Are you searching for the perfect, cozy, and impressive dinner menu for a crisp autumn evening? A restaurant-quality meal that is bursting with the absolute best flavors of the season, but is surprisingly simple to make at home? Look no further. This incredible, from-scratch Creamy Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta, served alongside a bright and crisp Apple and Spinach Salad, is a complete and elegant meal that is pure fall perfection.
This isn’t just a recipe; it’s a guide to your new favorite fall dinner party menu. We’ll show you the simple secrets to a savory—not sweet!—pumpkin cream sauce that is velvety, luscious, and completely irresistible. Paired with savory Italian sausage, fragrant fresh sage, and a perfectly balanced side salad, this is a show-stopping dish that is as perfect for a special occasion as it is for a cozy weeknight.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Fall Dinner Party Menu
What makes this Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta so spectacularly delicious is its incredible, sophisticated balance of flavors and its rich, creamy texture. The secret lies in a savory pumpkin cream sauce. We use a can of pure pumpkin purée, enriched with chicken stock and heavy cream, to create a luscious, velvety sauce with a beautiful pale orange hue. This sauce is the perfect partner for savory, browned Italian sausage and earthy fresh sage. The entire meal is perfectly balanced by the included recipe for a bright, crisp, and refreshing spinach and apple side salad with a simple honey-mustard vinaigrette.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 45 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 4-6 |
The Essential Ingredients for This Sophisticated Pasta
This recipe uses a handful of fresh, seasonal ingredients to create its signature savory, creamy, and slightly sweet flavor.
- The Creamy Pumpkin Sauce:
- Pure Pumpkin Purée: It is absolutely essential to use 100% pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling. This is the key to a savory, not sweet, sauce with an authentic, earthy pumpkin flavor and a beautiful, velvety texture.
- Sweet Italian Sausage: Using high-quality sweet Italian sausage is a fantastic shortcut that adds a huge amount of savory, seasoned flavor to the dish. Its rendered fat is also used to build the flavor of the sauce. You can also use hot Italian sausage if you prefer a spicier dish.
- Dry White Wine & Heavy Cream: Deglazing the pan with a dry white wine adds a bright, acidic complexity, while a final splash of heavy cream is the secret to a truly rich, luscious, and restaurant-quality sauce.
- Fresh Sage: The earthy, pine-like, and fragrant flavor of fresh sage is a classic and absolutely perfect pairing with both pumpkin and sausage.
- The Pasta: A sturdy, tubular pasta shape like penne rigate is the perfect choice. Its ridges and hollow center are ideal for catching and holding onto every last drop of this thick, hearty sauce.
- The Quick & Crisp Spinach Salad:
- The Vinaigrette: A simple, foolproof, “shake-in-a-jar” vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar, honey, and grain mustard provides the perfect sweet and tangy counterpoint to the rich pasta.
Step-by-Step to the Perfect Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta
This elegant meal comes together in just a few simple stages. It’s a great idea to get your pasta water boiling while you start the sauce.
Recipe 1: Creamy Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta
Step 1: Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Add the 1 pound of sausage (with the casings removed) and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is nicely browned. Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain any excess fat from the skillet and return the pan to the stove.
Step 2: Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, and then add the 4 chopped cloves of garlic and the 1 finely chopped medium onion. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions are tender and fragrant.
Step 3 (Build the Sauce): Add the 1 bay leaf and the 2 tablespoons of chiffonaded sage leaves to the pan. Pour in the 1 cup of dry white wine to deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the delicious, flavorful browned bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce by about half, which will take about 2 minutes.
Step 4: Add the 1 cup of chicken stock and the 1 cup of canned pumpkin purée. Stir until the sauce comes to a bubble.
Step 5: Return the browned sausage to the pan. Reduce the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Season the sauce with the 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, the 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and salt and pepper to your taste. Let the sauce simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes to allow it to thicken and for the flavors to meld.
Step 6 (Finish the Pasta): While the sauce is simmering, cook your 1 pound of penne rigate in a large pot of heavily salted, boiling water until it is al dente.
Step 7: Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pot you cooked it in. Pour the hot pumpkin and sausage sauce over the pasta. Toss everything together over a low heat for 1 minute. This crucial final step allows the pasta to absorb all the delicious flavor of the sauce.
Garnish the pasta generously with lots of shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese and some extra sage leaves.
Recipe 2: The Quick & Crisp Spinach Apple Salad
While the pasta is cooking, you can assemble this simple and refreshing side salad.
In a large salad bowl, place the 1 pound of spinach, the 1 thinly sliced Golden Delicious apple, and the 1/4 thinly sliced small red onion.
In a small jar or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, combine the 1/4 cup of olive oil, the 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, the 1 teaspoon of grain mustard, and the 1 tablespoon of honey. Shake the dressing vigorously for 1 minute until it is well combined.
Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
The Best Creamy Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta
A rich and creamy fall-inspired pasta dish featuring a savory pumpkin and sausage sauce. The recipe begins by browning sweet Italian sausage, then sautéing onions and garlic in the same pan. A flavorful sauce is built by deglazing with white wine and simmering canned pumpkin with chicken stock, heavy cream, fresh sage, and warm spices. The finished sauce is tossed with cooked penne rigate pasta and served with grated cheese. The article also includes a recipe for a complementary Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.
Ingredients
- For the Pasta:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 1 pound penne rigate
- Romano or Parmigiano cheese, for grating
- For the Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion:
- 1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
- 1 small Golden Delicious apple, sliced
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown the sausage. Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate, draining the fat from the skillet.
- Return the pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then the garlic and onion. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
- Add the bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half.
- Add the chicken stock and pumpkin puree, stirring until the sauce comes to a bubble.
- Return the sausage to the pan, reduce the heat, and stir in the heavy cream. Season the sauce with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken.
- Meanwhile, cook the penne rigate in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Pour the sausage and pumpkin sauce over the pasta. Toss everything together over low heat for 1 minute to combine.
- Serve the pasta garnished with lots of shaved cheese and more sage leaves.
- For the Spinach Salad: Place the spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. In a small container with a lid, shake together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- This is a one-pan sauce recipe that builds layers of flavor by cooking the aromatics and sauce in the same skillet used to brown the sausage.
- Deglazing the pan with white wine is a key step to lift all the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Tossing the cooked pasta in the sauce over low heat for a final minute helps the pasta to absorb the flavor of the sauce.
- The article includes a full recipe for a complementary ‘Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion’.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: For a super-fast weeknight meal, you can prepare the entire pumpkin and sausage sauce up to 3 days in advance. Let it cool and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat, simply reheat the sauce gently on the stovetop while you cook your fresh pasta.
- Storage: Store any leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: The best way to reheat the pasta is in a skillet on the stovetop over a low heat with a generous splash of milk or chicken broth to help loosen up the sauce and bring back its creamy consistency.
For more recipe follow my Pinterest account
Creative Recipe Variations
- Make it a Vegetarian Pasta: For a delicious and hearty vegetarian version, you can simply omit the sausage and sauté about 8 to 12 ounces of chopped mushrooms with the onions and garlic instead. Be sure to use a high-quality vegetable broth in place of the chicken stock.
- Add a Nutty Crunch: For a wonderful textural contrast, you can finish the dish with a generous sprinkle of toasted, chopped pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or walnuts.
- Use a Different Green in the Salad: If you’re not a fan of spinach, this bright and crisp salad is also absolutely fantastic when made with a bed of peppery arugula or a tender mixed green blend.
Enjoy Your New Favorite Fall Dinner!
You’ve just created a truly special pasta dish that is a perfect harmony of sophisticated, restaurant-quality flavor and cozy, comforting textures. This Creamy Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta is a testament to the power of a simple, technique-driven meal to create something truly extraordinary. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying recipe that is sure to become a new fall favorite.
We hope you enjoy every last, delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves an impressive pasta dish!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Will my pumpkin pasta sauce taste sweet, like a dessert?
Not at all! This is a completely savory sauce. The secret is using 100% pure pumpkin purée, which has a very mild, earthy, and only slightly sweet flavor on its own. When it is combined with the savory sausage, the aromatics, the chicken stock, and the salty Parmesan cheese, the final dish is rich, savory, and beautifully balanced.
Q2: Can I make the pasta sauce ahead of time?
Yes, this is a perfect make-ahead sauce! You can prepare the entire sauce completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This turns the final meal into a very quick, 15-minute dinner of just boiling your pasta and reheating the sauce.
Q3: What kind of sausage is best for this pasta?
A high-quality, sweet or mild Italian pork sausage is the classic and perfect choice, as its seasonings (often fennel seed) are a wonderful complement to the other flavors in the dish. If you prefer a spicier dish, you can absolutely use a hot Italian sausage.
Q4: What does it mean to “chiffonade” sage leaves?
? “Chiffonade” is a simple, classic French knife technique that is used to cut leafy herbs or greens into thin, delicate ribbons. To do it, simply stack your fresh sage leaves on top of each other, roll them up tightly into a small “cigar,” and then use a sharp knife to slice across the roll, creating beautiful, thin ribbons.
Q5: Can I use a different kind of pasta instead of penne?
Of course! This rich and hearty sauce is fantastic with any medium to large pasta shape that has plenty of nooks and crannies to catch the sauce. Try it with rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi, or large shells