This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Happy October Crocktober 1st!
I’ve got a yummy easy healthy Weight Watchers friendly slow cooker recipe for Skinny Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pasta Sauce for you today.
AND we’re kicking off the official return of Slow Cooker Season by giving away a Cuisinart 3-1/2-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker (affiliate link) and copy of our very popular Cooking Yourself Slim Slow Cooker eCookbook, a collection of 50 of our favorite easy, healthy and delicious slow cooker recipes to one lucky winner!
Details will be provided at the end of the post 🙂
Skinny on Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
This recipe, which just screams fall, is from 365 Slow Cooker Suppers (affiliate link) by Stephanie O’Dea, who has the great blog, A Year of Slow Cooking.
She came up with it while trying to recreate a creamy pumpkin pasta dish she had on vacation and says it’s the sage that brings out the pumpkiny flavor. I totally agree.
Rod and I both really liked the creamy, cheesy, sagey, pumpkiny flavor of this pumpkin pasta sauce. I appreciated how easy it was – you just dump everything in the slow cooker and let it bubble away until your ready for dinner.
The recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta – too much for our little family.
So, one night I used some of it on Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ravioli that had been languishing in the freezer since last fall.
Then I used the leftover sauce on penne pasta a few nights later. Both were hits.
Steph’s original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cream, an ingredient that can make some fat-phobic Weight Watchers nervous.
To satisfy my curiosity, I ran the nutrition numbers using both cream and evaporated skim milk so I could compare.
Because you’re talking about such a small amount, just 1 tablespoon per serving, using cream only increased the calories by 13 (43 calories with skim v. 56 calories with cream per serving) and didn’t change the points value.
I opted for the cream, but if you’re feeling the need to keep things as skinny as you can, go with evaporated skim milk. It provides a nice creamy consistency with less fat.
This Weight Watchers friendly slow cooker pumpkin pasta sauce is perfect for fall and definitely one I plan on making again.
I love the ease of just having to cook pasta and add it to the sauce at dinner time.
A mixed green salad with chopped apple and dried cranberries provided the perfect contrast of flavors and textures.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Pumpkin Pasta Sauce?
According to my calculations each serving of this slow cooker pumpkin pasta sauce has 56 calories and:
3 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
3 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
3 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
1 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you like this easy slow cooker pumpkin pasta sauce, be sure to check out my other light and healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Slow Cooker Sausage Spaghetti Sauce, Crock Pot Pumpkin Black Bean Chili, Skinny Crock Pot Marinara Sauce, Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs with Sauce, CrockPot Cajun Sausage Pasta Sauce and WW Friendly Homemade Pumpkin Puree
If you’ve made this Crock Pot Pumpkin Pasta Sauce, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Skinny Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pasta Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup grated onion
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth (affiliate link)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1 teaspoon jarred)
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup cream (or evaporated milk)
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 4-Quart.
- Add the canned pumpkin, onion, broth, cheese, garlic, sage, salt and paper to the slow cooker. Stir well. (The mixture will be thick but will thin during cooking.)
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 - 8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the mixture has thinned.
- When ready to serve, stir the cream into the sauce.
- Toss the sauce with the hot pasta of your choice. (I've used both ravioli and penne with good results.)
- Sprinkle with a bit more cheese at the table if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: 365 Slow Cooker Suppers (affiliate link) by Stephanie O’Dea
More Weight Watchers Friendly Pumpkin Recipes
- Veggie Pumpkin Chili (HungryGirl)
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (SkinnyKitchen)
- Pumpkin Butter (SkinnyTaste)
- Pumpkin Enchiladas (HungryGirl)
WW Friendly Slow Cooker eCookbook…
This recipe from Everyday Food shows another way to make penne pasta with creamy pumpkin sauce on the stovetop:
Search For More Easy & Healthy Crock Pot Recipes
HOW DO YOU WIN THIS SLOW COOKER?
Giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner: Nancy Feely! Your slow cooker has been shipped to you via Amazon. Enjoy!
All you have to do is leave a comment here between now and Monday, October 5th telling us which of Our Slow Cooker Recipes you want to make with the Cuisinart Slow Cooker if you should win it.
Bonus Entries:
Pin – ANY of our Recipes on Pinterest – Make a comment here for EACH that you pin.Share this Giveaway on your Facebook page – Make a comment you did.
The giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+. Only comments on this blog post will count as a method of entry.
The giveaway will end on 10/05/15 at 11:59 pm PT. We will randomly select 1 winner.
The winner will be notified by email, so be sure to use an email that you check frequently. I’ll announce the winner by the following Wednesday (10/7/15), who will have 2 days to reply, at which point another winner will be selected.
The winner must be a resident of the United States and the prize must ship to a U.S. address.
This giveaway is provided by Simple Nourished Living.
Thank you for reading Simple Nourished Living! Good Luck!!
Your Hamburger Stew looks yummy! I will definitely be cooking it up this fall.
I would make Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing. Sounds so warm and comforting.
I’d make the French Onion Soup in that new Crockpot!! Sounds fantastically delicious & elegant now that the weather here in NJ has turned chilly!