Vegan Pumpkin Casserole with Mince
There are countless ways to prepare pumpkin in autumn, from pumpkin pie and pumpkin pasta to pumpkin cookies. Today, we're showing you how to make a delicious pasta casserole with pumpkin and plant-based mince that's hearty, full of fall flavors, super easy to prepare, and, most importantly, will leave all your family members, friends, or guests happy and satisfied.
The casserole consists of three components:
The pasta pumpkin layer: Before the pasta goes into the casserole dish, we cook it in a vegan cream sauce until almost al dente. It will have time to finish cooking in the oven. We mix vegan shredded cheese and dried herbs into the cream sauce. We used fusilli in our recipe, but of course, other short pasta varieties will work too.
The "mince" layer: For our vegan mince layer, we used** [The Vegan Hack by Tomami]**(https://tomami.eu/de/the-vegan-hack/). It's an unseasoned and versatile natural meat alternative made from European pea and sunflower protein. You mix the vegan meat with oil, water, and spices, let it swell in the fridge, and in the end, you'll get 300 grams of vegan meat from 100 grams of the mix. You can then shape the mixture into balls or patties and fry them, or fry the whole mixture in a pan and crumble it with a spatula, just like we did in the recipe.
The "cheese" layer: we love using vegan shredded cheese for the cheese layer. We add a bit of oil in a bowl or directly in the package, which helps the vegan cheese melt better. If you add panko (or breadcrumbs), the layer becomes extra crispy, which we love. You can also mix in dried herbs according to your taste. We added dried sage, which paired wonderfully.
So, what are you waiting for? Let's get started!
Vegan Pumpkin Casserole with Mince
Ingredients
For the vegan mince layer:
- 200 g (7 oz) plant-based mince (e.g. by Tomami)
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 tsp hot paprika powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
For the pasta and vegan cream sauce:
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 onion
- 300 ml (1.25 cups) plant-based milk
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegan cream
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 300 g (10.5 oz) short pasta
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 50 g (1.75 oz) vegan shredded cheese
- nutmeg
For the topping:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan shredded cheese
- 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
- 50 g (1.75 oz) panko breadcrumbs (or regular breadcrumbs)
- 1 tsp dried sage (optional)
Additionally:
- 500 g (1 lbs) Hokkaido pumpkin
- side salad
- vegan butter for greasing
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Prepare the vegan ground meat according to the package instructions. For Tomami’s Vegan Hack, mix 200 grams / 7 ounces of the dry mix with 40 grams / 1.5 ounces of oil and 400 milliliters / 1.75 cups of cold water. Finely chop the onion and garlic and fold them in. Additionally, add mustard, liquid smoke, soy sauce, sweet paprika, hot paprika, and cayenne pepper. Mix everything thoroughly and let it swell in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While the ground meat is resting, prepare the vegan cream sauce. Melt vegan butter in a pot over medium heat. Finely dice the onion and sauté until translucent. Then add plant-based milk, vegan cream, and water, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, add the pasta and remove from heat 2 minutes before the pasta is al dente. Now add nutritional yeast, rosemary, thyme, vegan shredded cheese, and nutmeg, and stir well. Set the pot aside.
Remove the seeds from the pumpkin (you won't need the seeds) and cut it into 1-centimeter / 0.5-inch cubes.
Take the plant-based mince out of the fridge and fry it in a pan with oil until golden brown. Use a spatula to break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Heat vegan butter in a small pan until it bubbles, then fry the edible pumpkin seeds for 2–3 minutes. Season with agave syrup, salt, and pepper, and fold them into the fried mince.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (fan/convection) and grease a baking dish (33 x 20 centimeter / 13 x 8 inches) with vegan butter. First, pour the pasta and sauce into the dish, add the pumpkin cubes on top, and finally, layer the vegan ground meat on top.
For the crispy cheese crust, first mix oil with the vegan shredded cheese. Then mix the shredded cheese with panko breadcrumbs and optionally dried sage, and use this to top the casserole. Bake the pasta casserole at 180°C / 355°F (fan) for about 30 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the vegan cheese layer is golden brown and crispy. If desired, you can use the oven's broiler or grill function to brown the casserole further for a few minutes. Serve the bake with a side salad.
