Today I head to Israel for a little over a week. I land in Tel Aviv then head to Jerusalem later this week. How crazy is that? Blogging has been such a wonderful and unique career that’s taken me places I’ve never even dreamed I’d see in my lifetime. I’m beyond grateful for your readership throughout the years and how I’m able to connect with many of you beyond just the recipes here.
Lately I’ve been practicing slow, deep breathing to help with some of the chaos I’m feeling; you know the chaos that stems from over scheduling, travel and the busy winter months. I suppose that from afar blogging might seem easy. Like I just whip out recipes, photograph them, write a few paragraphs and pop them into a post.
But we all know appearances aren’t always what they seem. I’m not sure if it’s me always wanting to do more or being in a career that’s growing exponentially, but I can never find myself having enough time during the day, the week, or the months to finish my to-do list. Maybe that’s all of us these days though.
Right now, I’m getting back into yoga because of the ability it has to ground you. I had to stop practicing for a while due to an injury, but now yoga calls to me more than anything else. I crave the warmth of the room and the feeling of appreciation I feel as soon as I step on my mat.
Often I find that being within the four corners of my mat take away my stress. I stop to remind myself how beautiful this life is with each pose and how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life. These two simple things empower my spirit to take things a little slower and to not take on more than I am able.
Food wise, I’m focusing on comforting food. Food that warms me up when the chill comes in from outside. One of my favorite foods to make during the cooler months is butternut squash. I love its versatility and the way you can blend it into a pasta sauce or eat it straight from the oven.
Just the other day I made this butternut squash pasta and slurped it up in a big bowl with peas and a side of crusty garlic bread. I’m not quite sure why I haven’t made a butternut squash pasta sauce before, but I can tell you now that this will be on repeat in our home for years to come.
And the best part isn’t just the fact that it’s healthy and delicious — but that you can also make this dish vegan and gluten free, if desired!
To make the butternut squash sauce, you’ll roast squash cubes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Then you’ll toss it into the food processor and blend with almond milk and a little cream cheese to make it extra creamy good! I like to use Go Veggie’s vegan cream cheese to keep things vegan. It’s also now Non-GMO Project certified — so you can feel good about adding it to your food & recipes!
After the sauce comes together, simply toss with your favorite cooked pasta (I use brown rice pasta) and peas. Enjoy with salt and pepper, to taste!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I have. If you aren’t into peas, try it with broccoli (just boil a few cups of raw broccoli florets with the noodles)! And if you aren’t vegan, turkey bacon crumbles are delicious on top too! xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Peas (vegan & gluten free!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups 1/2-inch cubed butternut squash (from a 2 pound butternut squash)
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 oz brown rice pasta (or any pasta you like)
- 2 tablespoons GO VEGGIE! vegan plain cream cheese
- 3/4 cup-1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or coconut milk)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place butternut squash cubes on a large baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top. Season with salt and pepper. Use hands to toss the butternut squash and olive oil together, then evenly spread out on the pan. Add unpeeled garlic cloves to the sheet (they’ll roast in the oven!).
- Roast squash for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from oven and set aside a few minutes to cool.
- Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot so that it’s al dente (my brown rice noodles take me 10 minutes).
- While the pasta is cooking you can make the sauce by adding the squash, peeled roasted garlic (don’t forget to peel it), Go Veggie cream cheese and almond milk to the bowl of a food processor (or high powered blender). Process until smooth and creamy, adding additional milk if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once noodles are done, drain, return to pot and place over low heat. Add thawed peas and butternut squash sauce. Stir to combine.
- Serve in warm bowls with salt and pepper. If you are a non vegetarian, crumbled turkey bacon is fantastic on top! If you aren't, I recommend adding a little hot sauce -- it's fantastic!
Nutrition
This post is in partnership with Go Veggie, a brand I’ve worked with for over 3 years. Thank you for supporting AK and the brands that help make this site possible! You rock.
YUM! I adore pasta dishes like this! So gotta try!
You must must try iced cafe in Israel, the passionfruit juice, all the fresh and dried fruit from the outdoor markets, shoko b-shakit (chocolate milk in a bag), and of course shwarma!
Great recipe! More carbs though then I like to consume though. Would subbing the pasta with spiralized squash/zucchini work too? Ever try that and find success?
Yes, I think zucchini noodles would be great! 🙂
Dear Monique,
I’m so excited for you! Israel is magnificent and fascinating. I’ve been to Israel many times and asked friends and family for their favorite foods in Israel. I hope you have excellent guides so that you can maximize your experience! Here’s the list..
-Falafel, shwarma, Meorav Yerushalmi (Mixed grill) in a pita or laffa bread. Try all the salads offered!
-Breakfast: Shakshuka
We love the Cafit restaurants for breakfast. In Jerusalem there is one across from the Mamila Mall and one in the German Colony
You will love Mahaneh Yehuda-open air market produce, spices, halvah, juices, olives, restaurants. Buy a bagela (large sesame seed covered “bagel” and ask for Za’atar (mixed spice mix
This is the place to try a Kurdish/Iraqi soup called kubeh. My grandmother goes weekly to Angel bakery in the market–worth the time and calories to try the fresh baked goods especially Rugelach and bourekas.
Have a wonderful trip!!
Dear Monique,
I’m so excited for you! Israel is magnificent and fascinating. I hope you have excellent guides so that you can maximize your experience! Here’s the list..
-Falafel, shwarma, Meorav Yerushalmi (Mixed grill) in a pita or laffa bread. Try all the salads offered!
-Breakfast: Shakshuka-We love the Cafit restaurants for breakfast.
-You will love Mahaneh Yehuda-open air market produce, spices, halvah, juices, olives, restaurants. Buy a bagela (large sesame seed covered “bagel” and ask for Za’atar (spice mix)This is the place to try a Kurdish/Iraqi soup called kubeh. My grandmother goes weekly to Angel bakery in the market–worth the time and calories to try the fresh baked goods especially rugelach and bourekas.
Have a wonderful trip!!
Oh my gosh, have an absolutely incredible time in Israel!! I think it’s fantastic that you’re able to travel this much for your work. GOALS! This pasta also looks incredibly comforting and delicious, totally making this tonight! 🙂 Have a safe flight Monique! xoxo
Well this looks absolutely fabulous!
i find squash to be pretty creamy on its own, but i bet it’s even better when boosted with cream cheese and milk! hope you have an amazing time in israel; i hope you have time to rest and rejuvenate and explore (:
This pasta is the DEFINITION of a perfect fall dinner recipe! Looks absolutely delicious!
Enjoy Israel! It’s unbelievable there! Thanks for the beautiful recipe and honest post. I can only imagine how stressful it is to manage it all. I’m glad to hear you’re taking time to think about what will make you feel better during this busy, stressful time
Enjoy Israel! It’s unbelievable there! Thanks for the beautiful recipe and honest post. I can only imagine how stressful it is to manage it all. I’m glad to hear you’re taking time to think about what will make you feel better during this busy, stressful time.
This pasta dish looks so hearty and comforting! I LOVE the idea of the creamy butternut squash sauce! Comfort food is the best way to destress:)
So excited to hear about your travels! Love the peas + butternut squash combo 🙂
Hi Monique,
this recipe sounds exactly like the THING to make tonight!
Do you think this would reheat well?
Thanks
Steph
i love pasta in every combination, delicious!
This looks divine! I love adding peas to pasta dishes, they have a satisfying texture 😀
https://sophiawhitham.co.uk
This recipe looks so delicious. Perfect comfort food! I see you use the GO VEGGIE! vegan cream cheese, is that brand your favorite? (Just started trying vegan cream cheese and I am always looking for more ha!)
Can’t wait to try this- nom nom nom?
This was good..loosened the sauce with pasta water and chicken boullion..fried prosciutto and sliced for top…yum!
Delicious! So glad you enjoyed!
This sauce is delicious!!! I made it last night and it was a hit!
Amazing! So glad you liked it.
I give it 5 stars but can’t get them all to light up on my mobile. I made this for the family tonight. It was a hit. Even my picky two year old slurped it down with a smile. Thanks for sharing, I will come back here for other meal ideas and keep this simple meal in the rotation.
So happy to hear that, Patrick! Hope you find some more recipes the whole family loves 🙂
With only 7 ingredients, this meal can be made by anyone!
This was great! I made it with cavatappi pasta and used regular cream cheese. Will definitely be in my rotation!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This pasta is delicious and so simple! A family favourite here for sure
So happy to hear that!
This was delicious and a great lighter pasta dish. I added pancetta and sautéed onions as well, which added a nice texture and saltiness.
Ooh that sounds delicious! Happy you enjoyed it, Kate!
I’m sorry but this was nasty bland and a miss with the family
So sorry you guys didn’t love this one, Tanishia, but really appreciate the feedback. I have a similar recipe here that I published just a few months ago that you might enjoy more.
Hi, I’d like to try this recipe without using the vegan cream cheese. Would I be able to substitute soaked cashews?
Thank you!
Hi! I haven’t tested this recipe using soaked cashews — I don’t think the sauce will have enough flavor and may need more salt, nutritional yeast, etc.
So I LOVE ambitious kitchen and have made so so many recipes that are chef’s kiss delicious. This however, was a big bummer. Bland, and just kind of mush in a bowl with a totally Kraft Mac n Cheese science cheese color. But one ick out of tons of oh my’s this is amazing — it happens.
Sorry to hear that, Lori! This is a very old recipe (almost 10 years ago!), so sometimes I have to go back and do some tweaking 🙂 thank you for your feedback!