Description
Comforting Italian pumpkin pasta bake brings hearty autumn flavors to your dinner table. Rich roasted pumpkin and tangy tomato sauce meld beautifully with perfectly baked pasta, creating a soul-warming meal you’ll crave all season long.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 lb (454 g) dry pasta (mezzi rigatoni, shells, ziti, fusilli, or farfalle)
- 1 (15-ounce/425 g) can pumpkin purée
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 8 oz (226 g) cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced
- 3–4 handfuls fresh baby spinach
Dairy and Cheese Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups (170 g) grated fontina cheese, divided
Herbs, Spices, and Flavor Enhancers:
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage, divided
- ½ cup (50 g) finely chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Ignite the oven to a toasty 375°F, preparing a welcoming environment for the upcoming culinary creation.
- Submerge pasta into a generously salted boiling water bath, allowing it to dance until just shy of complete tenderness. Carefully extract and set aside.
- In a spacious skillet, gently transform butter into a silky medium, introducing walnuts and a whisper of sage. Toast until the nuts release their aromatic essence and achieve a golden complexion. Sprinkle with a delicate salt pinch, then transfer to a separate vessel.
- Reawaken the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, welcoming mushrooms and onions to caramelize and soften. Introduce tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper flakes, coaxing them to develop a rich, deep character.
- Fold in spinach, allowing it to surrender and wilt gracefully. Harmonize the mixture with oregano, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and remaining sage, creating a symphony of flavors.
- Cascade vegetable broth into the skillet, liberating any treasured browned bits clinging to the pan’s surface. Incorporate pumpkin purée, Parmesan, and fontina, stirring until a velvety sauce emerges.
- Reunite the pasta with the luxurious sauce, ensuring each noodle is lavishly coated in the vibrant mixture.
- Transfer the ensemble to a prepared baking dish, draping it with remaining fontina and crowning with the toasted walnut-sage mixture.
- Envelop in foil and nestle into the heated oven for a gentle 15-minute transformation. Uncover and continue baking until the cheese bubbles with golden ambition, approximately 10 more minutes.
Notes
- Customize the heat by adjusting red pepper flakes for a mild or spicy kick.
- Toast walnuts carefully to enhance their nutty flavor without burning.
- Select ripe, fresh pumpkin purée for the most authentic and rich sauce texture.
- Undercook pasta slightly before baking to prevent mushy final texture.
- Create a crispy golden top by removing foil during the last baking stage.
- Use high-quality fontina and Parmesan for deeper, more complex cheese flavor.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 540
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 68 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg