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Lamb Family Estate

Perfect Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

A creamy, savory pumpkin pasta sauce made with pumpkin purée, sage, warm spices and nutritional yeast. It's cozy, ridiculously easy and delicious over your pasta of choice.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Course: Dinner, Sauce
Calories: 85
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic — jarlic absolutely welcome or dried sage works beautifully too
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 Tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp [my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend]
  • 1 15-ounce/425 g can pumpkin purée — or 425 g homemade
  • 1/3 cup Sauvignon Blanc or another dry white wine
  • 1/2-3/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
If using a traditional/store-bought pumpkin spice instead of my homemade blend:
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Method
 

Sauté the onion.
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and seasonings.
  1. Add the minced garlic, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pumpkin spice blend. Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, just until everything gets nice and fragrant. Don't let the garlic burn.
Deglaze with the wine.
  1. Pour in the ⅓ cup Sauvignon Blanc and scrape up anything that's stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer for about 2–3 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by roughly half.
Add the pumpkin.
  1. Stir in the pumpkin purée, nutritional yeast, and ½ cup vegetable broth until everything is well combined. Let the sauce gently simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Blend until smooth.
  1. Use an immersion blender directly in the pot to blend the sauce until smooth and velvety. If you don't have one, carefully transfer it to a regular blender—or leave it a little more rustic if you don't mind the texture of the onions.
Get the consistency you want.
  1. If the sauce is thicker than you'd like, add more vegetable broth a little at a time, up to about ¼ cup more. If you're making pasta at the same time, reserved pasta water works really well here too.
Toss and serve.
  1. Add your cooked pasta or gnocchi directly to the sauce and toss until everything is coated. Taste and adjust the salt or seasonings as needed.

Notes

About the pumpkin spice: Before anyone panics, we're only using a teaspoon. This isn't sweet pumpkin-spice pasta. My homemade blend contains turmeric and black pepper along with the traditional warm spices, and I love the little bit of warmth and depth it adds to a savory pumpkin sauce. If you're using a traditional store-bought pumpkin spice, add the turmeric and black pepper separately.
No thyme? Dried sage is delicious here too. Rosemary can work in a pinch, but use it sparingly because it can take over quickly. And honestly, if you don't have any of them, leave the herb out. The sauce already has plenty going on.
Make it Pumpkin Alfredo: Add a splash of heavy cream and some parmesan cheese toward the end for an extra-rich sauce. For a dairy-free/vegan version, cashew cream is fantastic.
Don't want to cook with wine? Replace the Sauvignon Blanc with additional vegetable broth and add a small squeeze of lemon at the end if the sauce needs some brightness.
Make it thinner: Pasta water is your friend. Add a splash at a time until the sauce coats the pasta the way you want it.