Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

This Pumpkin Sausage Pasta is the perfect comforting fall meal! A delicious and creamy sauce with sausage and pumpkin. Not only is this dish super easy and flavorful but it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Season

I love pumpkin season, I really do, and I personally feel the need to showcase the pumpkin and make it the star of the show as often as possible. So how about a pumpkin and sausage pasta? Don’t knock it till you try it! This pasta is absolutely divine.

And that sauce, well that sauce is simply incredible. With ingredients like Italian sausage, white wine, pumpkin of course and heavy cream, how can it not be divine!

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta?

You know I never used to cook a lot with pumpkin, probably the only thing I’d have is pumpkin pie, but this was a long time ago, before I was a foodie. And what a world has opened up to me since I started blogging! I’ve learned so much and I’ve learned to love and try so many foods I would never have before. But pumpkin in this pasta recipe really is delicious and a must try.

What’s So Great About Pumpkin?

Pumpkin is a little powerhouse! It’s packed full of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. It’s a nutrient dense low calorie squash that deserves more love year round than just around holidays. So let’s get into it!

Ingredients

• Olive oil – We want a nice neutral oil to saute our ingredients in.
• Sausage – I used mild Italian sausage today but you can use whichever kind you’d prefer, I’ll include a section below with recommended substitutes.
• Aromatics – Fresh garlic and chopped white or yellow onion.
• Herbs – Bay leaf and dried oregano.
• Spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg, these flavors will really round out our creamy sauce. Don’t worry about it combining with the pumpkin and feeling too reminiscent of pie – the flavors here are different enough!
• Liquids – Low sodium chicken broth, heavy cream, and white wine.
• Pumpkin – Make sure to check the ingredients in your pumpkin. We’re looking for 100% pure with no added spices or salt.
• Pasta – You can use any shaped pasta you’d like from penne to bow tie, macaroni to rigatoni.
• Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.

How To Make Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

1. Cook pasta: Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Darin and set aside.
2. Brown the sausage: Meanwhile, in a large skillet, or cast iron pot heat the olive oil. Remove the sausage from casings if needed, and brown the sausage in the skillet, breaking it with a wooden spoon to smaller pieces.
3. Saute the aromatics: Add chopped onion and garlic to skillet and saute 3 to 5 minutes or until the onions are tender.
4. Create the sauce: Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf, oregano and wine to the skillet. Cook until the wine reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, pumpkin and heavy cream. Stir to combine until sauce comes to a bubble. Simmer the sauce until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce.
5. Finish the dish: Add cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce over low heat for about a minute. Stir in the parmesan cheese, parsley if preferred, and serve.

What Wine Is Best For Cooking?

When making a dish like this that calls for white wine, try to choose something a bit drier that still has some good flavor, for this I like to use something like a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Grigio, although that is even pushing it a bit on sweetness. Keep in mind that if you wouldn’t want to drink the wine, you probably won’t want to cook with it.

Don’t want to cook with wine?

If you’d rather keep your kitchen alcohol free then just sub out the called for amount of wine with more low sodium chicken broth.

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. This is a step even I haven’t taken in my kitchen, so go for it if you have the desire!

• 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!

Other Sausages To use

We’re using raw sausage today as we want to brown it and allow that flavor to soak up into our sauce. Because of this you’re going to want to stay away from precooked sausage like chorizo or andouille and stick with any sausage that can either be squeezed out of the casing or is sold packaged up raw.

What Can I Pair My Pasta With?

This meal has it all, veggies, protein, starch. But if you’re still looking to turn this into an entire meal, you can bet I have some perfect accompaniments here on the blog for you to test out.

• Kale And Quinoa Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
• Warm Kale Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash
• Summer Salad With Herbed Ricotta And Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
• Old Fashioned Green Beans
• Mushroom Arugula Warm Salad

Storing Leftovers

Properly cool the pasta before storing it, so that it will freeze and store evenly. It will stay fresh for 3 – 5 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