This simple pumpkin pasta with just two ingredients is a quick and simple, but still delicious, fall dinner.
There is something incredibly decadent about taking the time to make your own fresh pasta. If you’re a food-lover, its easily an act of self-care. The feeling of the dough in your hands as you kneed. The way the smooth, rolled out sheets of dough pass through your fingers. That first bite of tender, delectable pasta.
There is nothing inherently hard about fresh pasta—its just a bit time consuming. And our recipe here for fresh pumpkin pasta simplifies it even more. It only takes two ingredients (pumpkin puree and flour) to make this rustic fresh pasta. Let’s get cooking!
What is pumpkin pasta made of?
If you’ve ever been afraid to make fresh pasta at home, this recipe is a great place to start. It literally has two ingredients—flour and pumpkin puree. If you want to get real wild and crazy, you could add a third ingredient—salt—but I cooked my pasta in salted water, so it wasn’t necessary. But it’s up to you.
Where are the eggs?
It just so happens that pumpkin is a wonderful substitute for animal products in many dishes. It adds moisture, sweetness, and flavor like cream or butter would. It’s got the creamy texture of a lot of dairy products. And it binds a lot like an egg would.
The binding properties of squash are what I was really relying on for this pumpkin pasta. I’ve seen recipes out there where folks mix pumpkin puree into traditional fresh egg pasta, and that’s great, but I had a hunch that you could maybe skip the egg entirely and just make a straight up pumpkin pasta. And I was right! Leave out the egg, just use pumpkin, and create yourself a big, glorious pile of beautiful vegan pasta!
Is there a difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree?
Nope! Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are typically the same thing, just with different names. However, don’t grab “pumpkin pie filling”—that’s something entirely different. It is spiced with pumpkin pie spices and sweetened with sugar. Perfect for making a pie, not so perfect for making a savory pasta.
How do I roll out the noodles?
Even better than the tiny number of ingredients in this fresh pasta? Making the noodles requires no special equipment!
If you have a pasta roller and cutter and want to use it, go right ahead, but don’t be shy if you don’t. Just roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin and cut rustic noodles using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. I promise it’ll taste just as delicious.
Tell me how to cook pumpkin noodles!
The nice thing about homemade noodles is that while you do have to invest some time in rolling out the pasta, cooking the noodles happens in a snap. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot, and add the pasta (you may want to do this in batches). After two minutes, the noodles should be floating in the pasta water—that’s how you know they are done to al dente perfection! Drain, reserving a bit of the pasta water if you need it for the sauce, and toss with whatever sauce you’d like.
How should I use this pumpkin pasta?
This fresh pumpkin pasta recipe would be wonderful as a cheese ravioli, or even in a white-sauce lasagna, but I kept it simple and drizzled a browned butter and sage sauce over top with some Parmesan cheese.
The sauce takes all of about five minutes to make, and is the perfect complement to the sweetness of the pumpkin in the pasta. Of course, the butter and cheese kinda negate the whole vegan pasta concept. So if you want to keep your pasta dish dairy-free and vegan, you can replicate the sauce using one of the many vegan margarines out there and use our Vegan Cashew Parmesan.
How to store and reheat
This pasta is at its best when cooked and eaten fresh, but you can also store it uncooked in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Just cook in boiling water like you would with freshly made pasta.
Fresh Pumpkin Pasta With Two Ingredients
This simple pumpkin pasta with just two ingredients is a quick and simple, but still delicious, fall dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 14-ounce can pumpkin puree (or about 1 2/3 cups homemade puree)
Instructions
- Pile the flour in the middle of a board or clean countertop. Make a well in the center, and add in the pumpkin puree.
- Using clean hands, mix together the puree and flour until it forms a stiff dough (adding more flour if needed to make it not sticky).
- Divide the dough in half, covering one half with a towel to keep it from drying out. Form remaining dough half into a disc.
- Flour a rolling pin and roll out the disc into a very thin sheet (you should almost be able to see through it in parts). Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 1/4" wide strips. Repeat with remaining dough disc.
- To cook pasta: bring to a boil two quarts of salted water. Drop noodles into the water a few at a time. Cook for two minutes, or until all the noodles float. Drain and top with sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 375Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
