I am always amazed at how many different kinds of pumpkins and gourds you can find this time of year.
In my mind, a lot of the stranger ones are merely for decoration, but after some recent research, I discovered that many of them are actually supposed to be pretty tasty. It was that research that led me to grabbing a white pumpkin at our local grocery store.
As I put it in the cart, Joey looked at me, eyebrow raised, but he didn’t ask. He knows better by now that sometimes I buy an ingredient and let the recipe come later.
And, as per usual, a recipe finally came along for my pumpkin. It’s designed for a normal, orange pumpkin, but I learned that white pumpkins can be used the same was as orange ones—they just aren’t as strong in flavor.
The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Cooking with Ateen.” You can find the original post at https://www.cookingwithateen.com/creamy-pumpkin-pasta/. I added extra garlic and sage in my version, and I also incorporated some smoked sausage.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rigatoni pasta or another tubular pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounces smoked sausage cut into bite-sized rounds
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup milk I used skim, but whole is preferred
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan plus more for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package instructions, and be sure to save about one cup of the pasta water when you drain it.
- When the pasta is about halfway done, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the sage, garlic and sausage, and saute for a couple minutes, just until the garlic begins to be fragrant and the sausage starts to get a little color on it.
- Add in the pumpkin, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and continue stirring, letting the puree reduce a little bit.
- Stir in the milk, and continue stirring constantly as the ingredients incorporate. Let the mixture reduce to your liking, and stir in the cooked pasta, coating it in the sauce.
- If the sauce is a bit thick or not sticking to the pasta, add just a touch of the pasta water, stirring between additions, until it’s at your desired consistency.
- Finally, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the parmesan until it is melted, and serve, topping the pasta with a bit more grated parmesan.
I roasted my pumpkin in the oven and then pureed it in my food processor, but you can also use canned pumpkin for this one, if you don’t want to make your own.
This pasta was the epitome of fall flavor, with the sage and garlic complimenting the light pumpkin flavor. And while I decided to supplement with some smoked sausage, you could easily leave that out and have a great vegetarian dish to enjoy, too.
And this little experiment with a holiday pumpkin has led to me thinking I need to get one of those weird, warty ones next and see what I can do with it. Oh, and I learned you can roast white pumpkin seeds, too. What can be better than that?
This piece first appeared in print Nov. 13, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
