Creamy Pumpkin, Sausage, Sage Pasta

This easy pasta dish is rich creamy comfort food in a bowl, perfect for a fall weeknight dinner. It takes less than 30 minutes to from start to finish and hits all the high points: creamy texture, smoky protein, and the autumn flavor of fresh sage. Triple tested for ease of success.

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Ingredients

The following photo shows you all the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For details on measurements, see the recipe below.

Substitutions

• Sausage: Italian sausage is the most common, either mild, sweet or hot. I had some Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage on hand so that is what I used.
• Pumpkin: canned pumpkin is fine for this recipe, but if you want to go all out you can puree fresh butternut squash or other winter squash. Canned pumpkin is usually butternut squash. Just make sure you get 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
• Cream: Heavy cream is what pairs best with the pumpkin to give the sauce its creamy texture. You could use 1/2 and 1/2 or a nut milk, but it would be a thinner sauce and not as rich.
• Pasta: Penne or rigatoni holds onto the sauce the best and is my preferred pasta. You can, of course use your preferred pasta, even bowties!
• Cheese: Parmesan, pecorino, romano are the classic cheeses for this dish. You can switch up the cheese, but parmesan cheese really pairs nicely with sausage.
• Broth: You can replace some of the chicken broth with dry white wine.

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Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

An easy fall weeknight meal of pasta, pumpkin, sausage and sage. Very flexible ingredients and comes together in less than 30 minutes

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Calories 869

Author Dorothy Stainbrook

Equipment

• Dutch oven or large skillet
• large saucepan for pasta
• sharp knife

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1 pound penne pasta or rigatoni or your preferred pasta
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 pound ground sausage Italian sausage is typical
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup dry white wine can replace with chicken broth if preferred
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth or bouillon
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin canned (or fresh squash puree)
• ¼ cup fresh sage chopped (plus a few sage leaves for garnish)
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup parmesan grated

Instructions

 

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, turn heat to medium high and gently boil for about 12 minutes, or until cooked through but still firm (al dente). Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick together.

  Reserve a cup or so of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the rest of the pasta and set aside.
  1 pound penne pasta
• Whille the pasta is cooking heat a little olive oil in a dutch oven or a large, deep skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.

  Add the sausage to the onion mix and cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 more minute.
  1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 onion, 1 pound ground sausage, 4 cloves garlic
• Add wine and sage to the skillet and simmer about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, pumpkin and sage and stir everything together thoroughly and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
  1 cup dry white wine, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or bouillon, 1 ½ cups pumpkin, 1/4 cup fresh sage
• Reduce heat and stir in cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer until heated through, about 2-3 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little of the reserved pasta water.
  1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Add the reserved pasta to the pumpkin cream sauce and gently stir together, coating all of the pasta with the sauce.

  Taste and add more salt if needed. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top and let it melt into the pasta a little. Garnish with sage leaves if desired.
  1/2 cup parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt

Notes

• Additional spices that can be added would be cinnamon, mint or maybe some cayenne. I prefer just the nutmeg, but experiment with your own tastes.
• You can make this ahead if you want. Just add a little of the reserved pasta water when reheating.
• Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days
   
  •  

Nutrition

Calories: 869kcalCarbohydrates: 91gProtein: 37gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 1517mgPotassium: 735mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 3890IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 202mgIron: 3mg

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