Baked Pumpkin Walnut Rotini

A baked pumpkin pasta is the perfect start to bringing in that traditional autumn flavor.

Happy October-- my favorite month of the year! I'm looking forward to pumpkin flavored meals, new themed treats to review, birthday cakes (gotta have more than one), and scary movie marathons.
I start off with a dish inspired by bonnie_rabbits Instagram. She had created a scrumptious pumpkin lasagna during Vegan Mofo 2018 commemorating the pumpkin emoji. Now I used rotini pasta as opposed to prepping lasagna-- that's a challenge for another day. 
The simple orange sauce is rich and nutty, complementing the pasta and broccoli beautifully.

Baked Pumpkin Walnut Rotini Ingredients and Preparation

2 1/2 cup rotini
1 1/2 cup broccoli (or any green vegetable like spinach or kale)
1 1/2 cup walnuts (soaked for 6-8 hours or overnight)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon almond milk
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pumpkin seeds (optional)

Cook pasta and broccoli according to package directions. Pour into a baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a blender or food processor, combine walnuts, pumpkin, nutritional yeast, almond milk, garlic, turmeric, salt, basil, and black pepper until thick and creamy.
Fold sauce into pasta and broccoli. Top with pumpkin seeds if desired.
Bake for thirty minutes.

Out of the oven.

And straight to the plate.