Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
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This Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce recipe is quintessential fall. It’s smooth, creamy and loaded with pumpkin flavor. Pour this creamy pumpkin pasta sauce over your favorite al dente pasta or protein and you’re in for a delicious dinner. What’s great is that this recipe comes together in under 30 minutes too.
If you love easy pasta recipes, try my Cacio e Pepe or Homemade Vodka Sauce.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made from a few simple ingredients. This sauce is fresh and flavorful. It pairs well with pasta, chicken or lasagna!
- Easy clean up. This recipe only requires a pasta pot, colander and saucepan making clean up a breeze.
- Celebrate the season. Fall might be my favorite season and this pumpkin sauce recipe showcases seasonal pumpkin in a fun and tasty way.
Recipe Ingredients
- Pasta – This recipe calls for al dente pasta. Reserve some pasta water for the sauce.
- Fats – You’ll need both olive oil and butter for this recipe. Adding butter at the ends makes the sauce silky smooth.
- Aromatics – This recipe calls for finely diced shallots and minced garlic. These aromatics enhance the pumpkin flavor.
- Herbs – Fresh thyme enhances this dish. Option to use rosemary instead.
- Pumpkin – You’ll need pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice blend for this recipe. Do not use pumpkin pie mix.
- Seasoning – Season carefully with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. The pasta water and parmesan cheese are already well salted. So do not over season with salt. Option to add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a kick of spice.
- Pasta Water – The starch in the water helps form the sauce.
- Cream – You’ll need heavy cream for this recipe.
- Cheese – Freshly grated Parmesan cheese works best fro this recipe. Freshly grated cheese melts better.
Expert Tips
When boiling the pasta make sure to cook it al dente. It will continue to cook in the saucepan, so you don’t want it to get mushy. Also, be sure to reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.
How to Make
Boil the Pasta
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta al dente. Reserve ¾ cup of pasta water for the sauce. Use as needed. Drain off the remaining water using a colander. Set aside.
Saute the Aromatics
- In a large, nonstick saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. Once hot, add the finely diced shallots and minced garlic. Next, add the sprigs of fresh thyme. Saute until the shallots are tender and translucent.
Make the Sauce and Assemble
- Next, add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, a pinch of kosher salt and few turns of cracked black pepper. Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Stir to combine. Let the sauce reduce. Remove the sprigs of thyme.Then, you’ll add the heavy cream.
- Once it’s well combined add the butter and grated parmesan cheese.
- Once the cheese is melted and the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness, you can add the al dente pasta. Toss until well coated. Garnish with red pepper flakes and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Storage
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Add a touch of water to the pan when reheating. The water will help reconstitute the sauce after it has been refrigerated.
- Option to reheat leftovers in the microwave as well. Be sure to add a touch of water to the container.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I do if my pumpkin sauce gets too thick?
Reduce the heat on the stove top and add a splash more pasta water.
What do I do if my pumpkin pasta sauce gets too thin?
Let it simmer uncovered on the stove top. It will reduce and thicken.
What can I serve alongside this creamy pumpkin pasta sauce?
Try my Air Fryer Green Beans Almondine!
Other Pasta Recipes to Consider Trying
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
This Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce recipe is quintessential fall. It’s smooth, creamy and loaded with pumpkin flavor. Pour this creamy pumpkin pasta sauce over your favorite al dente pasta or protein and you’re in for a delicious dinner. What's great is that this recipe comes together in under 30 minutes too.
Equipment
- 1 pasta pot
- 1 saucepan
- 1 colander
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta, al dente
- ½ – ¾ cup reserved pasta water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or avocado oil
- 2 sprigs thyme, fresh
- ½ cup shallots, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- pinch kosher salt, to taste
- few turns cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- ¾ – 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Boil the Pasta
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta al dente. Reserve ¾ cup of pasta water for the sauce. Use as needed. Drain off the remaining water using a colander. Set aside.
Saute the Aromatics
- In a large, nonstick saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. Once hot, add the finely diced shallots and minced garlic. Next, add the sprigs of fresh thyme. Saute until the shallots are tender and translucent.
Make the Sauce and Assemble
- Next, add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, a pinch of kosher salt and few turns of cracked black pepper. Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Stir to combine. Let the sauce reduce. Remove the sprigs of thyme. Then, you'll add the heavy cream. Once it's well combined add the butter and grated parmesan cheese. Once the cheese is melted and the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness, you can add the al dente pasta. Toss until well coated. Garnish with red pepper flakes and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. reheat leftovers in the microwave until warmed through. When reheating, add a splash of broth or water to reconstitute the sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving or 1/4 of the pasta and sauce., Calories: 370kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 450mg, Potassium: 475mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 10921IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 138mg, Iron: 2mg
4 Comments on “Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce”
This was so amazing. I love fall flavors this time of year and this was perfect! Will definitely make again.
So good! The perfect fall pasta recipe. I added some ground sage to it too – so delicious!
This recipe was soooo good…the sauce is so creamy and has such great flavor! Perfect fall dish to try when it’s pumpkin season. It was simple to make and I had pretty much everything in the house already.
Thanks Sarah for another great recipe.
This recipe is beyond delicious! It’s the perfect way to enjoy the start of fall, and it’s so easy to make. I made it for some friends and they all loved it!