a batch of this because I just can’t wait that long. Plus, that darned mailman just keeps taking stuff…I couldn’t trust him to actually get this pepper pasta to me. This amazing meal is hamster and hangry teen approved…which means it gets an A+ in my book! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Thanks David! Yes you read it right -and it’s DAIRY FREE!!! Hey maybe I can give your wife some to bring back to you when she comes down to Atl? Pffft..who am I kidding, we’d break out the forks and finish it off then and there! :p

      Reply

  35. This is soo my food, no doubt! Pepper, cashew pumpkin, this could be a fusion/goan dish. Will save this for oen of these days. Thanks!

    Reply
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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