Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce

My family loves this dish- it’s wonderful winter comfort food!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Step 2:    Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink in the center, about 10 mins. Cool slightly and slice on the diagonal.

Step 3:    Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add sage and nutmeg and stir. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl; add sausage. Mix in pumpkin, Gruyere cheese, cream, salt, and pepper.

Step 4:    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the  bite, about 10 minutes. Drain and mix pasta into pumpkin sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of the water from the pasta, about a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and  top with Parmesan cheese. Cover pan with aluminum foil.

Step 5:    Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 5 minutes or so until bubbly and a bit browned on top.

Notes:     Optionally Add Mushrooms: Add 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms in step 3 with the sausage. The heavy cream may be substituted with greek yogurt, but you may have to add more pasta cooking water to get the right consistency of the sauce.

This dish can be made ahead through step 4, and frozen or refrigerated to cook later.

For more pumpkin recipes, or to learn how to roast your own pumpkin, click here.

This recipe was inspired by Allrecipes