Ravioli with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce is a creamy and comforting pumpkin dish that’s incredibly easy and convenient to make for your next family dinner but also sophisticated enough to serve to guests during the holidays and on special occasions.
In this recipe we toss tender cheese-filled ravioli in a rich pumpkin sauce that consists of hazelnut butter, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and pumpkin puree. We top the dish with crispy sage and remaining hazelnut butter and an optional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- The cheese ravioli with pumpkin pasta sauce is an incredibly comforting dish - perfect for those chilly fall and winter nights.
- Using store-bought ravioli simplifies this dish. Just make the rich nut butter with pumpkin sauce and combine!
- This dish looks sophisticated with beautiful fall colors - perfect for entertaining over the holidays or impressing the family.
Ravioli with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce makes a delicious Thanksgiving appetizer or midweek fall-inspired main meal!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are in the recipe card below.
- Cheese ravioli -- for the best flavor and texture use fresh ravioli. You'll find it in the refrigerator case at the supermarket.
- fresh sage leaves
- kosher salt
- butter -- unsalted
- shallot
- sherry vinegar
- hazelnuts - blanched
- nutmeg - best if freshly ground
- heavy cream
- pumpkin puree -- canned unsweetened
- Parmesan cheese -- freshly grated is best
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions with 1 tablespoon of salt, stirring often. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta.
- While cooking the pasta, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and add hazelnuts and sage until sage is crispy.
- Remove the sage to a paper towel-lined plate and continue cooking the butter and nut mixture until browned and fragrant.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add vinegar and salt.
- Melt the remaining butter in an empty skillet over medium heat with shallot, nutmeg, and salt. Cook until the shallot is soft.
- Stir in cream and pumpkin puree.
- Bring to a simmer until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.
- Add pasta and toss. Top with sage and hazelnut butter.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- 12-inch non-stick skillet
- pasta pot or a deep pot
- wooden mixing spoon
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- liquid measuring cup
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions frequently asked about Pumpkin Sauce for Pasta Recipe.
Pumpkin-shaped pasta is known as Zucchette Pasta.
Pumpkin pairs well with spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and allspice.
The pumpkin sauce in this recipe consists of pumpkin puree, hazelnut butter, cream, Parmesan, sherry vinegar, softened shallot, fresh sage, salt, and nutmeg. Reserved pasta water can also be added to achieve the desired consistency.
Pumpkin pairs with red meat, poultry, fish, pork, rabbit, crab, lobster, and shrimp.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- For the best flavor and texture, purchase fresh ravioli from the refrigeration section of your local supermarket.
- Keep a close watch on the boiling ravioli. It’ll cook very quickly, and it should be al dente.
- Grate your parmesan cheese from a block of cheese instead of using pre-shredded cheese for the best taste in the sauce.
- Don’t mistake pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin puree. Sugar and spices are in pumpkin pie filling , whereas pumpkin puree has simply cooked pumpkin.
- Reserve ½ cup of pasta water after cooking the ravioli. We use this to adjust the consistency of the pasta sauce.
📚 Variations
- Instead of hazelnuts, use chopped pecans or walnuts when making the butter sauce.
- Add garlic to the melted butter sauce.
- Use canned pumpkin instead of pumpkin puree - they are essentially the same thing.
- Instead of parmesan cheese, use something like Parmigiano Reggiano. It has a lovely nutty flavor.
- Use pumpkin-filled ravioli instead of cheese for additional pumpkin flavor and texture.
- Add vegetables such as mushrooms and sliced zucchini to this dish and cook while you make pasta and sauce.
- If you’re not a fan of ravioli, use another type of pasta, such as penne pasta or linguine.
- Mix in some crispy crumbled bacon as a delicious meaty addition to the dish.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover ravioli with pumpkin pasta saucein an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave. You can store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months.
📗 Related Recipes
You can enjoy ravioli in many ways, with different fillings and accompanying sauces. Check out some of my favorite ravioli dishes:
- Fried Ravioli - Enjoy fried ravioli as tasty appetizers for your next party. Pair them with your favorite dipping sauce.
- Pumpkin Ravioli - Celebrate pumpkin season with a touch of sophistication thanks to this homemade pumpkin ravioli recipe. We serve it with a rich butter sauce and Parmesan cheese.
- White Lasagna Ravioli - Layers of tender ravioli, creamy alfredo sauce, and fresh spinach.
🍽 Serve with
Serve this Ravioli with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with roasted vegetables, leafy green salad, or garlic bread to soak up any excess sauce.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Ravioli always gets me excited. I mean, what’s there NOT to like about tender pasta with your favorite filling and accompanying sauce?! This Ravioli with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce is a rich and comforting pasta dish boasting the best colors and flavors of the fall season!
While I’ve grown up making ravioli from scratch, this recipe adds the convenience of using store-bought cheese-filled ravioli. Perfect for busy midweek family cooking.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
We make this cheese-filled al dente Ravioli in a rich Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with hazelnut butter and topped with sage and Parmesan. Enjoy this pasta dish as a sophisticated Thanksgiving appetizer or fall-inspired main meal.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Fresh Cheese Ravioli With Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Equipment Needed
- Colander If you're pasta pot doesn't have a built-in drainer
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds fresh cheese ravioli
- ⅝ teaspoon kosher salt divided, plus more for cooking pasta
- 5 Tablespoons butter unsalted, divided
- ¼ cup hazelnuts blanched, chopped
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallot
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese grated (½ cup)
Instructions
Cheese Ravioli:
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and 1 Tablespoon of salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente.
- Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta.
Pumpkin Cream Sauce:
- While the water is coming to a boil and you're cooking the pasta, melt 4 Tablespoons butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Add the hazelnuts and sage and cook until sage is crispy, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer sage to paper towel-lined plate.
- Continue to cook butter and hazelnuts until both are browned and fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
- Transfer to a heatproof bowl and stir in vinegar and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Melt remaining 1 Tablespoon butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, nutmeg, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot is softened, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in cream and pumpkin and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Off heat, stir in Parmesan. Add pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency with reserved cooking water as needed.
- Serve, topped with sage and hazelnut butter.
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