This pumpkin pasta sauce recipe is easy, delicious, flavored with warm fall spices and Parmesan. Serve it over your favorite pasta for an easy dinner with a punch of pumpkin goodness!
Jump to Recipe
It’s officially pumpkin season!
The nights are cooler. The days are shorter. Target is overrun with fall decorations and the kids are all talking about their halloween costumes.
Yep. Fall is here, so it is time for pumpkin recipes to take over the world and the internet. And I am going to add this Pumpkin Pasta Sauce into the mix.
Pumpkin seems to be all the rage for sweet baked goods, but it can have a savory side too that can add some serious flavor and oodles of nutrients to a dish with minimal effort.
Including in this pumpkin pasta sauce. It has the lovely flavor of pumpkin, made creamy with a little coconut cream and warm fall spices! Add a little parmesan cheese and stir in your favorite pasta and the perfect fall dinner is made easy peasy.
Health benefits of pumpkin
Known for its brilliant bright orange color and distinct flavor, pumpkin is a fall favorite ingredient. However, it adds so much to this pumpkin pasta sauce beyond its pretty color and fall feels…
- High in beta-carotene, which is then converted to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for eye health, so add some pumpkin to your diet for the sake of those peepers!
- High in vitamin C. Yep, oranges aren’t the only plant that can help boost your immune system!
- Loaded with fiber. There are 7 grams of fiber in a cup of canned pumpkin.
Suggested adaptations for making pumpkin pasta sauce
- Make it dairy-free. You can sub parmesan cheese in this recipe with a vegan cheese or omit the cheese all together!
- Replace the coconut cream with heavy cream. If you prefer or its what you have on hand.
- Sub the pumpkin puree with butternut squash puree. I find that they are both pretty interchangeable in a recipe!
- Add some extra veggie goodness by adding cooked & pureed carrots to the sauce! This might require a little extra work but it can totally be worth it if you are trying to get more veggies into your life!
Other pumpkin recipes you are going to love.
- Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies
- Breakfast Pumpkin Soufflé
- Copycat Harry Potter Pumpkin Juice
- Instant Pot Paleo Pumpkin Chili
- Healthy Carrot Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh minced sage plus extra for garnish if desired
- 2 cloves garlic crushed and to taste
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin filling)
- 1/4 cup stock or broth
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup coconut cream or sub heavy cream if you like
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated, for serving (omit for a dairy-free option)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add oil into a large pot or skillet and heat over medium heat. When oil is hot, add garlic and sage and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the pumpkin, broth, cinnamon, and nutmeg and coconut cream and bring to a
boil. Once boiling lower heat and let sauce bubble until it thickens up to your desired consistency. About 5-8 minutes - Remove the pan from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss with your favorite cooked pasta and serve. Top with extra minced sage and parmesan cheese if desired. Top with meat or veggies as desired
LOVE this recipe! My husband is dairy free and a little picky on flavor so finding replacements for cheeses and sauces he loves has been tricky. Our whole family loves this sauce so I have added it to our regular cycle of meals. We usually toss it with pasta and add ground sausage. Yummy!
Oh I love those additions!