This cozy Pumpkin Sage Alfredo is the perfect meal for a chilly autumn night. Pumpkin, brown butter, fresh cream and sage come together to create a creamy fall alfredo sauce. Grab a bowl of this pasta and have a date night in snuggled up on the couch.
October is my favorite month by far and I will be a basic bitch the whole month and eat and drink all the pumpkin I want. Because my birthday is in October, it feels like I should be able to do this without judgement. It’s like I was born with pumpkin spice in my veins. It’s just a part of my identity. This pasta is a little fancier than a pumpkin spice latte, so I like to think of it as “elevated basic”.
The pasta starts by browning butter to give it a nuttier flavor and aroma. Onions and garlic are then cooked in the butter and will make your whole house smell amazing. Light a fall scented candle in the background and turn your house in to a basic bitch oasis. Add the pumpkin, cream, parmesan, vegetable stock, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes to infuse the flavor of the sage. If you want to be on a whole other housewife level you can make your own veggie stock. Check out my veggie stock recipe here! Remove the sage, combine with pasta and you have a heavenly fall meal.
This pasta works really well for a group. I recently served it at a dinner party for my friends birthday. The sauce can be made ahead of time and either refrigerated for up to 2 days or froze for up to 3 months. Just make the pasta right before serving. You can see all the details from the dinner party here!
What pasta should I use?
I’ve used this pumpkin alfredo sauce now with fettuccine and pappardelle pasta. I felt like the fettucine worked slightly better because it did not absorb as much of the sauce, however both were delicious! I think this sauce would work well on a variety of different pasta shapes but I would recommend using something thicker like rigatoni as opposed to something thinner like an angel hair.
Pumpkin Sage Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 lb fettuccine or pappardelle pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 sprigs fresh sage
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- a few cracks of pepper
- pumpkin seeds, for garnish
- shaved or grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water. Cook pasta until al dente. Set aside.
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter is bubbling and brown bits start to form. Turn the heat to medium low and continue to brown the butter until it is a light brown color and it has a nutty aroma. Add the onions and cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
- Add the pumpkin, cream, vegetable stock, parmesan, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes stirring occasionally so the sage can infuse into the sauce. Remove the sage sprigs and discard. Pour the sauce over the pasta to combine. Serve hot and garnish with shaved parmesan and pumpkin seeds.