Vegan, garlicky tahini Alfredo cream sauce drizzled over roasted spaghetti squash, topped with roasted chickpeas and cherry tomatoes, is the perfect plant-powered comfort dish for early autumn!
This past week, spaghetti squash was included in our community supported agriculture basket! While I love all winter squash, I must admit that spaghetti squash is the variety I buy the least often. I’m simply too enamoured with the delicata and butternut varieties! However, given that it was in our CSA, I had the perfect opportunity to create something new and inventive using it as the base.
While I love making vegan cream sauces with cashews, I’ve been a little tired of them lately. They also tend to be quite expensive, which doesn’t always bode well with everyone’s budgets- mine included! I’ve seen a few tahini Alfredo sauce recipes on the internet, so I figured I would try my hand at creating one myself to enjoy on the spaghetti squash.
In keeping with the Mediterranean theme provided by Alfredo sauce and tahini, I roasted some chickpeas with Za’atar (a middle eastern spice blend with sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds), sliced the last of the local cherry tomatoes, and sprinkled everything with some cashew-hemp parmesan. All in all, it turned out to be an incredibly hearty, vegetable-packed main dish with layers upon layers of flavour and texture! (Although, yes, I also cooked pasta for one particular individual in the house who can’t quite wrap his head around eating a meal without any grain component, so I wholeheartedly support you if you’d prefer to skip the spaghetti squash and use real spaghetti in its place!)
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- FOR THE SQUASH: Spaghetti squash, oil (either extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, melted ghee, or melted coconut oil), sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. The sauce and toppings make enough to serve six, so I would count on one spaghetti squash for every two people. In other words, to serve six, you’ll need three spaghetti squash.
- FOR THE ZA’ATAR-ROASTED CHICKPEAS: Chickpeas (3 cups cooked), za’atar spice (which you can make or purchase), oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If you don’t have time to make or buy za’atar, don’t worry! It adds flavour, but this recipe will still be delicious without it.
- FOR THE TAHINI ALFREDO SAUCE: Oil, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, capers, water, and flour or arrowroot.
- FOR THE TOPPINGS: Sliced cherry tomatoes (or other seasonal vegetables of choice), chopped olives or olive paste, and cashew hemp parmesan or pecorino cheese, if you eat dairy.
step by step instructions
- Roast the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with za’atar, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer onto a baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until fragrant and browned.
- Roast the spaghetti squash. (Depending on size of baking sheet you have, the number of squash you are cooking, you might be able to roast the squash at the same time as the chickpeas.)There are a few ways to do this, but the following is my preferred method, which I learned from this helpful post by Kathryne Taylor. First, slice the squash in half lengthwise. (Be very careful. Squash can be difficult to slice through.) Scoop out the seeds and discard or save to roast later, and brush each half with ¾ of a teaspoon of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place face-down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining squash, and roast at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes, depending on how large your squash are. You’ll know that they are ready when the flesh is tender and you are able to use a fork to make “spaghetti” strands with it. Don’t worry about the starchy water that pools underneath the squash while it’s baking- the parchment paper makes for very easy cleanup.
- Once the squash is ready, use a sturdy fork or spatula to flip them over to the right side up position and use a fork to make strands of spaghetti out of the flesh. Keep the “spaghetti” in the skin for a beautiful serving presentation- everyone gets their own “bowl!”
- Meanwhile, make the tahini Alfredo sauce. Warm the oil in a small saucepan. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned and fragrant. Remove from the heat. In an upright blender, combine the tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dijon, nutritional yeast, capers, water, and cooked garlic. Blend until smooth. The sauce will seem quite runny at this point, but this is normal. We are going to thicken it next.
- Transfer the tahini Alfredo sauce to a medium saucepan. Sprinkle in the flour or arrowroot and turn on heat to medium-low. Whisk to incoporate. Cook, whisking often, until the sauce thickens to mimic the consistency of a true cream sauce. This usually takes about 10 minutes on my stovetop. If using arrowroot, be careful not to overheat the mixture, since this can reduce its thickening ability.
- Finally, prepare the remaining toppings: Slice the tomato, whip up the cashew-hemp parmesan or finely grate some pecorino if you haven’t already done so, slice the olives, if using, and chop some parsley.
- To serve, drizzle your desired amount of tahini Alfredo sauce over each spaghetti squash half. Top with the roasted chickpeas, tomato, olives, parmesan or pecorino, and parsley. Serve immediately with a side salad and perhaps some good bread and butter, in the event that you, too, are a lover of grain. 🙂
more squash recipes
- Cheesy Vegan Butternut Squash and White Bean Pasta
- Curried Lentil and Butternut Squash Roti
- Simple Lentil and Rice Stuffed Squash
I hope that you love this tahini Alfredo spaghetti squash! If you’re having an unconventional Thanksgiving this year, it could make a very delicious and dazzling centrepiece or side dish. Let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment or rating below, and if you share your creation on Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen so that I can see and share it with my community, too.
Enjoy!
PrintTahini Alfredo Spaghetti Squash
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan, garlicky tahini Alfredo cream sauce drizzled over roasted spaghetti squash, topped with roasted chickpeas and cherry tomatoes, is the perfect plant-powered comfort dish for early autumn!
Ingredients
Spaghetti Squash
- 3 medium spaghetti squash (count on ½ a squash per person)
- Oil, for brushing (extra virgin olive, avocado, or melted ghee/coconut oil)
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Za’atar-Roasted Chickpeas
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tsp za’atar spice (see note)
- Couple pinches fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tahini Alfredo Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 ½ lemons)
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp capers
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 tbsp light spelt flour or all purpose flour, or 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
Other Toppings
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ⅓ cup pitted olives, chopped, or olive paste
- Cashew-Hemp Parmesan or grated pecorino cheese
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Roast the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with za’atar, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer onto a baking sheet. Roast the chickpeas for 25-30 minutes, until fragrant and lightly browned.
- Roast the spaghetti squash. (Depending on size of baking sheet you have, the number of squash you are cooking, you might be able to roast the squash at the same time as the chickpeas.)There are a few ways to do this, but the following is my preferred method, which I learned from this helpful post by Kathryne Taylor. First, slice the squash in half lengthwise. (Be very careful. Squash can be difficult to slice through.) Scoop out the seeds and discard or save to roast later, and brush each half with ¾ of a teaspoon of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place face-down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining squash, and roast at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes, depending on how large your squash are. You’ll know that they are ready when the flesh is tender and you are able to use a fork to make “spaghetti” strands with it. Don’t worry about the starchy water that pools underneath the squash while it’s baking- the parchment paper makes for very easy cleanup.
- Once the squash is ready, use a sturdy fork or spatula to flip them over to the right side up position and use a fork to make strands of spaghetti out of the flesh. Keep the “spaghetti” in the skin for a beautiful serving presentation- everyone gets their own “bowl!”
- Meanwhile, make the tahini Alfredo sauce. Warm the oil in a small saucepan. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned and fragrant. Remove from the heat. In an upright blender, combine the tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dijon, nutritional yeast, capers, water, and cooked garlic. Blend until smooth. The sauce will seem quite runny at this point, but this is normal. We are going to thicken it next.
- Transfer the tahini Alfredo sauce to a medium saucepan. Sprinkle in the flour or arrowroot and turn on heat to medium-low. Whisk to incoporate. Cook, whisking often, until the sauce thickens to mimic the consistency of a true cream sauce. This usually takes about 10 minutes on my stovetop. If using arrowroot, be careful not to overheat the mixture, since this can reduce its thickening ability.
- Finally, prepare the remaining toppings: Slice the tomato, whip up the cashew-hemp parmesan or finely grate some pecorino if you haven’t already done so, slice the olives, if using, and chop some parsley.
- To serve, drizzle your desired amount of tahini Alfredo sauce over each spaghetti squash half. Top with the roasted chickpeas, tomato, olives, parmesan or pecorino, and parsley. Serve immediately with a side salad and perhaps some good bread and butter, in the event that you, too, are a lover of grain. 🙂
Notes
Za’atar recipe can be found here, and a great ready made za’atar can be found here.
If you end up roasting just one or two squashes to serve a smaller number of people, you’ll have enough leftover tahini Alfredo sauce to enjoy on real pasta the next day. The sauce is also delicious on a vegan pizza! It sounds strange, but I like to use it as a sauce base for white pizza, or dollop spoonfuls of it over a traditional pizza before baking in place of cheese.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Supper
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: tahini Alfredo spaghetti squash, vegan spaghetti sauce recipes
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