Pumpkin Pasta
Pumpkin pasta made with homemade pumpkin puree and mascarpone is deliciously creamy. Topped off with Parmesan cheese makes this pasta a top autumn recipe.
Published: October 6, 2021 · Modified: March 11, 2024 by Jennifer Ryan
It’s pumpkin season again and we’re all looking for the perfect autumn pumpkin recipes. This pumpkin pasta is so creamy, and delicious and is great comfort food as those winter nights start drawing in. I’ve made pumpkin pasta for the last few years and there is never a spare seat at the table when it’s been on the menu, as it’s that good.
How to make the perfect pasta?
There are a few simple but very important ways to make the perfect pasta dish. Firstly, always use salt in the water when boiling your pasta; this is key to bringing out the best flavor. Always put your pasta into boiling water. There are so many different types of pasta, that to get the best results you must follow the package times, and never guess when the pasta is cooked. If you are making a homemade pasta sauce to accompany your pasta, save a little of the pasta water, this will help loosen the sauce once you toss your pasta in and start combining it together. Lastly, please, please don’t rinse off your pasta; doing this only strips off any starch and it will lose flavor.
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
In this pasta recipe, I make the pumpkin pasta sauce from scratch, starting with making the pumpkin puree. Firstly, you have to half the pumpkin, and scrape out the seeds and pulp. Next, sprinkle with a little salt and bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 45 minutes until the pumpkin flesh is soft and the skins are slightly caramelized in color. Lastly, all you need to do is remove the pumpkin skins and blend for a few more minutes until smooth. The flavor from fresh homemade pumpkin puree beats anything you can buy from the shops. But if you’re in a bit of a fix and can’t find pumpkins, you could always use butternut squash and cook it the same way. Butternut squash has a very similar texture to a pumpkin, making this perfect to swap veggies for.
Save The Pumpkin Seeds
When making this pumpkin pasta recipe you’ll have to scrap out the seeds and pulp from inside your pumpkins, don’t discard the seeds as they can be made into an absolutely delicious snack. Simply wash your pumpkin seeds and separate and remove the pulp. Dry the seeds thoroughly with a paper towel and set them to one side. Once dry you can add herbs and spices and roast them up, spiced pumpkin seeds taste great as a snack, or you can even add them to the top of soups. Here’s a full step-by-step recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, just click the link.
Autumn Pumpkin Recipe Ideas
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
Equipment
- Large shallow frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 Small Pumpkin / or 500g of pumpkin puree
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 Whole Onion Finely diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 100 milliliters Whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato puree
- 2 Tablespoons Mascarpone
- 400 g Pasta
- 40 g Parmesan Grated, plus a little extra to garnish
- 100 milliliters Water Reserved pasta water from cooking
- 2 Handfuls Rocket leaves To garnish ( Arugula )
Instructions
- The first thing to do is preheat your oven to 200°c or 400°f.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it to one side.
- Cut your pumpkin in half then take out all the seeds and pulp using a spoon.1 Small Pumpkin / or 500g of pumpkin puree
- Sprinkle the pumpkin with a little salt and place it onto your lined baking sheet with the cut side down and the skin facing up.1 Teaspoon Salt
- Place on the middle shelf of your preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin flesh is soft and the skins are slightly caramelized in color.
- Remove the pumpkin skins and place 500g of pumpkin flesh into a bowl and set to one side.
- In a large frying pan add in the olive oil and diced onion and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until softened and translucent.2 Tablespoons Olive oil, 1 Whole Onion
- Using a garlic crusher add in the 2 cloves of garlic and fry for another minute.2 Cloves Garlic
- Grab yourself a blender and add in the 500g of pumpkin flesh, the fried onions, and the milk, and blend for 2-4 minutes until very smooth and all the lumps have gone.100 milliliters Whole milk
- Add the blended mixture back into your frying pan and add in the tomato puree, and mascarpone. Then stir the sauce over a low heat.2 Tablespoons Tomato puree, 2 Tablespoons Mascarpone
- Cook your pasta in a large saucepan as per the package instructions (usually about 10 to 12 minutes in boiling water).400 g Pasta
- Once your pasta is cooked drain the water reserving about 100ml of the pasta water for the pumpkin sauce.
- Add your pasta to the frying pan of pumpkin sauce and stir, then add in the 100mls of the reserved pasta water and the Parmesan cheese and stir until the pasta is fully coated and all the ingredients are well incorporated.100 milliliters Water, 40 g Parmesan
- Serve in pasta bowls with a little extra Parmesan and a few rocket leaves ( Arugula ) to garnish.2 Handfuls Rocket leaves
Notes
Nutrition
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As it’s pumpkin season, here are a few of our most popular pumpkin recipes, obviously pumpkin pie is always a bit hit but why not try out these absolutely delicious roasted pumpkin seeds recipes?
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Tried this pumpkin pasta tonight it came out perfect thanks for all tips.👍
Glad you Liked it Alexis.
Great recipe, perfect autumn dish 👍
Glad you liked it!