Pumpkin Sage Pasta

5 from 15 votes

This pumpkin sage pasta is easy to make with pantry ingredients! It's creamy without being too heavy, with great fall flavors from the sage, pumpkin, and goat cheese or cream cheese. This makes 4 large servings as a full meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Salt, Vegetarian

Servings: people

Author: Alicia

Ingredients

16 oz pasta of choice
4 tablespoons good butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 medium shallots, peeled and chopped
1 15oz can unflavored pumpkin puree
2 oz unflavored cream cheese or goat cheese
2 tablespoons fresh sage (or 1 tsp of dried), chopped
3-4 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, but save about a cup of the pasta water for later.
Meanwhile in a large pan, melt butter over medium heat and add shallot and garlic. Cook till fragrant, stirring often with a wood spoon, about a minute or two. Add the pumpkin puree and stir to combine.
Add a little bit of the pasta water about 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached, the mixture should be thick enough to coat the pasta well. Whisk in cheese and sage until creamy and thick. Then add the hot pasta and toss to coat. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste.
Top pasta with toasted pepitas and chives. Serve immediately.

Notes

Don't forget the pasta water is your friend. Reserve it to get the sauce to the consistency you love. You can also use it for reheating the pasta!
I favor goat cheese/chèvre with this, but cream cheese also works well.
Don't skip the pepitas, the texture and crunch is worth it!
Try subbing out the pumpkin puree for sweet potato or butternut squash puree to mix things up.

Nutrition