Do you ever get tired of plain old red sauce? …Yeah, no, I don’t either. But if for some reason you did want to try something new, this quick and creamy pumpkin sauce is a great way to switch up your pasta routine. I had a partial can of pumpkin purée left over from another recipe this week, so I borrowed the flavors from this old recipe for simple pumpkin soup and turned it into a creamy, comforting sauce. It’s so easy and so good.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
This recipe makes about four “side dish” sized servings of pasta with creamy pumpkin sauce, or two big main dish servings. I have no problem just eating pasta and sauce for dinner, but if you wanted to round it out a bit, a little browned Italian sausage would go so very well with these flavors. Got some fresh spinach on hand? Toss a couple handfuls into the sauce for some nice color and extra dose of vegetables.
I made my creamy pumpkin sauce with butter, chicken broth, and cream, but it could easily be made vegan by substituting the butter with coconut oil, the chicken broth with vegetable broth, and the cream with full-fat coconut milk. Pumpkin and coconut go very well together!
Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce
Servings 2Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 1 cup pumpkin purée ($0.78)
- 1 cup chicken broth* ($0.12)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp chili powder** ($0.03)
- Pinch cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ( $0.05)
- 2 Tbsp half & half or cream ($0.19)
- 8 oz. pasta ($0.70)
Instructions
- Begin boiling a large pot of water for your pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and boil until al dente (7-10 minutes). Drain in a colander.
- While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to a large skillet with one tablespoon of butter. Sauté over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
- Add the pumpkin purée and chicken broth to the skillet and stir to combine. Add the nutmeg, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Stir in the spices and let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat while the pasta cooks (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking and is draining in a colander, add the half and half or cream to the skillet and stir it into the pumpkin sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed (this will depend on the type of broth you use). Finally, stir the drained pasta in to the sauce and serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin sauce – Step by Step Photos
Start by mincing two cloves of garlic and sautéing them with one tablespoon butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Sauté for only one to two minutes, just to soften the garlic up some and make it nice and fragrant.
Oh yes, and begin boiling the water for the pasta. The sauce will cook in the short amount of time that it takes the pasta to cook, so get that going first. Once the water boils, add 8oz. pasta, and cook till al dente. Drain it in a colander. Continue with the sauce as the pasta boils…
Next, add one cup pumpkin purée (about one cup, you can actually use a little less or a little more and it will still work fine) and one cup chicken broth to the skillet. Stir until those two are combined, then add 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp chili powder, a pinch of cayenne, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Stir the spices in, then let the sauce simmer over medium-low while the pasta cooks (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken slightly as it simmers and some of the moisture evaporates.
Finally, once the pasta has finished cooking and it’s in the colander draining, stir two tablespoons of half & half (or cream) into the pumpkin sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed.
Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet and stir to coat it in the sauce. YUM.
Some days you just need pasta, you know?
I like to add a little “sprankle” of fresh pepper over each bowl, too.
Adding a bit of rose harissa really perked this up, as well as the suggested additions of fresh spinach and herby sausage.
This recipe is fantastic!! I eat low carb, so I subbed out the pasta for ground beef. I also didn’t want to waste the rest of the can of pumpkin, so I added the whole can. I also used cinnamon instead of nutmeg. It turned out so yummy! I could eat the whole pan myself!!
We really liked this recipe. So easy and simple. I served it with some Italian chicken sausage and added onion. Thanks for a new favorite!
I had leftover pasta as well as pumpkin purée. Came across this recipe and used them both.. I didn’t have half n half or cream handy, so garnished it with grated cheese. Loved it!!
In a fit of autumnal fervor, I made this tonight. It was DELICIOUS! Even my husband—who is suspicious of vegetables in general and squash in particular—loved it. We topped it with a little crumbled turkey Italian sausage, and the spiciness played perfectly with the sweetness of the pumpkin. ❤️🎃❤️
Delicious and great in a pinch for lunch when I didn’t want to run to the store. My half and half had gone bad but I had some goat cheese to use up. It was great! Creamy, filling, and tasty. Very easy to make.
Easy, tasty, and quick! This is definitely a keeper!
I was looking for pumpkin recipes that didn’t involve soup or sweet baked goods, and this was great. I grew a lot of pumpkins last year and still have quite a bit lurking in my freezer.
I will be making this many times, thanks.
Pretty good for a sauce you can probably make with just what’s already in your cupboard. I made this vegan by swapping the butter for olive oil and the chicken broth for veggie. Used unsweetened oatmilk creamer instead of half and half. Used a full can of pumpkin and about 3/4 cup broth for a bit thicker sauce. Was tasting pretty bland so I stirred in some cinnamon and nutritional yeast and that perked it up pretty well. Sautéed some kale to put on top. For a tasty 30-minute meal on a cold Sunday night that I didn’t have to run out and buy extra ingredients for, it got the job done!
It was ok. I just made a mistake in using vanilla cream.
This was a good way to use up some leftover pumpkin puree. I didn’t have half & half or cream so I used some Greek Yogurt as the creamy element. If I were to make this again, I may add ginger to pump up the fall flavors a little.
LOVED this recipe!! Now, I should first say I almost never follow a recipe exactly, and this was no exception. My family is super picky about meatless meals (unfortunately), so I added some ground Italian sausage as well as a couple of Italian sausage links (cut into small pieces). I subbed coconut milk for the half and half/heavy cream, and simmered one stalk of lemon grass in the spiced pumpkin broth mixture. We prefer our meals fairly heavily spiced, so I kept all the same spices and adjusted for our family’s taste. All our kids loved it, everyone went back for seconds, and my husband even requested that I bookmark this recipe. Keep the pumpkin recipes coming, we love them!❤
I love this recipe. It’s a fantastic way to use up pumpkin puree from a can when the previous recipe only called for a small amount. The seasonings can easily be adjusted to suit your tastes. I changed a few things, as didn’t have any half and half or cream so at the end I added a bit of almond milk. I also added some nutritional yeast that I had on hand. I served this with angel hair pasta and some fresh cilantro since that I what I had on hand and the sauce compliments this pasta well in my opinion :)
This sauce was like a broth. No idea how this looks thick and saucy in the photo. I had to scrap the whole thing and try to salvage this for a soup or something. Very disappointing…don’t recommend.
As written I thought this recipe was extremely bland. I ended up adding 2-3X more chili powder and cayenne pepper as well as red pepper flakes, Parmesan Cheese, Italian sausage, and spinach. On the plus side, this recipe was very quick and easy to make and made enough to have leftovers!
I love this! I added a little brown sugar at the end to bring out the sweetness in the pumpkin and then served it with parmesan cheese, which gave it that saltiness that reminds me of Mac and cheese except a tad healthier!
This is delicious! I made it yesterday and the one tweak I made was sauteeing the pumpkin for 3-4 minutes before adding the chicken broth. It caramelizes the sugars a bit and deepens the pumpkin flavor. We ate this with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a fried egg the first day, and topped leftovers with red pepper flakes and Pecorino Romano the second day. The pasta was savory, creamy and pumpkinny both ways!
Do you know if this reheats well? I made it fresh and loved it but now I want to make it ahead to take to a family dinner and rewarm.
Yes I think it would be great!
I loved this recipe! I added pork, apple, and sage flavoured sausage, an onion, and some mushrooms to the garlic, along with the seasonings, plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, and fresh sagw. I skipped the butter and just added a bit of olive oil, as the sausage gave off oil as well. Right before adding the pasta, I threw in a handful of spinach, and sprinkled fresh basil on top of my serving. This was super easy and very tasty, and a great recipe to tweak to your own tastes.
I like this idea but the recipe was unfortunately too bland as is. I added a bunch of parmesan and it was much better :)
I made this and it turned out amazing!
Thank you!
I thought it turned out very good but adjusted seasonings for our tastes. I did extra garlic and cayenne, used olive oil instead of butter, added parmesan cheese and used a bit more half and half. If something is too bland for you just add the seasonings you like.
I love the Website, but I did notice you can’t find this recipe when searching for “Squash” or Pumpkin in the Ingredient field.
If you were already in a subcategory and then clicked on pumpkin from the ingredient drop down, it will only show you the pumpkin recipes within that category. But if you start on the main Recipes page, then click pumpkin from the ingredient drop down, it does show up. Is that what you were asking?
Just made this for dinner and it was great! I accidentally shook in a bit more chili powder than was called for but it gave it a nice depth. I also threw in some chopped leftover pork tenderloin I had in my fridge and a handful of spinach, both of which worked wonderfully! Served with lots of parm (also simmered the sauce with a parmesan rind in it) and it was the perfect autumn comfort food :)
Thanks again for another great recipe
It was just too bland. Needed a lot of touch up to be Edible.
This was very yummy! I added a good amount of parm. cheese to my sauce and opted to blend it for a minute or so which made it super smooth. I also added one extra garlic clove to my sauce (which it probably didn’t need). Served it on fettuccine. I don’t think my family could get past the orange colour but I actually thought it was pretty – and tasty.
Did something similar, adding the ground turkey, sage, and parmesan, along with a bit of flour to thicken. I personally just wanted a more dimension to this or it actually did taste quite pumpkiny. Now I’ve hid that from my kids! Mwahahaha! You could easily add frozen peas, which most have in the freexer, but I actually think it would be great to boil chopped asparagus with the pasta and toss that with the sauce.
Would this recipe freeze well?
Love it!
I haven’t tried freezing this one, but sometimes creamy sauces don’t do so well, so freeze with caution.
I’ve frozen this and have had no problem! (Although I use goats cheese instead of cream)
I did this sauce with a few minor adjustments. I used a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree, added sage to the sauce. Also cooked with ground turkey. Then I did the whole thing with noodles and all in my pressure cooker for 9 minutes on high pressure. I also added riced cauliflower and chopped spinach because I am always trying to sneak healthy foods in for my kids. It was a big hit at my house with a sprinkle of parm cheese and a little bit of crushed red pepper. I will be making this again! Thank you for the inspiration!
Haha, I’d call those adjustments a little more than “minor”. Glad it turned out great for you! I just prefer it when people rate a recipe once they’ve made it as posted.
Edible. But wouldn’t make it again. It’s got a kick from the spices but otherwise is kind of tasteless.
Yummy pumpkin sauce! Put it on bread you will sure like it.
I love PUMPKIN! Thanks for always sharing all kinds of pumpkin recipe! This taste so good too.
I found this recipe to be a bit flat on the palette. It wasn’t bad, but all of the flavors sat at the front of the tongue. I added a tsp of cinnamon (give or take) to bring the flavor farther back on the tongue and a Tbsp of Maple Pumpkin Butter to finish rounding out the flavors. I’ll totally make this again, though, as it is such a versatile base that I will be experimenting with ALL the pumpkin flavors and combinations!
This recipe is delicious…who would have thought pumpkin and pasta ?! It was a BIG hit with my anything-pumpkin-loving daughter ! I sent some leftovers home with her and her hubby was a fan too ! I followed the recipe as written plus l whisked a couple tablespoons of cream cheese onto the sauce that l had on hand . I got that idea from another comment
.This is definitely a keeper and l will be making it again…real soon ! I was wondering if leftovers could be frozen ? 😃
Excellent! I was a bit wary, but the recipe was intriguing. My family of 4 all had seconds! We tend to like heavier seasoned food, so I did add a tad extra of each seasoning. Also topped it off with fresh shredded parmesan (not the grated stuff). I will definitely make this again!
This sounds really good and l plan on making it for my daughter . She loves pasta and anything pumpkin ! I’m sure she’ll be delighted when l surprise her with it ! I noticed in the photo you used shell macaroni . I have Rotina and regular macaroni on hand and was wondering if they would work too . Thanks !. 😃
Yep, you can use just about any type of pasta for this one. :)
Recipe fail. This was really an unsuccessful recipe posted by either someone who doesn’t taste their food or likes very very mild flavors. It was highly under seasoned and could benefit by minimally doubling the spices, and adding more cream or Parmesan cheese., or adding a teaspoon of salt. Or maybe even something like a chipoltle pepper. The bland pumpkin, and broth just need additional salt. Anyway needs to go back to the test kitchen for additional development.
Thanks for the comment, but since it’s pretty easy to adjust seasoning quantities to taste, do you truly feel this is a “fail?” Many people are watching their sodium and get used to milder foods after some adjustment.
It was delicious! I added a bit extra milk because my sauce was a bit too thick and it was good! I think I’ll add cream cheese next time
It was an alright base, found it lacking much flavour. Definitely going to play around with it though. Thanks!
Thank you! I just made this and it is sooo good I made vegetable broth with bobillion instead and no cream for outa have that vegan good stuff !
I don’t really like tomotos so this was amazing my pumpkin purée had no sugar so I added some
Got to *
Just tried this, with the addition of sauteed mushrooms, some venison sausage, a touch of olive oil, and cream cheese instead of heavy cream. Absolutely delicious! It worked so well with the sausage and mushrooms, highly recommend. Great flavor, easy to throw together too! It was even great before the addition of the cream cheese.
I just made this using garden rotini pasta. I also added cut leaf spinach. I wish I could post a photo, it’s so pretty. Moreover, it tastes delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
OMG this was amazing…. I made the pumpkin puree as well and turned out amazing! Thank you for posting this recipe. I had a pumpkin lying around and I was desperate to try something different…. and it couldn’t be better than this.
Hi! I loved this recipe in terms of taste but it was very thick and inconsistent, sort of
Gloopy, didn’t coat the pasta well and your pictures look like a much less viscous sauce that mine. I used 100% (canned) pumpkin and followed recipe exactly, any tips? I want to
Make it again because the taste is excellent but the pumpkin didn’t become “sauce” really
Gloppy? That’s strange. I wonder if there is a texture difference between the brands of pumpkin purée. One thing you can try is to reserve some of the pasta cooking water and stir a little of that into the sauce. That will not only help thin it out a bit, but the starches in the water may help smooth the sauce and adhere it to the pasta.
I love the idea of this recipe, but couldn’t help throwing some add-ins to the mix. I cooked up a few slices of bacon, sauteed in a diced onion and added in a handful of frozen spinach before making the sauce as listed in the recipe. Then I added cooked orchette pasta and topped my bowl with parmesan cheese. I’m glad there is more pumpkin in my cupboard as this will become a favorite fall recipe!
I love all those ideas!
This was SO GOOD! i made the butternut squash pasta on budget bytes and it ended up a little bland. I was afraid if that happening here, but I was amazed at the burst of flavor. You could totally taste the sweetness of the pumpkin and the savory flavors from the spices. If you put mozarella and parmesan on top, I’m sure even hubby would like it! :)
So good! I love this recipe. Full disclosure, I spaced and totally forgot the cream at the end but it still turned out great :)
I was looking for a recipe to use my leftover canned pumpkin and this was perfect. I like my pasta with a lot of “stuff” in it so I threw in what else I had on hand: bacon, spinach and blue cheese. It was delicious!!
I think I’m going to use this as my base recipe for tonight. Thanks so much!
Really tasty. I added Italian sweet sausage and finished with a generous sprinkling of parmigiana. Cook the sausage separately and add to the pumpkin stock before adding cream to finish cooking. Total crowd pleaser.
Made this today but switched the half & half for a generous amount of Soy milk because that was the only thing I had on hand.
Added 1 chicken breast, 1 onion, 1,5 handful of green asparagus tips and 1/3 zucchini cubed up.
Tastes amazing, very comforting food yet so healthy. Will definitely make this again.
Does the broth make it taste soupy?
I don’t think it does.
One of my favorite recipes of your site! I make it a little extra spicy, add green peas, and serve it with a chicken cordon bleu on the side. So delicious!
Made this for dinner tonight minus the chili powder because Trader Joe’s didn’t carry it. Perfect rainy day meal :) Thanks!
Will this be lacking if I omit the dairy cream as well as the coconut cream? My son is allergic to both. I’m hoping it’s okay w/o since there’s just a small amount…
I would think so. The creamy flavor helps tie everything together.
So I pinned this a while ago and have wanted to try it. One of the reasons it took so long is the husband scrunched his nose at the idea. But this week I was lucky enough that he was on a business trip and gave me an opportunity to try something different. Enter pumpkin pasta. I must admit I was a little skeptical at first. This recipe totally lives up to the hype. I was surprised how the dish tasted like a creamy pasta sauce with a little bit of a bite but it didn’t have that sweet flavor that you associate with pumpkin and butternut squash… It was surprisingly not pumpkiny! That said, I’ve also taste jarred butternut squash pasta sauce and it did have that sweetness to it that you couldn’t use too much. I also tried this sauce on some root vegetable ravioli from trader joes. I almost threw away the ravioli because I was not a fan but your sauce (and add ins described below) saved it.
Only downside was a lack of complexity as the whole dish was one texture. The second night I used some add ins that I had on hand that included shredded and sautéed Brussels, which was good for some extra nutrition, and some toasted walnuts. The walnut addition is highly recommended!
I like the creaminess but the flavor of the pumpkin in the sauce did not appeal to me or my family.
This is really good, however it did not turn creamy enough for my taste following the recipe. It came out more like a soup, which in turn made me think it would make a wonderful curry base or so. I added some cornstarch to thicken things up.
My try also came out soupy. I thickened it with arrowroot. I’m glad I made a double batch – very tasty!
I added cubed roasted chicken breast and poured it over lentil-based penne pasta.
This might be hands down my favorite recipe on the site. It makes a really excellent replacement for mac & cheese. Which got me thinking… if you used a roux as the base for the sauce… how do you think it would turn out? The only thing I’ve ever used a roux for is mac & cheese so I’m thinking I might try it here.
I bet it would make it SUPER thick and creamy! I say give it a shot (and let me know how it turns out). ;)
I made a double batch of this – how well does it freeze? Thanks – it was SO delicious and perfect for the start of fall.
–KB
I haven’t tried freezing this one yet. The only issue you might run into is that it might get a little dry upon reheating.
Looked delicious, when I made it it exceeded my expectations! Thanks so much!
This recipe was so yummy and super easy! Next time I think I’ll add ground sage pork sausage.
OMG Beth!!! so, so tasty. Definitely I will make this again. Your recipes do not disappoint at all, every single one is a hit … I am so happy to see my husband and my 18 months old eating all their plate, and ask for more, specially my toddler, he is a very picky eater, and well my husband is very particular with his food.
I have to say that I added some sausages and kale to it, and I used cream cheese instead of half and half because I didn’t have any.
Thank you again.
Lots of love.
I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get this recipe to work (and that’s first for this site!). The first time I used milk instead of half and half, and it tasted like I’d just poured pumpkin pie filling on pasta. Not creamy at all.
So I made it again a few weeks later and followed the recipe exactly….resulted in almost the exact same taste/texture. Maybe I didn’t get it hot enough?
Hmm, I don’t think heat would make that much of a difference in the creaminess. Are you using plain canned pumpkin or pumpkin pie filling? The cans look almost exactly the same, but the pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and seasoned.
I tried this a few weeks ago, because I love love pumpkin and pumpkin ravioli is one of my favorites, so I figured I’d love another pumpkin pasta. It was very good. Will definitely be something I make again. Interestingly, it is one of those pastas that does well cold and hot, and reheats well in the microwave!
I did not use the chili powder or cayenne pepper because I can’t take even mildly hot-spicy foods. Next time I will add the chili powder, though. Without, it’s still good, but it does miss a little edge.
Why don’t you have a cost for the pumpkin puree? A 15 oz can costs at least $3 at my grocery store.
Wow! I guess I forgot to type it in and no one has mentioned it until you just did! Ha! Thanks for catching that… I’ll have to go check my notebook (I do all the calculations on paper first).
This was delicious! I had made a similar recipe from another blogger and found it to be very flat. However, I gave pumpkin pasta a second chance once I saw your recipe and am very glad I did. Thanks for sharing!
Just made this tonight! Started with butternut & pureed, added a bit of bacon, an onion (we add onion to everything), and leftover rotisserie chicken. So good.
Hey Beth, what type of pasta did you use so I can copy exact your recipe, thanks :)
Looks like Orecchiette
https://www.google.ca/search?q=orecchiette
Great recipe! I have substituted butternut squash puree for the pumpkin, which works well! Also have added parmesan cheese and peas. Nice side with Italian Sausages.
I made this the other night and…yeah…it was incredible. I did have to add more salt because my broth was a bit salt-less.
One recommendation: have some parm cheese on hand. I found it was the perfect addition. And the whole thing goes beautifully with a cesar salad :)
I just tried this last night using one 15-oz can of pumpkin puree and one 14.5-oz can of chicken broth. Unfortunately it turned out pretty watery, even after simmering. I also tried adding some corn startch but eventually I gave up and just ate it. I added Italian sausage and spinach, which I recommend, but the pumpkin flavor felt a bit lost. I had to add a lot of extra seasoning. Next time I’ll add the pumpkin first and go slow on the broth.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Every since I developed an intolerance to tomatoes Ive been on the lookout for pasta sauces that arent just white sauces or pesto. This sounds great, I cant wait to try it!
I really liked this, and it’s so easy to make. My caveman husband does not feel that a meal is complete without meat, so I chopped and fried a little bit of slab bacon to put in there and it complemented the flavours nicely. Thanks for adding yet another recipe to our rotation!
I had no idea how incredibly delicious this would be. I doubled the amount of butter and garlic by mistake, but no harm done! Thanks for another great recipe.
Just made this with veggie broth!
WAS DELICIOUS.
I made this, with big hopes that it would be awesome. And I”m sure it is, I’ll have to make it again as directed.
I thought that adding coconut milk would be a good idea, however I subbed the whole can for the chicken stock instead of just the cream. Instead of noodles, I used rice, and used all the same spices.
Overall, it’s okay. Just… Don’t substitute a whole can of coconut milk for broth. For anyone else who might be deciding to do so. It’s sort’ve bland and I’m not sure what to do with this dish even after upping some more of the spices.
I’m willing for suggestions!
A lot of the flavor comes from the chicken broth, so by substituting that you unfortunately missed a lot of flavor. :)
THIS WAS SO GOOD. I made it with pasta this week (and am super excited for lunchtime to roll around), but I want to try it with rice & veggies the next time I make it. Just for kicks. I want to echo what someone above me said, too… thank you for providing a dairy-free option. I had to use that option because I’m lactose-intolerant, but I think the coconut milk added a good deal of flavor.
This was really yummy! A nice refreshing flavour. I sprinkled some parmesan on top and it added nicely to it. Super easy to make and delicious!
So love your site but I agree about that new floating banner down the left…interferes with reading…
Good to know, I was just testing it out! :)
What is that horrid new banner on the left side of the page that interferes with reading anything?? I can’t stand it! If it doesn’t leave I won’t be able to read your site and I love your site!
Thanks for the feedback! It seems like it’s getting in the way for a lot of people, so it’d definitely coming down. Thanks!
Oh thank you so much!!
Beth,
Thank you so much for giving the dairy-free option. I know I can just try to leave the dairy out on some recipes and hopefully they don’t suffer, but it’s just a relief when I can find a recipe with the options built in.
I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place at the moment as a vegetarian who is now trying to eat chicken for needed animal protein and not being able to eat dairy because of a hopefully temporary health issue. So cooking has become not very fun and very frustrating.
I’ll be trying this dish tonight and will toss in some spinach and some precooked and shredded chicken. (Thanks to you, I’m roasting a whole chicken or the split breasts and shredding and freezing to have it on hand.)
I recently make your chicken enchilada pasta (without the dairy) and my husband and I enjoyed it and the leftovers. He just shredded some cheese on his on the plate.
Congratulations on all your new endeavors and I’m off to order your book. Thanks again.
This post had perfect timing. I had a cup’s worth of pumpkin left over from baking yesterday, and it made for a very nice dinner tonight. Definitely going to make this one again in the future.
This looks delicious. What a wonderful use of a partial can of pumpkin puree. Whenever I have some left in the fridge I tend to think of sweet ways to use it, but love this practical savory alternative.
Beth,
I’ve been using Better than Bouillon since I first found it and use it because it tastes good and it’s way cheaper than boxed bouillon and stocks. I also am single, don’t cook enough and don’t have a lot of freezer space to use up homemade stocks and it just rots after taking up too much space in my fridge. It’s kosher, too.
Once again, delightful! If people think pumpkin is only for Fall, this recipe proves that wrong. Savory and spicy and perfect.
The spinach addition sounds great. At what point in the process would you recommend tossing in the handfuls?
I would add it just before adding the pasta, so that the skillet is not so full that you can’t stir it. :) It should wilt in very quickly, then you can just add the pasta and serve.
What kind of pasta is this? It is so pretty!
They are called “gnocchi” on the package, funny enough. :) It’s DaVinci brand.
OK, this sounds lovely! I have these ingredients too and would like to use up the pumpkin in my freezer. But…..no pasta in my diet right now. What other ways can we use this sauce?
You could make zoodles?
Tina, I don’t do pasta either but it would be great over “Zoodles” or zucchini noodles or even just sauteed broccoli :)
Thanks Tessa J!
There are plenty of pasta alternatives out there use vegetables and I’m sure they would be delicious with this sauce! :)
Maybe put it over some spaghetti squash?
I don’t eat pasta, either, so I would use this sauce over zucchini “noodles” myself. And they don’t have to be cooked, I just dry them on paper towels for a few minutes after spiralizing them. You could probably also mix this sauce in with cooked quinoa or faro or brown rice.
Had to google “spiralizing zucchini”….very cool. I use the carrot peeler to shave wide zoodles length-wise on zucchini.
I like everyone’s suggestions so far, OR you could just eat it like a soup! It’s pretty much the same ingredients for my simple pumpkin soup, plus a little cream, anyway! :)
Aside from the zuchinni noodles answer (which is a great idea), if you’re on one of those high protein diets the sauce should work with shrimp or pork, and might work with oysters. That’s from a flavor perspective; from a nutrition perspective, diets heavy in meat, milk, and eggs can be dangerous if not offset with antioxidant-rich leafy greens.
Good luck on your diet! I don’t know if you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight, or just improve your health, but using recipes and cooking your own food is definitely a good decision. I spent almost two years in sheer misery due to digestive issues, and it was only through controlling and changing what I ate that things improved.
Thanks for the tips. Not really a reducing diet. Just a mindful way of eating. Maybe there’s another word for diet that indicates “how I eat now.”
Over zoodles sounds great as does over leafy greens; thanks everyone!
wanted to come back and give a rating
The sauce would be great on roasted cauliflower! Or you could quickly steam or boil some cauliflower, toss it with the sauce, and bake it all together for a more casserole-type dish :)
I’m so happy this can be dairy-free! I can’t eat dairy due to the fact that I’m breastfeeding and my daughter is allergic to dairy, soy, and eggs and I’ve been craving a creamy pasta. This will be perfect!
This looks so interesting! I’ve got exactly a cup of broth left over and everything else ready except for the pumpkin, but I’m so going to give this a try ASAP.
Also, the perennial question: how does this work with a dash of sriracha?
AWESOME. Pumpkin and sriracha are fantastic together. :)
I have all these things in my pantry right now! I can’t wait to make this for dinner. Pasta is such an easy dinner and I agree some days…you just need pasta. Most importantly it has pumpkin!!!