Enjoy the flavors of the season at any meal with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce. This recipe is budget-friendly, ready in under 40 minutes, and great for entertaining.
Article Summary:
In this post we will be making pumpkin pasta sauce. This sauce is an incredible way to enjoy fall flavors. Serve it with hot pasta and grated parmesan cheese for a comforting meal any day of the week. Read on to learn how to make the recipe, common recipe FAQs, and more.
Table of contents
Fall is here! And that means a few things here at Mae's Menu: pumpkin treats, all the apple cinnamon recipes, comforting chilis, soups, and -- thanks to this recipe -- pumpkin pasta sauce!
I've been thinking about making a recipe for this pumpkin pasta sauce for a while now. Inspired by the Trader Joe's Harvest Pasta Sauce I had a few years back, the thought of creating a such recipe always comes to mind this time of year.
And finally, this year is the year I got my act together. 🥳 I went to work creating a pumpkin pasta sauce recipe I could get just as excited about. I promise the wait was worth it.
With a base of onions, carrots and savory spices, pumpkin and tomato sauce simmer to develop the most comforting flavor before being blended to a smooth and luxurious texture. Finally, we stir in just enough half & half to make the sauce luscious, but not so much to detract from the nutritious and veggie-forward sauce.
The end result: an umami-rich sauce that's as great tossed with pasta and parmesan for a vegetarian dinner as it is with ground turkey or Italian sausage mixed it. Oh, and did I mention how good this sauce is over sautéed or baked chicken?
This sauce is easy enough to make for the family on a weeknight, but special enough to serve for a dinner party. Make an extra batch and freeze the sauce to enjoy again later this fall. It freezes like a charm and is easier than running to the store.
This recipe is...
- Creamy
- Savory
- Hearty
- Comforting
With the heart-warming benefits of comfort food but the nutrition of 4 different vegetables, this pumpkin pasta is nutritious and delicious.
Ingredients:
- Canned pumpkin - natural, plain pumpkin is best. You don't want to used canned pumpkin pie mix for this recipe
- Canned tomato sauce - pureed tomatoes without additives other than salt. Marinara or tomato pasta sauce do not work in this recipe.
- Carrots
- Onions
- Broth - vegetable or chicken broth
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Garlic
- Dried rosemary & rubbed dried sage
- Half & half
Substitutions:
- Half & half - a mixture of whole milk and cream can substitute for the store bought half & half. You can also use all cream (resulting in a heavier sauce) or all whole milk (resulting in a lighter sauce).
- Broth - reconstituted vegetable or chicken bouillon can work in place of the chicken or vegetable broth.
- Dried herbs - 1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary can substitute for the dried rosemary. I don't recommend substituting fresh sage for the dried sage.
- Garlic - ¾ teaspoon garlic powder can work in place of the fresh garlic.
How to make pumpkin sauce:
- Sauté the diced onion and carrots in the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
- Add the garlic, dried rosemary and sage and sauté until the garlic is just golden.
- Stir the pumpkin puree, tomato sauce, salt, and chicken broth into the vegetable mixture until combined. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the temperature to low or medium-low heat and simmer until thickened and the carrots are cooked through.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the half & half until combined. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender (or use a standard blender; see notes below) until smooth.
- Season the sauce with extra salt to taste. Serve hot over hot pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese to serve.
Recipe pro-tips:
- Add protein to this pasta sauce by stirring in hot cooked and crumbled ground turkey, sweet Italian sausage, ground beef, or sautéed apple chicken sausage into the sauce after pureeing. Just heat on low for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce heated through.
- Dice the onions and carrots uniformly, or to about the same size, so the veggies cook evenly and within the simmering time.
- Stir the sauce throughout the cooking time. Not only will you will want to stir the onions, carrots ,and spices frequently while sautéing, but you'll also want to stir the sauce while simmering. I recommend stirring about every 2-3 minutes. This will help the sauce to cook evenly, to keep from burning on the bottom of the pan, and for you to monitor how quickly the sauce is cooking. If the sauce is simmering too rapidly, for example, you can turn the heat down; if it isn't cooking quickly enough, you can turn the heat up.
- Season the sauce with additional salt to taste. Salt really makes the flavors of this sauce pop so be sure to season the sauce with additional salt to taste (if needed) before serving.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes, you can easily make this recipe without an immersion blender. Instead, just carefully pour the sauce into a blender (pour it in batches if the blender can't comfortably accommodate it all) and blend with the blender lid's vent hole open. To protect against splattering, you can place a light towel over the vent hole.
Get even more vegetables in this sauce by tossing sautéed spinach, kale, or swiss chard in with the pasta and sauce. The flavors go well together and you get to enough some extra nutrition!
Yes, you can certainly make a double batch of this sauce. Use a larger pot -- an electric skillet or stock pot -- and follow the directions as listed, adding extra simmer time to the sauce as needed until the sauce as reduced and the carrots are tender.
Dietary adaptations:
- Vegetarian - make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable broth or stock in place of the chicken stock or broth
- Dairy free & vegan - use a vegetable broth or stock and substitute dairy-free creamer and vegan parmesan cheese for the traditional half & half and cheese to make this recipe dairy-free and vegan.
- Gluten-free - this recipe is naturally gluten-free. To keep it gluten-free when serving, using gluten-free pasta instead of traditional.
Serving suggestions:
Serve this pasta sauce tossed with hot pasta and garnished shredded parmesan cheese for a classic pumpkin pasta recipe experience!
This sauce is also delicious smothered over sautéed chicken breasts and roasted & sliced turkey and makes a great dipping sauce for parmesan breadsticks.
As for sides, I recommend garlic bread, air fryer zucchini, blistered green beans, or a Caesar salad!
Storage directions:
Leftover sauce stores covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Tools needed to make this recipe:
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Can opener
- Silicone spatula
- Stock pot or Dutch oven
- Immersion blender or blender
More fall recipes:
- Pumpkin Risotto
- Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta
- Pesto Gnocchi
- No Boil Pasta Bake with Turkey
- Sautéed Chicken with Pumpkin Parmesan Sauce
- Instant Pot Apple Butter
- Healthy Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe
- Pumpkin Sausage Soup
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Colorado Pork Green Chili
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Instant Pot Beef Ragu
If you make and like this recipe, please review and rate it 5 Stars at the top of the recipe card. This helps other people to find the recipes and helps this reader-supported publication, too!
Thank you so much for your feedback and support of Mae's Menu!
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Email FacebookEnjoy the flavors of the season at any meal with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce. This recipe is budget-friendly, ready in under 45 minutes, and great for entertaining.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried rubbed sage
- 1, 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 1, 15 oz. can pure tomato sauce
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt + additional to season
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup half & half
- Hot pasta & shredded parmesan cheese to serve optional
Instructions
- Sauté the diced onion and carrots in the olive oil and butter over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the garlic, dried rosemary and sage and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the garlic is just golden.
- Stir the pumpkin puree, tomato sauce, salt, and chicken broth into the vegetable mixture until combined. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the temperature to low or medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, or until thickened and the carrots are cooked through.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the half & half until combined. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender (or use a standard blender; see notes below) until smooth.
- Season the sauce with extra salt to taste. Serve hot over hot pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese to serve.
Notes
- Leftover sauce stores covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- To make this recipe with a standard blender: carefully pour the sauce into a blender (pour in batches if the blender can't comfortably accommodate it all) and blend with the blender lid's vent hole open.
Please share your recipe comments and feedback. It helps us create better content and helps other readers find what they're looking for.