Easy Italian Sausage Pumpkin Recipe

This easy Italian sausage pumpkin recipe is a creamy sauce of roasted butternut squash, Italian sausage and Parmesan, ready in about 1 hour. It makes enough for 4 servings, and it’s a cozy fall weeknight dinner you can pour over any pasta you like.

Why This Recipe Works

The recipe is called pumpkin, but the sauce is built on butternut squash. Squash has a sweet, nutty flavor and a smoother texture than most pumpkins. Roasting the cubes first dries them out a little and deepens the sweetness.

Cook the sage in butter until it turns crisp and then throw it out. What stays behind is sage-flavored butter, and that coats the carrot and shallot with a gentle herb taste that doesn’t overpower the sausage.

Stirring in tomato paste with the garlic cooks off its raw edge. It also adds a little tang that balances the sweet squash and the heavy cream, so the sauce tastes savory and not like dessert.

Easy italian sausage pumpkin recipe Ingredients

For the squash

• 1 small to medium butternut squash, cubed
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sausage

• 1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage
• Olive oil

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• Fresh sage
• 1 shallot
• 1 carrot, diced small
• Garlic, to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, or to taste
• 1/2 to 1 cup broth or lighter cream

How To Make Easy italian sausage pumpkin recipe

Roast the squash and brown the sausage

1. Roast the squash: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes and toss them in olive oil. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cubes are very soft.
2. Brown the sausage: Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet and brown the sausage. Take it out of the pan when it’s cooked, and leave the browned bits behind for flavor.

Build the sauce

3. Crisp the sage: Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Cook the sage until it smells fragrant and turns crisp, then lift it out and discard it.
4. Soften the vegetables: Add the diced carrot and the shallot to the sage butter. Cook until they smell fragrant and turn slightly soft.
5. Add garlic and paste: Stir in the garlic and the tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, so the paste loses its raw taste.
6. Mash the squash: Add the roasted squash and smash it with the back of a spoon until smooth. The squash should be very soft, so it melts into the sauce.

Finish the dish

7. Add the cream: Stir in the room temperature cream until the sauce is combined. Cold cream can cool the pan and make the sauce look uneven.
8. Adjust the texture: If the sauce is too thick, stir in a little broth or lighter cream. Add it a splash at a time, so the sauce doesn’t turn thin.
9. Add the cheese: Stir in the grated Parmesan until it melts into the sauce. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
10. Add the sausage: Return the sausage to the pan and stir to coat it in the sauce. Serve it hot.

Recipe Tips

• Cut the cubes evenly: Squash pieces of the same size roast at the same speed. Small and large pieces together leave some hard and some mushy.
• Use fresh Parmesan: Grate it yourself from a block. Pre-shredded cheese often has anti-caking starch that keeps the sauce from melting smooth.
• Add liquid slowly: The squash holds different amounts of water each time. Stir in broth a splash at a time until the sauce coats a spoon.
• Pick your sausage heat: Mild sausage keeps the sauce sweet and gentle. Hot sausage cuts through the cream and the squash.

What To Serve With Easy italian sausage pumpkin recipe

Toss the sauce with a short pasta that catches it, like bow ties, rigatoni or shells, and top with extra Parmesan. A simple arugula salad on the side adds a fresh, bitter contrast.

How To Store

• Fridge: Keep the sauce in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
• Freezer: Freeze the sauce for 2 to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, never on the counter.
• Reheat: Warm it in a pan over low heat with a splash of broth. Heat until it’s hot all the way through.

FAQs

Can I use pumpkin instead of butternut squash?

Yes, if you use a sweet cooking pumpkin, such as a sugar pie pumpkin. Roast it the same way until it’s very soft. Large carving pumpkins are watery and stringy, so they make a thinner sauce.

What pasta goes best with this sauce?

A short pasta with ridges or folds holds the thick sauce best. Bow ties, rigatoni, penne and shells all work well. The recipe doesn’t include pasta, so cook it separately in salted water.

Can I make this recipe vegetarian?

Yes. Leave out the sausage and use vegetable broth. The squash, sage and Parmesan still make a full-flavored sauce, and some Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so check the label.

Why is my sauce too thick or too thin?

Squash varies in how much water it holds. If the sauce is thick, stir in broth or lighter cream a splash at a time. If it’s thin, simmer it for a few minutes and add a little more Parmesan.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 560 kcal
• Total Fat: 42g
• Total Carbohydrate: 24g
• Dietary Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 21g

Easy italian sausage pumpkin recipe

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Total time

60

minutes

A creamy sauce of roasted butternut squash, browned Italian sausage, sage butter and Parmesan. It feeds 4 and goes over any pasta you like.

Ingredients

• For the squash

• 1 small to medium butternut squash, cubed

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• For the sausage

• 1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage

• Olive oil

• For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter

• Fresh sage

• 1 shallot

• 1 carrot, diced small

• Garlic, to taste

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, or to taste

• 1/2 to 1 cup broth or lighter cream

Directions

• Roast the squash: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes and toss them in olive oil. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cubes are very soft.
• Brown the sausage: Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet and brown the sausage. Take it out of the pan when it’s cooked, and leave the browned bits behind for flavor.
• Crisp the sage: Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Cook the sage until it smells fragrant and turns crisp, then lift it out and discard it.
• Soften the vegetables: Add the diced carrot and the shallot to the sage butter. Cook until they smell fragrant and turn slightly soft.
• Add garlic and paste: Stir in the garlic and the tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, so the paste loses its raw taste.
• Mash the squash: Add the roasted squash and smash it with the back of a spoon until smooth. The squash should be very soft, so it melts into the sauce.
• Add the cream: Stir in the room temperature cream until the sauce is combined. Cold cream can cool the pan and make the sauce look uneven.
• Adjust the texture: If the sauce is too thick, stir in a little broth or lighter cream. Add it a splash at a time, so the sauce doesn’t turn thin.
• Add the cheese: Stir in the grated Parmesan until it melts into the sauce. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
• Add the sausage: Return the sausage to the pan and stir to coat it in the sauce. Serve it hot.