Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce comes together in under 20 minutes with canned pumpkin, garlic, and Parmesan for a savory pumpkin dinner!
This is absolutely delicious with Garlic Cheddar Drop Biscuits or Irish Cheddar Soda Bread for a Shire inspired meal. It almost feels cheaty because it's so easy to make, but so easy to impress with it.
This is one of our favorite fall dinners to make, it's so cozy and quick when we're busy! You can make this with most types of pasta, it's easy to customize, and it's not hard to round out the meal with Soft Fluffy French Bread or Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad besties.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste: Savory pumpkin, a little garlic and onion, and creaminess from the cream cheese and parmesan.
- Ease: Beginner, no oven required.
- Time: 5 minutes to prep the ingredients, 15-20 minutes to cook everything!
🛒 Key Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Pumpkin - fresh vs canned
- fresh roast = more sweetness/complexity but more effort. (When using fresh, roast until caramelized).
- canned = consistent texture and flavor.
- Cheese - I love parmesan, but asiago, fontina, or another hard cheese would be lovely.
- Cream cheese - I use full fat, but ⅓ fat or fat free works as well.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- We love to add chopped bacon or cooked sausage to this pasta.
- Use plain (homemade) greek yogurt in place of cream cheese for a higher protein option. It will taste slightly different but still be delicious.
- White beans or chickpeas added in is also another protein option.
- Add fresh herbs like sage, thyme, or a little basil.
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. Cook Pasta according to package directions.
- Step 2. (You can skip this step if the pumpkin seeds are pre-roasted.) Prepare pepitas by heating cooking pot over low/medium heat and roasting pepitas evenly, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, for about 3-4 minutes. No oil or salt is needed. A few popping sounds are normal as they toast. Remove from heat and empty into a small bowl to cool.
- Step 3. In the same pan, combine the pumpkin puree, cream cheese, chicken bouillon, and garlic & onion powders. Heat on low and stir together until the cream cheese is completely melted.
- Step 4. When pasta is cooked, remove 1.5 cups of pasta water and add it into the pumpkin puree mixture. Start with 1 cup and add more if needed.
TIP: If you forget to save the pasta water, you can add chicken broth or stock, or regular water with a pinch of extra salt.
- Step 5. Drain pasta and add noodles to pumpkin sauce. Stir together until the sauce completely coats the noodles.
- Step 5. Top with roasted pepitas and ½ cup grated parmesan cheese to serve. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste as needed.
📌 Troubleshooting
- Sauce too thick? → thin with pasta water or broth.
- Sauce grainy/curdled? → remove from heat, whisk in a splash of cream or an extra tablespoon of cheese.
- Bland sauce? → ramp up salt, add garlic or onion powder, and fresh herbs like sage or basil.
❄️ Make Ahead, Store, and Freezing Tips
Make-ahead: sauce reheats well-thin with pasta water or cream when reheating. Freezing: pumpkin sauce freezes best separate from pasta. When thawed, heat on low, reblend and finish with a splash of cream.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Both can be used, fresh usually has a higher moisture content so add less pasta water than the recipe calls for.
Add reserved pasta water or cream, whisk, re-blend with immersion blender for if it becomes separated.
- Tubes, spirals, and ridged shapes trap sauce.
- Ribbons or spaghetti give even coating.
- Small/medium shapes like shells are great for little yummy pockets of sauce as well.
🍁 More Easy Fall Dinner Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta (save 1½ cups water from pasta)
- ½ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
- 15 oz can 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ cups pasta water (as stated above)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook 12 oz pasta according to package directions.
- If the pepitas are pre-roasted you can skip this step. Prepare ½ cup pepitas by heating cooking pot over low/medium heat and roasting pepitas evenly, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, for about 3-4 minutes. No oil or salt is needed. A few popping sounds are normal as they toast. Remove from heat and empty into a small bowl to cool.
- In the same medium cooking pot used to roast pepitas, combine 15 oz can 100% pure pumpkin puree ,4 oz cream cheese , 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon , 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon onion powder. Heat on low and mix together until the cream cheese is completely melted.
- When pasta is cooked, remove 1½ cups pasta water and add it into the pumpkin puree mixture. Start with 1 cup and add more if needed. If you forget to save the pasta water, you can add chicken broth or stock, or regular water with a pinch of extra salt.
- Drain pasta and add noodles to pumpkin sauce. Stir to coat the noodles in the sauce. Top with roasted pepitas and ½ cup grated parmesan cheese to serve. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Sara!
Registered Nurse by day, food blogger by weekend. Perfect dip tester & snack quester. I love short walks on the beach and long naps. Sharing my love for food, one bite at a time.
Liz says
So good did it with the egg-wide noodles i had on hand so good and hearty. My husband almost finished the pot, he really liked it and was like im gonna stop before i eat the whole pot. Haha so definitely a keeper!