Pumpkin Pasta with Spinach

Pasta with pumpkin sauce, spinach, walnuts and parmesan in a pan.

5 from 2 votes

Canned pumpkin puree makes this pumpkin pasta with baby spinach so simple. You can cook the pasta and simmer the sauce at the same time.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Pasta & Noodles, Spreads & Sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

8 ounces fettuccine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus more for serving
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts plus more for serving

Instructions

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water 1 minute less than the recommended al dente cook time on the package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and drain.
In a large skillet or sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until they start to soften, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, cooking for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Pour in the pumpkin puree, vegetable broth and milk. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Stir in the pasta and reserved cooking water. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Fold in the spinach, Parmesan and walnuts.

Video

Notes

For the pasta, you can also use tagliatelle or short shapes such as penne, rigatoni or cavatappi.

You can substitute walnuts with almonds, pecans or pine nuts.

To make the pasta vegan, use plant-based milk in the sauce and finish the pasta with nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan.

To add Italian sausage: Take 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage out of its casings. Sauté it over medium high heat for 5 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove it from the pan. Then make the sauce in that same pan. Just lower the heat to medium. Stir the sausage back in along with the pasta.

The pumpkin sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance. Let it cool to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm it in a pan over low to medium heat while you simmer the pasta. Then follow the recipe from there as written.

This pumpkin pasta is best eaten warm. You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Warm them in a skillet on stove over low heat, stirring frequently. Or warm them in the microwave. When you reheat the pasta, it will lose some of its al dente bite.

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