Butternut Squash Noodles with Spinach & Cashew Sauce (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Vegan, gluten free, and quick to prepare, these butternut squash noodles with a spinach cashew sauce make a healthy and delicious weeknight dinner.

With the weather starting to be a little bit chilly lately, it is time to treat ourselves with a comfort healthy dish, and my suggestion today is: butternut squash noodles with spinach and a delicious cashew sauce.

Deliciously vegan and gluten-free

Regarding the increasing number of vegan recipes on the blog lately, you might wonder if I didn’t turn vegan, or if I intend to. Well, let’s say that even if I am not vegan myself, I love plant based recipes and I strongly believe that vegan cuisine, far from being fade and pointless as its detractors might say, is on the contrary very creative. Often healthy, it also has a great impact on the environment, helping us to reduce our meat intake. So I think that everyone should try vegan recipes from time to time; it’s a win-win: it’s good for you, it’s good for the planet.

The recipe is also naturally gluten-free, and believe me, you won’t miss the carbs in here. Creamy, cozy and comforting, this dish of butternut squash noodles has it all!

An easy veggie spiralizer recipe

Back to this recipe, I made veggie noodles again! In other words, I turned vegetables into long shape noodles with the help of a spiralizer. Veggie noodles are a fun way to eat more veggies. They also enables you to create brand new pasta dish, except that instead of pasta we use veggies.

Basically, almost any hard or firm-fleshed vegetable can make veggie noodles. It works with zucchini (check this Sesame crusted Ahi tuna with zoodles and this Healthy Greek Zucchini Salad), cucumber, but also with sweet potatoes, beet, etc. For this recipe, I went for butternut squash and spiralized them into noodles.

How to spiralize veggies?

I don’t like collecting any useless utensils in the kitchen, but if I had to keep one, I would definitely go for a spiralizer. As for the choice of the spiralizer, I recommend the KitchenAid spiralizer accessory, which yields incredible results.

Here’s how to: The vegetable skewer holds the food in place. Once the skewer is attached, use the release lever to move the blade carrier into position and turn the mixer on so the blade and peeler can move toward the skewer and let the magic happens.

What if I don’t have a spiralizer?

If however you don’t want to invest in a spiralizer, you can still make homemade noodles using a potato peelers. Instead of long spaghetti you will have long thin tagliatelle, but it works very well too!

One quick tip for busy days: just dice the butternut squash (instead of spiralize it) and sauté for a few minutes with some vegetable oil until tender. You can also go for ready-to-use butternut squash noodles (we find them in Whole Foods for instance). Then you just need to sauté for a few minutes, add fresh baby spinach, make the cashew sauce, and dinner is ready before you know it! 

Also, if you fancy a variant of this recipe, simply use/make sweet potato noodles instead!

An incredible cashew sauce

I made it fully vegan and believe me, you won’t miss any dairy product such as cream in this dish. The flavors and the texture are just perfect! So here, the cream is made out of cashews! Here’s how to:

1. Toast raw, unsalted cashew a few seconds in a pan, until golden.
2. Transfer to a food processor.
3. Add garlic, a drizzle of maple syrup, a pinch of salt, and mixed it all.

Yes, it is this simple! Then just adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper according to your taste and add it to the butternut squash noodles.

Quick tip: If you have cashew sauce leftovers, store in an mason jar and keep in the fridge. You can then use it as a dressing for many other dishes or salads.

More butternut squash recipes you’ll love:

• Butternut Squash Spinach and Goat Cheese Lasagna
• Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash
• Roasted Turmeric Delicata Squash Quinoa Bowl with a Mint Pesto
• Butternut Squash Risotto with Sautéed Mushrooms
• Indian Mango Butternut Squash Curry

Butternut Squash Noodles with Spinach & Cashew Sauce (Vegan, Gluten Free)

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• Author: Delphine Fortin
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 8 mins
• Total Time: 38 mins
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Savory
• Cuisine: Healthy

Vegan, gluten free, and quick to prepare, these butternut squash noodles with a spinach cashew sauce make a healthy and delicious weeknight dinner.

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Ingredients

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For the cashew sauce:

• 1 cup (150g) cashews
• 1 Tablespoon clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the butter squash noodles:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 2 cups (450g) baby spinach
• Salt & pepper to taste

To serve:

• 2 Tablespoons toasted cashews

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Instructions

1. For the sauce: place cashews in a saute pan and roast for about 5 minutes until toasted. Transfer the cashews to a blender (or food processor), together with minced garlic, maple syrup, water and salt. Blend until very smooth. Add more water if needed.
2. For the butter squash noodles : Cut off the ends of the butternut squash and cut in half. Load the squash on the spiralizer and spiralize the whole half. You can also use a peeler to peel the squash into long, thin, noodle like, strips.*
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the butternut squash noodles, and toss in the pan for 3-4 minutes with tongs until tender-crisp.
4. Lower the heat a little and toss in the spinach. Cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Add half of the cashew sauce, and toss to combine. Add water if the mixture is too sticky. Season generously with salt and pepper, and sprinkle toasted cahews on top.

Notes

* You can also find some butternut squash noodles ready to use in your supermarket.

Dairy-Free, Fall, Gluten-Free, Healthy, Nuts, Pasta & Noodles, Pumpkins (Winter Squash), Quick & Easy, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Did you make this recipe?

Lastly, if you make this Butternut Squash Noodles with Spinach & Cashew Sauce (Vegan, Gluten Free), be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!