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I tried this recipe for pumpkin pasta with sausage last night. When you are short for quick easy dinner ideas, pasta is hard to beat.
This recipe for sausage pumpkin sauce for pasta from Rachael Ray caught my eye, (probably because I love sausage) as I was searching the internet for dinner inspiration.
Recipe Notes
As usual, I made a few changes to the original recipe (which has 5 stars from over 280 ratings on the Food Network site) adapting it for us.
I replaced the suggested penne with Tinkyada brown rice fusilli (affiliate link), since I am experimenting with eliminating gluten from my diet to see how I feel. I also substituted sweet Italian chicken sausage for pork sausage and evaporated milk for the cream.
I served this pumpkin pasta dish with a mixed green and apple salad dressed with a maple mustard balsamic vinaigrette. They combination was delish.
According to my calculations, each serving has about 323 calories, 8 Weight Watchers PointsPlus, 9 WW Freestyle SmartPoints. Enjoy!
If you’ve made this sausage and pumpkin pasta, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian chicken sausage
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
- 4 – 6 sprigs sage leaves, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons, plus more for garnish)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound penne or fusilli pasta, cooked al dente
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate.
- Drain fat from the skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
- Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
- Add chicken stock and pumpkin and stir to combine; continue stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble.
- Return sausage to the pan, reduce heat, and stir in milk. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer the mixture 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in.
- Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute.
- Garnish the pasta with lots of grated parmesan (if desired) and sage leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Rachel Ray
It’s easy to make your own Instant-Pot Pumpkin Puree at home.
