This pumpkin ricotta pasta is an incredibly simple and comforting vegetarian fall pasta recipe. It has a delicious sauce that's made with roasted pumpkin and creamy ricotta. If you are searching for fall comfort food recipes to enjoy with your family, this pumpkin pasta recipe is a must-try.
As we are approaching autumn, the favorite comforting fall recipes of all the food bloggers have started coming out.
Today I am sharing the recipe for a very tasty and easy pumpkin ricotta pasta that you will definitely enjoy if you like simple flavors.
This is a vegetarian pasta recipe that requires some basic ingredients and is very easy to put together.
Jump to:
- What's needed to make pumpkin ricotta pasta?
- Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
- How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
- How to serve pumpkin ricotta pasta?
- Storing leftovers and reheating
- Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Frequently asked questions
- More easy pasta recipes
- Easy pumpkin recipes
- Recipe
What's needed to make pumpkin ricotta pasta?
To make pasta with pumpkin ricotta sauce, you will need the ingredients shown below:
Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
- Pasta: Feel free to use any variety of pasta to make this pumpkin pasta. Long, medium, or short-cut pasta all are fine. People on a gluten-free diet may use gluten-free pasta too.
- Pumpkin: You can also use butternut squash or acorn squash.
- Ricotta cheese: Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese with a crumbly texture. Use full-fat ricotta to get better results. But for a lighter version, low-fat or fat-free ricotta can also be used.
- Onion: Preferably white or brown onion. If you don't have them use red onion but it will slightly change the color of the sauce.
- Seasonings: I have seasoned the pumpkin ricotta sauce with red chili flakes, dried rosemary, basil, ground nutmeg, ground black pepper, and salt. You can use seasonings of your choice. Some other seasonings that taste good in this dish are garlic powder, cinnamon, sage leaves (fresh or dried), allspice powder, cloves, sweet paprika, etc.
- Olive oil: Use a good quality extra virgin oil. For a more creamy and buttery sauce, you can add some butter too.
Other ingredient details and nutritional information are shared in the recipe card ahead.
How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
To make this fall pasta recipe, just follow the simple step-by-step instructions given below:
Step 1: Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin and onion. Line a large baking tray with a baking sheet. Spread chopped pumpkin, onion, and unpeeled whole garlic cloves on the sheet in a single layer.
Step 2: Drizzle some olive oil on top of the vegetables.
Step 3: Bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (around 400℉) for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
Step 4: Boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta to it. Cook pasta al dente following its packet instructions.
Step 5: Strain the pasta and reserve around a cup of pasta water.
Step 6: Allow the roasted vegetables to reach room temperature. Transfer the roasted onion, pumpkin, and pulp of garlic into a blending jar. Add salt, pepper, and around ½ a cup of reserved pasta water.
Step 7: Blend to make a smooth puree.
Step 8: Heat around 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add red chili flakes, dried rosemary, basil, and nutmeg. Saute for a few seconds.
Step 9: Add cooked pumpkin mixture and ricotta cheese.
Step 10: Mix and cook for a couple of minutes i.e. until the pumpkin ricotta mixture starts bubbling. Check and adjust the seasoning at this stage. If the sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water to adjust the consistency.
Step 11: Add cooked pasta and mix. Turn off the heat.
Step 12: Garnish with chopped parsley and red chili flakes.
Your comforting fall pasta with pumpkin and ricotta is ready to be served.
How to serve pumpkin ricotta pasta?
Serve pumpkin pasta warm. Non-vegetarians may add some grated parmesan cheese on top before serving.
You can pair it up with a side dish like classic garlic bread, crispy garlic cheese bread, baked potato wedges, grilled vegetables, sauteed greens or mushrooms, a crunchy salad, or a bowl of comforting soup.
Storing leftovers and reheating
Store the leftover ricotta pasta in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for 2 days.
To reheat, add a splash of water then either microwave until evenly heated, stirring once in between, or reheat covered on the stovetop in a large skillet or pan on low-medium heat.
Don't freeze pumpkin ricotta pasta.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Cook pasta al dente, overcooked pasta will break and spoil the whole dish.
- Reserve some pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Take out the pasta water just before straining the pasta so that it has sufficient starch in it.
- If you don't want to peel and chop the pumpkin, just cut it into large slices, without peeling, and bake for a longer period. Add onion and garlic to the tray after around 15 minutes of baking the pumpkin. Once baked, you can just scoop out the pulp and blend.
- Cut the pumpkin into almost equal size pieces so that all the pieces get evenly baked.
- Saute the seasonings in oil only for a few seconds and then immediately add pumpkin sauce to the pan. Seasonings get burned very fast.
- If you don't like the crumbly texture of ricotta, you can also make similar pumpkin pasta by using cream cheese instead of ricotta cheese.
- For a more creamy ricotta sauce, add around ¼ a cup of heavy cream or half and half to the sauce. You can also add some butter to the sauce if you want to add a creamy and buttery flavor to the pumpkin sauce.
- Check and adjust the seasoning in pumpkin pasta sauce before adding the pasta.
- For a faster version of this recipe, use canned pumpkin puree.
- Vegetables like broccoli, green peas, green beans, baby spinach, mushrooms, etc can also be added to this pasta dish. For that saute chopped vegetables in olive oil before adding pumpkin puree and ricotta cheese.
- Add a crunch and texture to the ricotta pasta by topping it with toasted pinenuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, or any nut of choice.
- You can also make pumpkin ricotta pasta bake with this dish. For that, transfer the pumpkin ricotta pasta to a casserole dish and top it with some shredded melting cheese of choice. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (400°F) for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and your cheesy pumpkin pasta bake will be ready. If you are planning to bake the pasta, keep slightly more liquid in the sauce so that the pasta doesn't dry up while baking.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for a quicker version of this recipe, you can also use canned pure pumpkin puree. Don't use pumpkin pie filling as it has sweetener and other seasonings in it.
Yes, ricotta cheese doesn't have rennet in it so it can be consumed by vegetarians.
More easy pasta recipes
If you enjoyed this creamy pasta with pumpkin, and want to try some more easy pasta recipes then don't miss to check out the following recipes:
Easy pumpkin recipes
Looking for more delicious fall recipes to try this year? The following easy pumpkin recipes are worth trying:
If you try any of my recipes, please rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it on the recipe card and also leave your feedback in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and subscribe to my youtube channel.
Recipe
Easy creamy pumpkin ricotta pasta
Equipment
- 1 Large cooking pot to cook pasta
- 1 Large strainer to strain pasta
- 1 Pan to make the final dish
- Oven
- 1 baking tray
- Knife and chopping board
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 250 grams uncooked pasta of choice
- 400 grams pumpkin peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced into large pieces
- 4-5 large garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley or fresh basil
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- 1+1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Water to cook pasta.
Instructions
- Line a large baking tray with a baking sheet. Spread roughly chopped pumpkin, onion, and whole, unpeeled garlic cloves on the sheet. Drizzle some olive oil on the vegetables. Bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (around 400℉) for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
- While the vegetables are getting baked, cook pasta al dente following its package instructions. Strain the pasta and reserve around a cup of pasta water.
- Put the baked onion, pumpkin, and pulp of garlic into a blending jar. Add salt, pepper, and around ½ a cup of reserved pasta water. Blend to make a smooth puree
- Heat around 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add red chili flakes, dried rosemary, basil, and nutmeg. Saute for a few seconds.
- Add pumpkin puree and ricotta cheese. Mix and cook until the sauce starts bubbling. Check and adjust the seasoning at this stage.
- Add cooked pasta and gently mix. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and red chili flakes.
Video
Notes
- Cook pasta al dente, overcooked pasta will break and spoil the whole dish.
- Reserve some pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Take out the pasta water just before straining the pasta so that it has sufficient starch in it.
- If you don't want to peel and chop the pumpkin, just cut it into large slices, without peeling, and bake for a longer period. Add onion and garlic to the tray after around 15 minutes of baking the pumpkin. Once baked, you can just scoop out the pulp and blend.
- Cut the pumpkin into almost equal size pieces so that all the pieces get evenly baked.
- Saute the seasonings in oil only for a few seconds and then immediately add pumpkin sauce to the pan. Seasonings get burned very fast.
- If you don't like the crumbly texture of ricotta, you can also make similar pumpkin pasta by using cream cheese instead of ricotta cheese.
- For a more creamy ricotta sauce, add around ¼ a cup of heavy cream or half and half to the sauce. You can also add some butter to the sauce if you want to add a creamy and buttery flavor to the pumpkin sauce.
- Check and adjust the seasoning in pumpkin pasta sauce before adding the pasta.
- For a faster version of this recipe, use canned pumpkin puree.
- Vegetables like broccoli, green peas, green beans, baby spinach, mushrooms, etc can also be added to this pasta dish. For that saute chopped vegetables in olive oil before adding pumpkin puree and ricotta cheese.
- Add a crunch and texture to the ricotta pasta by topping it with toasted pinenuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, or any nut of choice.
- You can also make pumpkin ricotta pasta bake with this dish. For that, transfer the pumpkin ricotta pasta to a casserole dish and top it with some shredded melting cheese of choice. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (400°F) for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and your cheesy pumpkin pasta bake will be ready. If you are planning to bake the pasta, keep slightly more liquid in the sauce so that the pasta doesn't dry up while baking.
- More recipe tips and tricks are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
Leave a Reply