Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta Bake

Sometimes I want something a little simpler, okay a lot of times, and this was just that. I love making sauces from veggies and cashews but the cooking of the veggies gets a little time consuming and tedious when you just wanna toss and blend. I tried out adding organic canned pumpkin in place of the potato and carrot mixture and it was beyond my expectations! You can't taste the pumpkin at all and is the perfect addition to make this creamy and luscious but also a healthy hidden veggie sauce! ALL 3 of my kids LOVE this sauce!

Honestly you could also use this as a nacho cheese sauce and drizzle it over stacked nachos and use in tacos & burritos too! It is SO GOOD!


INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz gluten free pasta
• 2 small heads broccoli, chopped**

SAUCE

• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup cashews, soaked and rinsed
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2.5 cups plant based milk**
• 3 Tbsp nutitional yeast
• 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar***
• 1-2 tsp pink salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

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NOTES:
** You can use any veggie here like green beans, peppers or mixed veggies
** You can sub some or all of it out for veggie broth if you want to cut down on the fat content. I used homemade cashew milk in this recipe.
*** Try 1 tsp and taste. I like it on the tangy side so I use 2 tsp. You can sub for lemon juice if you want as well.


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Make your pasta according to the package directions, drain and rise. Set aside.
3. Wash and chop the broccoli into floret pieces. Toss with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and put on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 7-10 minutes just to soften a bit.
4. In a small pan, saute the onion and garlic in a splash of veggie broth. You can use oil if you want. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
5. In your high speed blender add all the remaining ingredients plus the cooked onion and garlic. Blend on high until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
6. Remove the broccoli out of the oven. In a 10 inch baking dish add the pasta, broccoli and the sauce. Toss to coat everything well.
7. Cover and bake for 25 minutes
8. Remove dish from the oven and serve!