Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta (with Pumpkin Sauce)
Embrace the essence of fall with this luxuriously Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta! Savory crumbled ground breakfast sausage is swirled into a velvety sauce spiced with sweet pumpkin pie filling, melty cheese, and a touch of heat, offering comfort in every single bite.
It’s fall season again, and that means anything “pumpkin” is fair game for the menu, including this one-pot creamy Italian sausage pasta! This dish is loaded with all sorts of rich and comforting ingredients – ground sausage, cream cheese, pumpkin pie filling, melted cheese, and tender pasta.
This pasta with pumpkin sauce recipe is the savory dinner upgrade your pumpkin cravings deserve. Creamy Italian sausage is enveloped in a luxuriously spiced sauce, where the subtle sweetness of pumpkin pie filling beautifully balances rich beef bouillon and sharp asiago. It’s a surprisingly sophisticated and comforting fall dish that proves pumpkin pie filling’s place at the dinner table.
What is creamy Italian sausage pasta?
This creamy Italian sausage pasta blends the savory richness of ground breakfast sausage and asiago cheese with the subtle, spiced sweetness of pumpkin pie filling, creating a decadent and creamy pasta sauce.
The combination of savory caramelized onion, fresh sage, and beef bouillon builds a deeply flavorful base that perfectly balances the pumpkin’s sweetness. Simmering the sauce allows the flavors to meld into a luxurious, velvety texture that clings beautifully to any pasta of your choice. We use bowtie!
The dish is complete with a kick of red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of sharp cheese, resulting in a comforting and sophisticated fall-inspired pasta dinner that the whole family will love!
Ingredients needed to make creamy Italian sausage pasta
- Pasta: I’ve used bowtie pasta, but you can use almost any type of pasta that you prefer and that catches the sauce and crumbled sausage well. Cook the pasta only until al dente to prevent it from becoming overly soft.
- Cream cheese: Cut into cubes as a way to soften in preparation for mixing with the pumpkin pie filling to make the pumpkin sauce.
- Olive oil: My go-to choice of oil for sauteing the onion and browning the ground breakfast sausage.
- Onion: A sweet onion variety is ideal, complementing the slight sweetness of the pumpkin sauce. You can use vidalia onions, Walla Walla, Maui, or Texas sweet onions.
- Ground breakfast sausage: I’ve used Jimmy Dean premium pork sausage that comes in a tube.
- Herbs and spices: The meat sauce is flavored and seasoned further with a combination of white pepper, fresh sage, red pepper flakes, salt, and dried parsley.
- Beef Better Than Bouillon: Mixed with boiling water as the flavorful liquid base for the pasta sauce. You can also use chicken bouillon.
- Pumpkin pie filling: Adds delicious sweetness to this dish, contrasting beautifully with the rich and savory ground breakfast sausage. Feel free to use 1 cup of sour cream instead if you prefer a more savory dish.
- Cheese: Freshly shredded Asiago cheese or Parmesan cheese are great options.
How do you make this creamy Italian sausage pasta
Cook the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
- Before draining, carefully reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. Set the drained pasta aside.
Make the sauce:
- Cut the cream cheese into small cubes to soften.
- Saute the onion in an oiled large skillet over medium heat until golden.
- Add the sausage and cook until done, crumbling as you go along. Season with fresh sage and pepper, and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add the bouillon to 3 cups of boiling water and then pour this mixture into the skillet, stirring as you bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin pie filling and cream cheese. Stir and bring the mixture to a simmer again for 10-15 minutes to reduce the sauce.
- Season the sauce with a few pinches of dried parsley and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust with more salt, if needed.
Add pasta and cheese:
- Add the pasta and toss to coat. Simmer for 10 minutes, adjusting the consistency with the reserved pasta water, if needed.
- Add the cheese and mix until melted.
- Top the assembled pasta dish with more cracked black pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
Serving
Enjoy a warm bowl of this creamy Italian sausage pasta as a complete dinner or pair it with crusty buttery garlic bread as a way to soak up any remaining sauce.
For more cozy fall-inspired pasta recipes, be sure to try Butternut Squash Alfredo, Skillet Lamb Pumpkin Lasagna, or Orzo Salad with Lemon and Butternut. Or for a balanced meal, consider serving your pasta alongside fall-inspired vegetable side dishes or salads, such as Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, green beans, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, or this Harvest Fall Salad.
Finish off this comforting meal with a scoop of Pumpkin No-Churn Ice Cream, Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake, or Real Pumpkin Spice Latte – perfect for keeping to the “pumpkin” theme of this dish!
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftover creamy Italian sausage pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm it in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water, broth, or sour cream to loosen the sauce.
- Al dente pasta: Only cook the pasta until al dente. Since it will continue to soften when mixed with the other heated ingredients, subtract about 2 minutes from the package directions.
- Types of ground meat: This recipe works well with ground breakfast sausage, but you could also use regular ground beef instead. If you like, drain any excess grease remaining in the skillet after having cooked and crumbled the ground meat to avoid an overly oily pasta dish.
- Reserve pasta water: It’s important to reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining the pasta. This can be added to the pasta sauce later on if you need to adjust the consistency without diluting any of the flavor.
- Add the pasta at the end: Only stir the pasta into the skillet towards the end of the recipe to prevent it from overcooking.
- Gluten-free: Swap regular pasta for a sturdy GF variety like brown rice or chickpea pasta, which holds up well to the sauce.
- Use a large skillet: Choose a skillet large enough to comfortably stir and simmer all of the ingredients together. Crowding the pan makes even heating difficult.
- Use freshly shredded cheese: Avoid pre-shredded cheese as this is often coated in anti-caking agents for a longer shelf-life. This prevents the cheese from melting as well and also dulls the flavor.
- Pumpkin pie filling: You can use pumpkin puree or sour cream instead of the sweet pumpkin pie filling if you prefer a more savory dish. All of these options are delicious!
More pumpkin-based dinner recipes you may want to try:
- Skillet Lamb Pumpkin Lasagna
- Pumpkin Shrimp Curry Recipe
- Pumpkin Enchilada Bake
- Pumpkin Apple Three Cheese Mac and Cheese
- Chicken Pumpkin Bake with Herbed Cream Sauce
- Sweet Pumpkin & Barley Sage Soup
Get the Recipe:
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. bowtie pasta
- 8 oz cream cheese, 1 block
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1 lb. ground breakfast sausage, comes in a tube
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
- Salt
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ Tbsp Beef Better than Bouillon, or chicken
- 1 cup pumpkin pie filling, or use 1 cup of sour cream if you don’t want sweet
- Red pepper flakes
- Dried parsley
- ½ cup Asiago Cheese or Parmesan Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions; drain and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water in case you need it at the end of the recipe.
- Cut up the cream cheese into small cubes to soften; set aside.
- Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onions; sauté until golden brown and tender.
- To the same pan, add the ground breakfast sausage to the skillet, breaking it apart into large pieces. Cook until done, and crumble even more as you cook it (use a spatula). Season with pepper and the fresh sage. Sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Bring 3 cups of water to boiling; add the bouillon, stir until incorporated.
- Pour the bouillon mixture into the skillet, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the canned pumpkin pie filling (or sour cream if you don’t want to use pumpkin) and the cream cheese cubes. Stir until both are incorporated into the mixture. Bring to a simmer again, stirring a couple time, for about 10-15 minutes. The sauce will reduce down a little.
- Add a few pinches of the dried parsley and red pepper flake. Taste and adjust with more salt if needed.
- Next add the pasta to the skillet and toss to coat with the sauce; simmering for another 10 minutes. If too thick, add the pasta water.
- Add the cheese and mix together until the cheese is melted.
- Top with more cracked black pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes and parsley, and serve.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
