Pumpkin pasta sauce is a delicious creamy pasta sauce made with pumpkin puree, butternut squash, fire-roasted tomatoes and fresh spices! Perfect on top of any kind of pasta, it’s all the flavors of fall wrapped into a one delicious sauce!
Every year when the leaves start to change, Trade Joe’s becomes the mecca of pumpkin goods (be sure to check out this list of my favorite pumpkin items at Trader Joe’s for more about my favorite things to buy their in the fall!) and I love going there to see all of the new pumpkin products they have every year and pick up my tried and true favorites.
One of their seasonal pumpkin items is their autumnal harvest pasta sauce which is where the inspiration for this recipe came from. Their version is also a blend of pumpkin puree, and butternut squash along with other spices and ingredients. For my version, I knew I wanted something easy to whip up (I don’t know about you but I typically don’t make my own pasta sauce!) and that didn’t skimp on the pumpkin.
After a few attempts and lots of pasta dinners, I’m SO excited to share this pumpkin pasta sauce recipe with you!
What I love about this creamy pumpkin pasta sauce recipe is that it packs more vegetables than just one! This sauce combines pumpkin puree, butternut squash and fire-roasted tomatoes all into one delicious pumpkin pasta sauce that’s creamy and delicious for fall.
Easy to make in about 30 minutes, you can put it on your favorite pasta for a cozy fall dinner that reminds you about everything you love about the season! You can also freeze this pumpkin pasta sauce for future use.
pumpkin harvest pasta sauce ingredients
Note, this sauce is a dairy free pasta sauce. It can also be made vegan by omitting the butter.
- pasta of your choice
- pasta water – be sure to save some of the water that you boil your pasta in. Believe it or not there’s a reason why this is a key ingredient!
- pumpkin puree – as is the case with most of my pumpkin recipes, be sure you’re using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
- butternut squash – feel free to use frozen butternut squash.
- fire-roasted tomatoes
- tomato paste
- fresh garlic
- fresh sage
- shallot
- olive oil
- butter – for a vegan variation, omit this butter and use a little extra olive oil.
- oat milk – I recommend using oat milk because it’s creamier and thicker than almond milk.
- parmesan cheese – omit for a daily free version.
- red pepper flakes
- allspice
- cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- salt and pepper
- spinach – I like adding fresh spinach in at the end for more greens!
equipment/ utensils
- sauté pan
- Vitamix or blender
- immersion blender (optional)
what goes well with pumpkin pasta sauce
- your favorite type of pasta! I used penne in this recipe but you could totally switch it up with whatever you have on hand!
- zucchini noodles
- hearts of palm noodles
- chickpea pasta — I like all of the shapes from Banza!
Pumpkin Harvest Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb package of pasta of your choice
- 1/3 cup pasta water
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. butter sub for more olive oil for a vegan version
- 3 gloves of garlic minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 tbsp. fresh sage chopped
- 1 cup butternut squash cubed
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 1/2 of a 15 oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
- 1/3 cup oat milk
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese + extra for sprinkling on top
- 2 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. When draining reserve 1/3 cup of the water to use later in this recipe.
- Mince the garlic, and shallot. Add olive oil, butter (if using) and garlic and shallot to a sauté pan. Stir and saute until fragrant. Add the fresh sage and butternut squash. If using frozen butternut squash sauté until it is no longer frozen.
- Next, add the vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, tomato paste and fire roasted tomatoes. Stir and turn the heat down to low to let simmer.
- Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, allspice and pumpkin spice. Stir together, cover and let simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add pasta water and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and carefully transfer the sauce into a blender. Add oat milk and parmesan cheese.
- Blend on high until you see that the sauce is well combined and not chunky.
- Pour sauce back into your pan, add pasta and fold in spinach over low heat.
- Remove from heat, portion and serve. I like it with extra grated parmesan cheese on top and fresh spinach!
Notes
more pumpkin recipes you are sure to fall in love with
- pumpkin ginger bisque
- pumpkin cacio e pepe
- pumpkin turkey chili {paleo friendly}
- pumpkin snickerdoodle balls {GF & DF}
- pumpkin snowball cookies {GF}
The great big pumpkin COOKBOOK
Love everything and anything pumpkin like I do?! Keep up with all things pumpkin this fall with me on Instagram and be sure to check out my new pumpkin cookbook, The Great Big Pumpkin Cookbook available now on Amazon and Target.com with over 50 pumpkin recipes, including gluten free, dairy free, and paleo friendly recipes!
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