This pumpkin pasta is a delicious way to enjoy a touch of fall in homemade pasta with real pumpkin in the dough. If you're a pasta fan, you'll be blown away at how good it can taste.
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I'm not quite sure when it occurred to me recently, but I came to realize that it's been forever since I last made homemade pasta. In fact it's been a good two years, since I first made ravioli when I got the pasta maker. I'm really not sure why.
Well, there is the fact that the little one has come along in the meantime and turned our world around, of course, but I do make gnocchi regularly (well, at least in the last year) which take a similar amount of time, really.
After making this pumpkin pasta, however, I know that's going to have to change. For one thing, this is delicious. But from a more personal perspective my elder son loved helping me to make the pasta.
He always kind of want to helps with gnocchi but he can never manage to actually roll them and instead ends up with a handful of mush. At least with pasta, he can turn the handle on my pasta maker no problem.
How to make pumpkin pasta
Now I can't begin to suggest this is a quick meal, as it still takes a bit of time to make pasta, but it's not difficult. The pumpkin pasta dough is simply pumpkin puree, eggs, flour and a little salt.
I would normally have more eggs for this sort of quantity, but since pumpkin is relatively moist, you need a little less.
- Mix everything together and kneed a little then let it rest. You can leave it a day or two at this point in the fridge.
- Then start rolling it out. You can do this by hand or use a pasta maker which makes it much more even. I did a little research before I got my Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine
and I have to say I love it. - Once you roll it out fairly thin, you can either cut into tagliatelli-style strips as I did here, or make whatever shape you prefer.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a relatively small quantity of the pasta at a time to cook until it rises up to the top for a minute.
If you cook it fresh, it will take simply a minute or two. If you let it dry (which lets you make ahead), it will be a few more minutes.
In both cases, with tagliatelli/spaghetti style at least it will be done when it floats up to the top, but you can also try a little to check doneness.
The flavor of this pasta is very mild, so don't go thinking it is going to give you your pumpkin fix for the year, but it's still incredibly tasty and so worth the effort of making yourself.
What should you serve with pumpkin pasta?
We served this with some walnut sauce as well as a little browned butter to toast some sage that worked so well. You could also serve it with a creamy sauce or simply the sage browned butter.
However you choose to serve it, this pumpkin pasta is deliciously special, with a lovely savory flavor. So give it a try soon!
If you're looking for more homemade pasta dishes try these:
- Sweet potato ravioli
- Spinach pasta
- Crab ravioli
- Tortelli di zucca, pumpkin ravioli
Plus get more mains recipes in the archives.
Tools to make homemade pasta:
I use my Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine
which works very well. A pasta drying rack can also be useful as you go or particularly if you are planning to dry any leftover (affiliate links).
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
Pumpkin pasta
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree 120ml (see note)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour 210g plain flour
Instructions
- Put the pumpkin puree in a food processor along with the egg, egg yolk and salt and pulse until well mixed, scraping down as needed.
- Add the flour about ½ cup at a time and pulse three or four times after each addition. Once all added, pulse until the dough comes together, away from the sides into a ball.
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead with floured hands for about 5 minutes. It should be soft but not sticky - if it is, add a little more all-purpose/plain flour as you knead.
- Wrap in plastic/cling film and allow to rest at room temperature for around 30min (ideally). At this stage, you can keep the dough in the fridge for a day or two until ready to use.
- When ready, divide the dough into 4 sections and cover the pieces you aren't working with with the cling film or a damp cloth to save them drying out. Prepare some baking sheets/trays by dusting them with flour, or set up a drying rack if not using pasta immediately.
- As you work with each piece, flatten it out slightly, dust with flour then put it through your pasta roller on the widest settings a few times (3-5 about right) until smooth, dusting with flour in between if at all sticky. Then move up the settings rolling once or twice at each settings until you get to the thickness you would like - I usually go to around 4 on my pasta roller. Alternatively, roll it thin with a rolling pin, making sure it is not sticking on either side.
- If the pasta is very long by this point, cut in half, then put through the linguini cutter on the pasta roller (or slice by hand if not using pasta maker). Transfer to floured baking sheet/tray or drying rack.
- Repeat with the rest of the pasta until it is all cut. Once all the pasta dough has been used and you are ready to cook, place a few pieces at a time in a wide pan of boiling water for around 2-3 minutes until they rise up to the top, then remove with a slotted spoon and cook the rest in batches.
- Serve with sauce of your choice - I recommend walnut sauce, browned butter or a cream sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Here are today's #PumpkinWeek recipes:
Pumpkin Drink Recipes:
"Grown Up" Potter Pumpkin Juice from The Crumby Kitchen
Hot'N'Spicy Pumpkin Margarita from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Savory Pumpkin Recipes:
Pumpkin and Fish Stew from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pumpkin Chili from Making Miracles
Pumpkin Crab Soup from Hardly A Goddess
Thai Pumpkin Curry from Palatable Pastime
Sweet Pumpkin Recipes:
Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Bread from The Freshman Cook
Fall Harvest Pumpkin Sourdough Muffins from Cooking With Carlee
Pumpkin Spice Milkshake from Family Around The Table
Pumpkin Spice Thumbprint Cookies from The Bitter Side of Sweet
Pumpkin Spiced Banana Bread from Daily Dish Recipes
Pumpkin Tiramisu from The Redhead Baker
Remember to pin for later!
Marc
I need to get my pasta maker out. It's a lot less work than it seems and the results are always so rewarding. Love how you've paired the pumpkin with the walnut pesto, I can almost taste it in my mind🤤
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, I need to get mine back out soon too. It pairs so well with the walnut sauce, I definitely recommend them together.
Danielle
We love making pumpkin pasta and you have made me so excited for all the autumn food now!
Caroline's Cooking
I'm getting pretty excited to see the autumn produce soon too!
Juli
I love.maki g savory pumpkin dishes, esp pasta. I never thought about incorporating it in to the past itself though. It looks delicious.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, it really is worth a try!
Jenni LeBaron
What a great way to sneak some veggies in. This looks like a wonderful pasta!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, it has a lovely gently savory flavor to it.
Tisha
The added pumpkin sounds amazing can't wait to try it!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, it adds a lovely gentle flavor, and there's nothing quite like fresh pasta I think anyway.
Ellen
Pumpkin pasta sounds delightful.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Ellen, it's really tasty. There's something special about homemade pasta!
Wendy Klik
Great idea, integrating the pumpkin right into the pasta. Great way to sneak some veggies into a meal.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Wendy, always good to sneak in some veggies 🙂 And it gives a slight flavor that's tasty too.