Pasta with Pumpkin and Whipped Ricotta is the perfect meal to impress guests effortlessly. This meal takes only twenty minutes to prepare, bt tastes like it took hours. Make this to impress a crowd the next time you are hosting!
This pasta is the perfect warming meal for cold winter nights. It also makes enough to feed a large crowd! So I recommend you make this for your next dinner party or to meal prep lots of meals for the week ahead.
What is Whipped Ricotta?
Whipped ricotta is the result of running ricotta cheese and other ingredients such as olive oil through a food processor. This creates the perfect creamy and light spreadable cheese.
pasta with pumpkin and whipped ricotta
What Do I Need to Make This Pumpkin and Ricotta Pasta
While the full ingredients list is available below, here are some tips on what you would need to make this delicious pasta recipe!
Olive oil
White onion
Mushrooms
Garlic cloves
Turkey sausage
Pumpkin puree
Light ricotta cheese
Chopped fresh rosemary
Cavatappi or your favorite pasta shape
Shredded Italiano cheese
Parmesan cheese
pasta with pumpkin and whipped ricotta
Tips to Prepare the Best Pasta with Pumpkin and Whipped Ricotta
While the full recipe instructions are available below, here are some tips to make the best easy recipes for pumpkin pasta!
The first thing you will do is bring a Dutch oven or large pot of water to a rolling boil. While you are heating the water, add at least a tsp salt. You want the water to be salty like the sea for your pasta. This is important, because it will help give the pasta flavor!
While we wait for the water, we will prepare the rest of our dish. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray the skillet with olive oil and add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions soften and garlic is fragrant. Next, remove the sausage from the casings and add to the skillet. Cook, breaking the sausage apart with the end of a wooden spoon. Once the sausage is cooked through, remove the veggie and meat mixture from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.
By now, we should be ready to cook the pasta. Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package direction. One of the good things about this recipe is that you can multi task to make this dish so quickly! While the pasta cooks, we will prepare our ricotta and pumpkin sauce. Combine ricotta with the canned pumpkin puree and fresh rosemary in a food processor. Blend on high until the pumpkin mixture is well combined and has a light and fluffy texture.
As soon as the pasta is cooked to just before al dente, reserve at least one cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. This is important, because the pasta will continue cooking with the sauce so we do not want to over cook the pasta in the water. Add it back to the Dutch oven with the heat on low. Add your pumpkin ricotta mixture, cooked veggies and sausage, and reserved pasta water and mix well with the pasta. If you want to make this pasta extra decadent, you could also add a little heavy cream at this stage. Continue to cook on low until the sauce is smooth and silky, adding a little more of the reserved pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.
Now mix in your cheese in stages until all of your remaining mozzarella is combined into the pasta. Top this great fall comfort food with some shredded parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. This is a good way to end any cold fall or winter evening!
The result is one of my favorite fall dishes with an incredible depth of flavor. Although this is one of my savory dishes, there is plenty of sweetness to the meal with the pumpkin sauce!
pasta with pumpkin and whipped ricotta
More Pasta Recipes You Will Love
In my opinion, pasta is the best way to enjoy the holiday season! If you are looking for some more inspiration for pasta dishes to try, check out these quick links.
Pasta with Pumpkin and Whipped Ricotta is the perfect meal to impress guests effortlessly. This meal takes only twenty minutes to prepare, bt tastes like it took hours. Make this to impress a crowd the next time you are hosting!
Optional toppings: shredded parmesan, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs
Instructions
Bring a Dutch oven or large pot of water to a rolling boil. While you are heating the water, add at least a tsp salt. While we wait for the water to boil, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray the skillet with olive oil and add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions soften and garlic is fragrant. Next, remove the sausage from the casings and add to the skillet. Cook, breaking the sausage apart with the end of a wooden spoon. Once the sausage is cooked through, remove the veggie and meat mixture from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.
By now, we should be ready to cook the pasta. Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package direction. While the pasta cooks, combine ricotta with the canned pumpkin puree and fresh rosemary in a food processor. Blend on high until the pumpkin mixture is well combined and has a light and fluffy texture.
As soon as the pasta is cooked to just before al dente, reserve at least one cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Add it back to the Dutch oven with the heat on low. Add your pumpkin ricotta mixture, cooked veggies and sausage, and reserved pasta water and mix well with the pasta. Continue to cook on low until the sauce is smooth and silky, adding a little more of the reserved pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.
Now turn off the heat and mix in your cheese in stages until all of your remaining mozzarella mixture is combined into the pasta. Top with some shredded parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. Enjoy!
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