Ok, y’all, it’s pumpkin season! Now, whenever this season starts for you is really subjective, but let’s pretend it’s when you’re reading this recipe. Pumpkin is an incredible ingredient to use year-round, but it’s especially fun to use in the fall months. One of the simplest ways to use pumpkin this fall is to make this creamy pumpkin pasta sauce recipe!
Want to add even more autumn vibes? Grab the Trader Joe’s fall zuchette butternut squash pasta or Whole Foods organic zuchette pasta. However, almost any short pasta will work (think rigatoni, penne, gemelli, cavatappi, etc.).
Ready to step into your fall cooking era? Here’s how to make the creamiest pumpkin pasta in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients for Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
To get started making creamy pumpkin pasta, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
- Tomato paste
- Heavy cream, half & half, or coconut milk
- Parmagiano Reggiano or parmesan cheese
- Fresh garlic, onion or shallot, and crushed red pepper
- Salted butter (I like to use Kerrygold)
- Pasta of choice (preferably zuchette or similar tube pasta like rigatoni)
- Fresh Italian basil
How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
Heads up: this pasta and sauce cook pretty quickly, so have your ingredients and mise en place ready to go. Set yourself up for a seamless cooking (and clean-up) experience by prepping and measuring your ingredients before you start cooking.
1. Prepare your ingredients
Start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. While that heats up, measure out the pumpkin puree, tomato paste, and heavy cream. Pre-grate your Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and dice the shallots and garlic.
2. Start cooking the pasta
Once the water has come to a rapid boil, add the pasta and cook according to the package. Be sure to reserve a cup of pasta water to add to your sauce. Don’t drain it until you know exactly how much you’ll need, as this can vary based on your desired consistency of sauce.
3. Sauté onions and garlic
Heat olive oil in a stainless steel pan over medium heat. Add diced shallots or onions and cook until they begin to soften. Once they are soft and almost translucent, add the crushed garlic. Stir for about three minutes, so as not to burn the garlic.
4. Cook the pumpkin pasta sauce
Add pumpkin puree and tomato paste to the pan and stir frequently for about five minutes. Pour in heavy cream and stir until smooth. Add about half of your shredded cheese and stir it into the sauce. Lower the heat to low until the pasta is al dente and ready.
5. Add the pasta
Once the pasta has reached al dente, use a spider strainer to transfer it to your pumpkin pasta sauce. This allows you to retain the pasta water without having to strain it twice. Add the butter, cut into tablespoon-size pats, and about ½ cup of pasta water. Stir well and add more, if necessary.
Pumpkin pasta sauce should be creamy, but not too thin. It should stick well to the pasta, but still be in the pan. If all your sauce is sticking to the pasta, add a few tablespoons of pasta water until the consistency is creamy.
6. Garnish your pumpkin pasta
Scoop into serving bowls and top with the remaining shredded cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil leaves.
Tips for Cooking with Pumpkin
Canned pumpkin vs. fresh pumpkin: what’s the difference? If you’re wondering which type of pumpkin is best to use when making creamy pumpkin pasta sauce, there are a few options to consider. Ultimately, I recommend canned pumpkin due to its ease and consistency. But let’s consider both.
Canned pumpkin
Convenience: canned pumpkin is ready to use, shelf-stable for months or even years, and pretty affordable at about $1.50 per can.
Consistency: canned pumpkin is consistent in its… consistency. It’s smooth and free of pumpkin “fibers.”
Flavor: Canned pumpkin has a consistent, almost sweet flavor. Some canned pumpkin brands will include a variety of pumpkins and squash.
Timeliness: There’s no need to worry about the production of pumpkin puree; it’s ready with the opening of a can.
Fresh pumpkin
Flavor: Want a little more nutty? Prefer it to be roasted a little lighter? when you roast your own pumpkin, you have more control over the depth of its flavor.
Texture: Getting homemade pumpkin puree completely smooth can sometimes be a challenge. It’s fibrous in nature, so having a good food processor is key.
Pumpkin varieties: It’s important to note that jack-o-lantern pumpkins are not ideal for cooking and roasting. Sugar pumpkins or “pie pumpkins,” the smaller variety, are best for roasting. You can incorporate different squash varieties, like butternut squash and kabocha squash.
Homemade pumpkin: There’s something special and a bit more rustic about using your own homemade pumpkin puree. If you don’t mind a few imperfections, go ahead and roast your own.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta FAQs
I prefer a short pasta—this means most pastas that are not noodles. Of course, zuchette is the ideal pasta for this dish due to its pumpkin-like shape. But you can use rigatoni, rotini, macaroni, shells, or any other short pasta.
Absolutely! Butternut squash is a great substitute for pumpkin puree. It will give your pasta a slightly sweeter and nuttier flavor, but it’s a great replacement if you don’t have pumpkin or prefer to use butternut squash.
With a few simple swaps, you can make a completely vegan, plant-based creamy pumpkin pasta sauce. Swap heavy cream for canned coconut milk (make sure you’re not using coconut milk from a carton—this is a different consistency and will not be as thick). Swap shredded cheese for nutritional yeast. This is a great way to add a little nuttiness and different flavor depth to your pumpkin pasta. Use olive oil instead of butter. When you’re tossing together the pasta and sauce, add one tablespoon of olive oil at a time to your sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
You can make this pumpkin pasta sauce ahead of time, but I wouldn’t recommend adding the pasta. Sure, it makes great leftovers! But this dish is best made when you’re ready to serve. If you do need to make it ahead of time, follow the instructions (omit cooking the pasta) for the sauce and store in an air-tight container. When you’re ready to serve, cook the pasta and add pasta water to your cooked sauce.
Both! Mostly savory, with a little bit of sweetness from the pumpkin and tomato. The garlic, onion, and cheese will give it more of a savory flavor profile.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with Butternut Squash Pasta
Creamy pumpkin and tomato sauce, similar to a Vodka sauce, paired with fall "zuchette" pasta and topped with plenty of shredded parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
- Prep Time: 7 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Cook
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablsepoons tomato paste
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- Small bunch of Italian basil
- Red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt with 2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
- While the water heats up, begin preparing the ingredients for your creamy pumpkin pasta sauce
- Dice one shallot and five cloves of garlic to saute
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and season with a pinch of the remaining salt.
- Add 8 oz of dry pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions for al dente.
- Once shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, add 1 cup of pumpkin puree and 2 tablespoon of tomato paste. Stir well and cook for five minutes.
- Pour in ½ cup of heavy cream and remove the pan from heat. Cover with ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and stir well.
- Using a spider strainer, transfer al dente pasta into the saucepan with the pumpkin pasta sauce.
- Carefully collect ½ cup of pasta water using a Pyrex measuring cup or ladle. Add 2 tablespoon of butter to the pumpkin pasta sauce and pour pasta water into the saucepan. Stir everything together until the butter is melted.
- Serve immediately and top each bowl of pumpkin pasta with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and Italian basil.
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