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This silky, smooth, and extra creamy Pumpkin Pasta Alla Vodka is the perfect cozy autumn recipe. Rigatoni pasta is tossed in a spicy sage pumpkin butter vodka sauce. It’s just as yummy and delicious as it sounds. The sweet pumpkin adds a vibrant layer of color, flavor, and richness to this already silky, smooth, and creamy pasta. It’s so scrumptious with crusty, warm bread and a big fall salad.
I’ve mentioned this before, but while most prefer to bake with pumpkin, I actually love to cook with it! It’s so versatile and adds warmth, sweetness, and richness to savory dishes. I love mixing it in soups and chili and incorporating it into a creamy pasta sauce.
With my family’s love of my classic pasta alla vodka recipe, I knew a pumpkin pasta alla vodka recipe would go over well, so I was excited to create it.
Right away, I knew that pumpkin, along with some sage and spicy Calabrian chili paste, would be delicious mixed into my classic alla vodka recipe.
I also used some extra parmesan in this alla vodka because I adore the flavors of sweet pumpkin and the rich, nutty flavor of parmesan. It’s the perfect fall pairing that’s so underrated.
I’ve decided that while some people are great at pairing food with wine, I’m pretty good at pairing cheeses with pasta!
Let’s Get Into the Details
Ingredients
- olive oil
- shallots
- garlic
- fresh sage
- dried oregano
- Calabrian chili paste
- chili flakes
- tomato paste
- canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)
- vodka (or use water with 1 tablespoon apple vinegar)
- heavy cream
- pasta, I used rigatoni (BUT you could use a cute pumpkin pasta)
- salted butter
- parmesan cheese
Special Tools
None. You just need a skillet with sides and a pot to cook the pasta in.
Step 1: make the pumpkin vodka sauce
Cook the shallot, garlic, fresh sage, and dried oregano in olive oil until the shallot softens.
Now add the Calabrian chili paste. I like to use 2 rounded tablespoons. However, if you’re sensitive to spice, use 1 tablespoon.
For even more spice, add a pinch of chili flakes to the chili pasta. Then, add the tomato paste and the pumpkin. Cook this mix until thickened.
Step 2: add the vodka, mix in the cream
Mix in the Vodka and allow it to cook into the pumpkin sauce. If you don’t like to cook with alcohol, use 1/4 cup water with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.
Mix in the cream, then season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Step 3: boil the pasta
Cook the pasta. Use any shortcut pasta you love. I use rigatoni, but if I had access to Trader Joe’s, I would use their dried pumpkin-shaped pasta. So cute!
Save some pasta water before draining, then drain.
Step 4: mix in the pasta
Now add the pasta, the parmesan, and some of the pasta cooking water to the sauce.
Cook the sage leaves in butter and serve the sage butter over the pasta with even more Parmesan! So yummy!
The sauce is creamy, with warming notes of pumpkin and sage and nuttiness from the parmesan. It’s my favorite combo.
Perfect for chillier nights or when you need to throw together a quick dinner!
Looking for other simple winter pasta dishes? Here are my favorites:
4 Cheese Sage Pesto Florentine Lasagna
One Pot Spicy Pesto Cheese Baked Rigatoni
Lastly, if you make this Pumpkin Pasta Alla Vodka, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Pumpkin Pasta Alla Vodka
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 686 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons Calabrian chili paste
- chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin pureè
- 1/4 cup vodka
- salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 fresh sage leaves
Instructions
- 1. In a skillet with sides set over medium heat, cook the olive oil, shallot, garlic, sage, and oregano until the shallots soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the chili paste, tomato paste, pumpkin, and chili flakes (use these to your taste), cook for 4-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the vodka and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the cream—season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Drain.3. To the vodka sauce, add the pasta, 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, and 3 tablespoons butter, tossing until the butter has melted. Add the parmesan. If needed, thin the sauce with additional pasta cooking water.4. In a small skillet, cook 1 tablespoon of butter with the sage until the sage is crispy. 5. Divide the pasta among plates and top with sage and cheese. Enjoy!
This was extremely delicious, your pasta dishes never let me down. I browned 1/2 lb of spicy Italian sausage first, removed from the pan and continued on with the recipe from step 1. After the sauce was finished I added the sausage back in right before adding the cooked pasta. Reserving pasta water always helps a ton! Keep in mind this is quite spicy for some, so you might have to adjust how much of the Calabrian chili paste you add to personal taste.
This was absurdly good – added spicy Italian sausage for protein and the combo was perfection
Girl….you did it again!
This is a taste of fall for sure!
My family loved it no leftovers!
Thanks for all your fabulous recipes!
Jo
Hey Jo,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Happy Sunday! xT
This recipe was absolutely delicious!! It was also a pretty quick meal to make which is a plus. My husband loved it as well and he is not a huge pasta fan (crazy!). So he really loved the spice in the sauce. I was able to find the pumpkin pasta at Trader Joe’s so it was pretty to look at as well.
Hey Caitlyn,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great fall weekend! xT
Absolutely delicious!!
Thanks so much, Michelle! So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish! Have a great fall Friday! XxT
Could you use pumpkin seed butter instead of butter? Would it be a positive add to the pumpkin flavour?
Hi Lyn,
Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
I would love to incorporate ricotta and Gouda into this dish, do you have a suggestion as to how to use ricotta in this? I would appreciate it so much!
Hi Sofia,
You could serve each dish with a dollop of ricotta, that would be yummy! Otherwise, I wouldn’t want it to mess with the consistency of the sauce. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Does the alcohol content of the vodka burn off in this dish? I cook with red wine quite often and simmer for long enough to be only left with the taste, but to me it doesn’t look like there’s enough of a simmering period to lose the alcohol content in this recipe. Asking as I don’t drink, but like to try different flavours when cooking with wine, rum and cider.
Hey Bart,
It does, but you could also use chicken broth if you would rather do that! Let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
I can’t get Calabrian chilli paste in Australia. Chatgpt suggests Sambal Olek though not same depth of flavour. Any thoughts? Want to make it this weekend
Hey Ann,
Honestly, I think it would be just fine for you to skip the Calabrian chilli paste. I hope you love this recipe! xT
So no chili paste at all?? Thank you xx
Yes, that’s just fine:)
I really want to try making this with Italian sausage, should I brown the sausage first, and then begin with step 1 of your recipe once it’s browned a bit?
Thank you 😊
Hey Sofia,
Yes, I would actually fully cook the sausage, put it to the side to finish the pasta dish and then add it for serving. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Loved this!! Served with salad and crusty bread for the perfect Fall dinner. I went out and bought the Calabrian chili paste linked in1 the recipe and it’s delicious! Subbed unsweetened almond milk for the cream and the water/vinegar mix for the vodka. Picky teens and hubs found this satisfying for a meatless Monday dinner. My fave part was the crispy sage– I could eat those like chips! Another stellar meal, Tieghan!
Hey Angela,
Yay! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! Have a great day! Xx
Heavy cream again? Would be great if you could substitute a more healthy option.
You can, lol. If you don’t want to use heavy cream, substitute it. Cooking is about being creative.
You can use lite coconut milk from a can, let it cook down just a bit longer so it thickens up a little. Won’t taste like coconut cuz there are so many other flavors. (Always a vegan alternative to cream-not fat free but a healthier version than an animal product. Other plant based milks would work too but the sauce will be thinner.)
Hey Lisa,
Feel free to use a low fat milk that you enjoy, that will work nicely for you:) Happy Monday! xx
Heavy cream is the most appropriate choice for a pasta dish with cream sauce. A “healthier option” is probably to choose a different recipe altogether. One that isn’t a pasta and cream sauce recipe.