Vegan ravioli with pumpkin and herbed ricotta vegan cream cheese makes for the best fall home cooked meal. The gluten-free and vegan ravioli dough is made from scratch and then filled with rosemary roasted pumpkin and an herbed cashew ricotta. This post also includes a full vegan dinner party meal plan with easy prep ideas!

Thank you to Calphalon for being a proud sponsor of this post

How do you feel about hosting dinner parties? Love it or hate it? Live for it or dread it?

I personally love dinner parties; having get togethers where I can cook for friends and family, bringing people together of all ages at one dinner table is one of my favorite activities.

Growing up my parents frequently had friends over for dinner, with up to 10 people seated around the dinner table. Instead of going out to eat, weekends were spent socializing over home cooked meals. The houses would alternate with the host preparing the meal.

As I got older I started taking a more active role in the prep work for these dinner parties and now that I’m fully grown and a self proclaimed foodie, whenever I come home to see my parents I become the dinner party host.

Hosting a dinner party can seem like a bit of a daunting and intimidating task, but it can all be handled seamlessly and with minimal stress with a bit of proper organization. Your menu needs to be thought through in advance and timed so that you can efficiently prepare all the dishes.

In this post I’m going to show you how easy it is to host a fall themed dinner party in your own home for 6-10 people.

It all starts in the kitchen with the cookware, and that’s where Calphalon comes in. This September, Calphalon released the NEW Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick Cookware, and they’ve been generous enough to supply me with a set to give away to one lucky reader – so read on for details.

But first – why this cookware is amazing. Firstly, it stacks neatly and securely to save 30% more space in the kitchen. Thanks to the unique handle design, the pots, pans and lids stack and nest in any order. If you’re living in a huge house with a commercial sized kitchen, this might not be a huge selling point for you, but for the majority of people, myself included, kitchen space is limited, and saving cabinet space while decreasing clutter makes a world of difference.

Now, typically the first part of the dinner party cooking process requires picking out the proper pan/pot and lid from the cabinet. In the case of regular pots and pans, you will have to spend the time to find the proper lid that fits. This is a task that aggravates me every single time. Regular pots and pans do not stack up nicely, making the kitchen cabinet a complete mess, and the lids, at least in my case, are always scattered around, forcing me to go back and forth checking to see if the lid I’ve picked out fits the pot I’ll be using.

As someone who cooks multiple times every single day, this game of matching the lid with the pot simply drives me crazy. You?

When I received the Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick Cookware set I was amazed. The pots and pans all stack up in two neat piles and the lids are perfectly flat. The lids stack up right on top of the cookware.

I am honestly downright thrilled with the design as there is no more mess in the cabinet. Everything in this cookware set stacks up nicely with even the lids no longer creating a mess. This is the best cookware design I have ever seen. I’ve told everybody I know about this, and they can all sense the level of excitement in my voice.

So now that I had my Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick and Stainless Steel Cookware 10 Piece Set to do my cooking with I was ready for my fall dinner party prep.

What I’m cooking for this Vegan Fall Dinner Party Menu :

Other fall themed recipes that would be perfect here too include my Vegan Pumpkin Soup, or my Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

The star dish of the dinner party is the vegan ravioli. This is the main entree with everything else being a side dish to complete the ravioli.

Why My Vegan Ravioli is the Best:

nothing beats homemade from scratch both dough and filling

packed full of delicious fall flavors

easy dough recipe that can be made gluten free or regular

rich filling with caramelized roasted pumpkin and hint of rosemary

Other Vegan Ravioli Filling Ideas:

spinach and vegan cream cheese

fried mushrooms and vegan cream cheese

pureed squash or pumpkin

Is this recipe freezer friendly?

Absolutely! Feel free to have a ravioli making party and then just freeze the uncooked ravioli from later. You can cook them straight from the freezer for a super easy weeknight meal. I also make a large batch of the ravioli and freeze the rest for meals through the following weeks or months.

Any special tools needed for this recipe?

While a ravioli counter would be nice it is absolutely not necessary. Nor do you need a pasta machine. You can roll out the dough yourself with a rolling pin or leftover bottle or thick glass, and just use the bottom of the glass to form the ravioli wrappers themselves.

Recipe Tips:

Make the vegan cream cheese ahead of time and roast the pumpkin ahead of time

ahead of time and roast the pumpkin ahead of time Make a big batch of the vegan ravioli and freeze to easily boil for a quick meal later

If using a gluten free flour make sure to keep the dough fairly moist, consistency of playdough

If using regular flour make sure to knead the dough

How to Make my Vegan Ravioli:

First cube the pumpkin, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped fresh rosemary and roast for 30-40 minutes. The roasted pumpkin will be caramelized and makes for a delicious vegan ravioli filling.

Next, it’s on to the dough. For the dough mix flax seeds with warm water and let those sit for about 10 minutes. In the meantime combine flour, salt and turmeric in a large bowl. If you are gluten free a gluten free flour blend works well in this recipe. I like the Bob’s Red Mill or the King Arthur mix.

If you’re not gluten free continue with regular flour.

Once the flax and water have formed a gelatinous substance add that to the flour, along with water and extra virgin olive oil.

Mix until the dough is combined, adding more water or flour as needed so the dough is neither too moist nor too dry. If you’re using a gluten free flour you do not need to knead the dough, and you will want it moist enough to have a playdough consistency. For regular flour you will want to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.

Form into a round ball, pictured below and set aside under a warm towel for 30 minutes.

To make the vegan cream cheese you need to blend presoaked raw cashews with apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice in a high powered blender. Scoop that out into a bowl and add nutritional yeast, lemon zest and desired spices or seasoning of choice. Rosemary will work perfectly here in that fall themed ravioli recipe.

Next step is to roll out the dough and create the ravioli forms, using a the top of a glass or cup, or just using a pizza slicer to cut into even rectangular shapes.

Then add a dollop of the vegan ricotta, and one cube of roasted pumpkin to each round. To help the ravioli stick together you can add some water to the edges of the one ravioli sheet to help seal the top.

Lightly seal with your fingers or a fork. Repeat for all the dough, toss in boiling water and cook for eight minutes.

Serve this vegan ravioli drizzled with my vegan basil pesto and toasted sliced almonds for the ultimate fall themed vegan dinner.

How to Prepare for a Fall Themed Vegan Dinner Party:

For this dinner party it is important to batch cook certain foods together. For example, the pumpkin, spaghetti squash and garlic all need to be roasted in the oven, with the pumpkin being used for the vegan ravioli as well as the soup, the spaghetti squash being used for the soup and the garlic being used for the cauliflower. Once all three of those are prepped they all go in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

After that the vegan ravioli dough needs to be made. Once that is kneaded and set aside to rest the vegan ricotta can be whipped up in the food processor to be followed by the vegan basil pesto.

By this point in time the roasted pumpkin and squash will be ready so the soup can be started. Once the onions, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes are lightly sauteed the broth is added and the soup cooks at a low simmer. While the soup is cooking the vegan ravioli dough can be rolled out and the ravioli can be formed.

Once those are ready they are set aside.

In the next step the cauliflower needs to be boiled in the pot and then added to the food processor to be processed with the pesto, roasted garlic, olive oil and coconut oil.

At this point the green beans can be lightly steamed in a pan with a bit of water until that cooks off, with minced garlic and pesto added at the end.

The last step in the cooking process is to cook the vegan ravioli, and plate them topped with the pesto and sliced almonds.

While there seems to be a lot going on all at once, as long as you have a detailed idea of the order in which each dish is prepared, this is a low stress cooking experience. For this vegan dinner party you will need to use the oven, a food processor, 3 pots and 1 small frying pan.

This fall themed vegan dinner party will be sure to impress all your dinner guests. There is no shortage of delicious and gorgeous food at the dinner table. I have made all of these recipes multiple times and they are always a hit.

The most time consuming dish at the dinner party is the vegan ravioli. This dish requires making the dough itself from scratch as well as roasting the pumpkin and processing the vegan ricotta. Every step is worth it though for just one bite of the super soft, creamy and dreamy pumpkin ravioli. The vegan ricotta is so rich and fluffy with a hint of rosemary while the roasted pumpkin is ever so slightly smoky and caramelized, all enveloped in a pocket of melt in your mouth thin fresh pasta dough.

When you’ve got both high quality ingredients as well as high quality cookware, you are simply unstoppable in the kitchen.

Overall my dinner party was a huge hit and everybody loved each of the dishes prepared. The fall flavors were prevalent in each and every dish even though the taste profiles were completely different.

Best of all the leftovers make for excellent meals the day after and any extra vegan ravioli can be frozen for quick dinner meals in the future. Just toss those frozen ravioli into the Calphalon pot and dinner can be ready in minutes.

Next summer when I move into a small city apartment in Philadelphia I know I’m going to be even more grateful for how compact my entire Calphalon cookware set is. For anyone with limited kitchen space, a need for high quality cookware, or an organized system of stackable pots and pans this Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick and Stainless Steel Cookware has you covered. Other benefits of this cookware include the 3 layer nonstick cooking surface that is durable enough to withstand metal whisks, spoons and spatulas and that the cookware allows you to cook without hotspots, allowing for even heating cooking.

At $449.99, Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick and Stainless Steel Cookware 10 Piece Sets include:

8” Fry Pan

10” Fry Pan

2.5 Qt. Sauce Pan with cover

3.5 Qt. Sauce Pan with cover

3 Qt. Sauté Pan with cover

6 Qt. Stockpot with cover

Calphalon has partnered with Michael Chernow, co-owner of The Meatball Shop and Seamore’s in NYC and he has shared some of his favorite tips for cooking in a small city kitchen. He stresses taking the time to organize kitchen cabinets by spending one hour getting rid of anything that is awkwardly using up too much space and replacing it with the Calphalon cookware set which will save you 30% more space. Another one of his brilliant tips is to attach hooks to the cabinets to hold cooking utensils to free up drawer or counter space. This is one I have not yet tried, but I love this concept! My drawers are full of way too many spatulas, and stirring spoons so this is one idea I am going to implement as soon as possible!

I absolutely love my Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick Cookware and I’m excited to share that I will be giving away one 10 Piece Set so you can have one of your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



If you don’t want to wait that long The Calphalon PremierTM Space Saving Nonstick Cookware is available now in retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s and Williams-Sonoma. You can also learn more about Calphalon by visiting www.calphalon.com or by following @Calphalon on Facebook and Instagram!

Thank you to Calphalon for being a proud sponsor