Pumpkin Goat Cheese Pappardelle with Crispy Pancetta and Crispy Fried Sage Leaves – it’s a mouthful, I know, but it’s also creamy, delicious, simply mind blowing! This recipe is so impressive, but incredibly easy to make and best of all ready in only 25 minutes.
It is pumpkin season right? Well that literally gives me the right to put pumpkin in pretty much everything, so I will if I can. And if you love pumpkin like me, you will love this dish as much as I do. Because there are some major flavors going on here and the flavors are out of bounds.
So let’s do this. We’re talking al-dente pappardelle tossed in a thick and creamy pumpkin sauce loaded with goat cheese and Parmesan cheese, topped with crispy pancetta and crispy fried sage leaves.
Yes! Crispy fried sage leaves, say that with me please because that is the star of this show. If you’ve never fried sage leaves in butter before, you MUST, today!
What Is Pappardelle?
This is a type of pasta originating from the Tuscany region of Italy. It is very broad and flat, like a thicker fettuccine. It’s a pretty heavy duty noodle so I try to save it for dishes like this that are super rich and packed full of flavor. You can always substitute it with something equally twirl-able!
Ingredients
- Pappardelle – You don’t have to use this style of pasta if you have something like fettuccine or even linguine on hand but I love pappardelle for rich creamy sauces like this one.
- Pancetta – We want a nice thinly sliced cured pork product that will crisp up nicely in a pan.
Sauce
- Butter – Unsalted butter to be melted down and used to brown up our garlic.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Cream – Heavy cream to make it super rich, sinful, and creamy.
- Cheese – Parmesan cheese and crumbled goat cheese.
- Herbs – Chopped fresh sage, if dried is all you have on hand just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh.
- Spices – We’re using a bit of pumpkin pie spice today – I know I know, totally counter intuitive to use it in such a savory dish but it’s delectable!
- Pumpkin – Make sure to check the ingredients in your pumpkin. We’re looking for 100% pure with no added spices or salt.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
Crispy sage
- Butter and fresh sage – Now fresh sage is essential for this little topping as we want to ensure it’s nice and perfectly crisp, something we won’t achieve with our dehydrated herbs. Be sure the butter is still unsalted.
No Pancetta On Hand?
You can always substitute bacon if you don’t have any pancetta on hand. Just be sure to crisp it up fresh and ensure it isn’t flavored – we want all that original flavor to shine through!
Looking To Cut Down On The Calories?
If you’re looking to cut down on calories, try half and half or whole milk instead of heavy cream.
How To Make Pumpkin Goat Cheese Pappardelle
- Cook the pappardelle according to package instructions.
- Crisp the pancetta: In a large skillet, spray some cooking oil, then add the pancetta and cook until it starts to brown and crisp up over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the skillet and set aside.
- Create the sauce: To make the sauce, add the 2 tbsp of butter to the same skillet and melt. Add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds until it becomes aromatic. Add the heavy cream and whisk in the pumpkin. Stir in the goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, chopped sage, pumpkin pie spice and season with salt and pepper as needed. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce comes to a boil.
- Assemble the dish: Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss. You can add some crispy pancetta and toss that with the pasta, but leave about half of it to garnish on top.
- Finish the dish: In another small skillet melt the butter over medium heat and let it turn a light brown, at which point you can add the sage and fry until crispy, it should only take about 30 seconds to a minute. Garnish the pasta with the remaining pancetta, more Parmesan cheese if required and the crispy fried sage.
Looking To Use Fresh Pumpkin?
Well then you’re ambitious I’ll give you that, but it’s totally possible to use fresh pumpkin and to achieve that next level of flavor. Here’s what you have to do:
- First halve the pumpkin and scoop out all the seeds.
- Heat an inch of water in a sauce pan till boiling, in the mean time slice the pumpkin into chunks. Boil these pieces of pumpkin briefly before reducing the heat, covering and allowing to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Drain and cool before removing the pumpkin from the peel. Mash it all up and you’re good to go!
Leftovers
Properly cool the pasta before storing it, so that it will freeze and store evenly. It will stay fresh for 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Frozen pasta dishes will last for 2 – 3 months, just be sure to allow to thaw fully in the fridge before re heating.
More Must Try Recipes:
- Creamy Cajun Pastalaya
- One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
- Arugula and Walnut Pesto Pasta
- Chicken Pesto Caprese Pasta
- Penne with Prosciutto, Tomatoes and Zucchini
- Penne with Cream and Smoked Salmon
- Leftover Ham And Cheese Penne
- Greek Chicken Pasta
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
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Pumpkin Goat Cheese Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 1 lb pappardelle pasta uncooked
- 4 oz pancetta roughly chopped
For Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 8 oz goat cheese crumbled
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
For Crispy Fried Sage
- 2 tbsp butter
- 15-20 fresh sage leaves
Instructions
- Cook the pappardelle according to package instructions.
- In a large skillet, spray some cooking oil, then add the pancetta and cook until it starts to brown and crisp up over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the skillet and set aside.
- To make the sauce, add the 2 tbsp of butter to the same skillet and melt. Add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds until it becomes aromatic. Add the heavy cream and whisk in the pumpkin.
- Stir in the goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, chopped sage, pumpkin pie spice and season with salt and pepper as needed. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce comes to a boil.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss. You can add some crispy pancetta and toss that with the pasta, but leave about half of it to garnish on top.
- In another small skillet melt the butter over medium heat and let it turn a light brown, at which point you can add the sage and fry until crispy, it should only take about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Garnish the pasta with the remaining pancetta, more Parmesan cheese if required and the crispy fried sage.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Properly cool the pasta before storing it, so that it will freeze and store evenly. It will stay fresh for 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Frozen pasta dishes will last for 2 – 3 months, just be sure to allow to thaw fully in the fridge before re heating.
- If you’re looking to cut down on calories, try half and half or whole milk instead of heavy cream
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Hi Jo,
I am already hungry for this recipe and it is only 9 in the morning! However, we have to eat with less fat in our diets so would half and non fat half and half totally ruin the recipe? Or do you have another suggestion to slim this down without compromising the taste?
Pat
You are so going to love this. The flavours are really unique and earthy and its wonderful. You could use half and half or even split that with milk to lower the fat content. You could try coconut oil instead of butter but it may change the flavours a bit. You could also use an olive oil cooking spray to fry up items where we used butter. Hope this helps
It certainly looks mind blowing! And I can’t believe it snowed already, I mean I know you are in Canada but it still seems a bit too much!!
Yes an early snow surprise usually greets us. The pappardelle was awesome although I would like to have put more fried sage on it as it was so yummy and really made a difference. Hope you try it – the flavours are wonderful
Yesssss goat cheese. And YESSSS fried sage. This hits all of those autumn flavors. Bravo!
Thanks Phillip! It was so fun to make and the pumpkin and fried sage were such a good pairing. Really appreciate your comments