5 from 15 votes

Time: 1

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This hearty Pumpkin Pasta Bake is creamy, cheesy, and a flavorful fall dinner recipe that’ll have everyone coming back for seconds. It has Italian sausage, fresh sage, and pasta that is coated in a pumpkin parmesan cream sauce. Best part, it’s done in under an hour!

Pair your pasta with my 1 hour Old Fashioned Dinner Rolls or cornbread (using my Cornbread Mix), a glass of Harvest Punch, and a slice of Apple Spice Cake. Yummy!

Baking dish and dinner plate filled with cheesy pumpkin pasta and topped with fried sage leaves.

I don’t know about you, but October hits and I start craving all things comfort food. This Pumpkin Pasta Bake is always my first choice because it’s super cozy. The cheesy, meaty, saucy carb-filled goodness is warm and comforting especially on chilly fall nights.

This recipe is an easy dinner that is relatively hands off, especially if you’re wanting something for a crowd of people or to prep a weeknight dinner ahead of time. Just refrigerate (or freeze) until you’re ready to bake and serve. I guarantee everyone will leave feeling satisfied with this one.

For more delicious pasta dinners, try my Baked Chicken and Broccoli Pasta, Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta, Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup, or this Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole.

Video Tutorial: Let’s Make It Together!

Plate of cheesy pumpkin pasta bake topped with a fried sage leaf and parmesan cheese on the side with a baking dish filled with more pasta in the background.

Pumpkin Pasta Bake Ingredients

The ingredients in this pasta are pretty straight forward. But, keep reading because there are a couple small notes that will help make prepping for this recipe a breeze.

Penne Pasta: It should be partially cooked pasta, 2 minutes less than al dente. Feel free to use your favorite brand, whole wheat, gluten free, or even veggie penne pastas.
Italian Sausage: I used chicken Italian sausage but any variety works, including pork Italian sausage.
White Onion: Dice it up into small 1/2 inch pieces. Feel free to use shallots, vidalia, yellow onion, or other white onions.
Garlic: Freshly minced or grated tastes the best. You can use garlic powder, just know the flavor is not as pronounced.
Vegetable Broth: Feel free to use broth or stock for a richer pasta base. Even chicken stock or broth works great.
Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you don’t accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling, we want unsalted canned 100% pumpkin puree. You can also use homemade pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins.
Italian Seasoning Mix: This will be a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme.
Sage: Fresh is the best in this recipe because we will not only add it to the sauce, but we are going to fry it as a garnish too. You can use dried sage, but just like the garlic the flavor won’t be as strong.
Cream Cheese: Full fat works the best, reduced fat cream cheeses tend to separate as the sauce warms up.
Heavy Whipping Cream: This is used to thicken and give creaminess to our pumpkin sauce. Again, other types of milk separate the sauce because they do not have a high fat content. Half and half, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt are the best substitutes.
Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated tastes the best but you can also use pre-grated. Whatever you do, do not use the powdered parmesan cheese that comes in a can!
Salt and Black Pepper: Season to your taste preferences or use my recommended amounts in the recipe card.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pasta Bake with Sausage and Sage

How to Make Pumpkin Pasta Bake with Sage and Sausage

Here’s a quick overview on how to make this easy and cheesy pumpkin pasta bake. The recipe card below will have complete details. Don’t forget to grab a large 6 quart stock pot, a 13×9 baking dish, and a small skillet.

1. BROWN THE SAUSAGE, AND SAUTE THE ONIONS AND GARLIC together in a large pot. Always strain off any leftover grease.

2. MAKE THE CREAMY PUMPKIN SAUCE. Add the vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, Italian seasoning, sage, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil before whisking in the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and three quarters of the grated Parmesan cheese. Allow the pumpkin sauce to simmer until it is thickened.

Making the sauce- pumpkin puree, chicken broth, sausage, onion, garlic, spices, salt and pepper.

Making the Sauce 2- adding heavy cream, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese

3. ADD THE UNDERCOOKED RINSED PASTA and coat it well in the creamy pumpkin sauce.

4. POUR THE PUMPKIN PASTA mixture into your baking pan and top it with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven until it is bubbly and the cheese has become melty and slightly browned.

5. PAN FRY SAGE LEAVES as the pumpkin pasta bakes. Drop a few sage leaves into hot olive oil until they crisp up (about 5 to 6 seconds). Crumble them on top of the piping hot pasta right before serving.

Baking 1 add t Baking Part 1he noodles to the sauce and pour in a baking dish, top with parmesan

Baking part 2 bake for 20 minutes and top with fried sage.

Storing Information

Any leftovers should be stored airtight to keep it from drying out. You can either cover your 9×13 with a few layers of aluminum foil or transfer it to an airtight container. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days and reheat leftovers in the microwave or oven until warm.

Freeze It For Later

Freezing your Pumpkin Pasta Bake will extend the shelf life exponentially and means you can enjoy it on busy days, lazy days, or take it to your neighbor. It will keep for up to 3 months if prepared and stored properly:

Fully assemble (but do not bake) your pasta bake in an aluminum baking pan. Cover it with aluminum foil and then plastic wrap to keep the air from getting in. Freeze.
When you are ready to eat it, thaw in the refrigerator overnight (do not thaw it out at room temperature).
Bake the pasta dish as specified in the recipe card below.

ELIZABETH’S TIP: Write in permanent marker the name of the dish, date it was made, and cooking instructions. There is nothing worse than a freezer full of unknown food.

Large baking dish filled with cheesy pumpkin pasta.

A Few Quick Tips

1. Cook your pasta 2 minutes less than al dente. Doing this ensures your pasta does not become overcooked as the pumpkin pasta bakes in the oven. There is nothing worse than mushy pasta bake!

2. Drain off any grease from the cooked Italian sausage before you finish making the sauce. Extra grease is going to make your creamy pumpkin sauce oily and it keeps the sauce from properly sticking to the noodles.

3. Sage can be very pungent, so do not eat it raw. This is why we cook it within the pumpkin sauce and shallow fry it in a pan before using it as a garnish.

4. Cook the Pumpkin Pasta Bake covered. Baking the pasta covered with aluminum foil will keep it from drying out and allowing it to evenly heat up. We do uncover our pasta at the end of the bake time to help it crisp up the parmesan cheese topping.

Plate of pumpkin pasta bake topped with a fried sage leaf and parmesan cheese on the side.

Variations: Make It Your Own

There are a lot of ways you can make this Pumpkin Pasta Bake work for you and your family. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

TRY OTHER TYPES OF NOODLES. If you do not have Penne pasta you can swap them out for other types of small, chunky pastas. I also like bow tie, fusilli, shells, rigatoni, campanelle. My least favorites are spaghetti and fettuccine type noodles.
SWAP OUT THE PUMPKIN for pureed butternut squash. It tastes very similar, maybe a little sweeter which is delicious.
SPICE IT UP with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes added to the sauce (which will add a wonderful mellow spice) or before serving (which will add a bold kick of spice).

More Fall Inspired Pumpkin Recipes To Try

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Pie Dip – reader favorite!
Pumpkin Chai Cookies with vanilla bean glaze
Maple Pumpkin Fruit Dip
Pumpkin Milkshake with marshmallow creme
Pumpkin Cornbread
No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
Browse all Halloween recipes and Thanksgiving recipes.

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Pumpkin Pasta Bake

This hearty Pumpkin Pasta Bake is Italian sausage, fresh sage, and pasta that is coated in a pumpkin parmesan cream sauce. It's easy, freezer-friendly, and the perfect fall flavored dinner.

5 from 15 votes

Save Print

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1

Author Elizabeth Swoish

Course Main Course

Servings servings

Calories 375 kcal

EQUIPMENT

Large Stock Pot - 6 qt or larger
9×13 baking dish - I used a ceramic Staub
Shallow Skillet

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces Penne pasta - or other similar shaped pasta
1 pound Italian sausage - chicken or pork
1 medium white onion - diced small
3-4 cloves garlic - minced or grated
2 ½ cups vegetable broth - or stock
12 ounces pumpkin puree - 100% organic
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves - finely chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper - freshly cracked
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces cream cheese - full fat
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
1 ½ cups parmesan cheese - freshly grated
8 fresh sage leaves - pan fried for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 °F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Cook the penne pasta in salted boiling water for 8 minutes (or 2 minutes shy of al dente). Drain without rinsing and set aside.
In a large pot, brown the Italian sausage with diced onion and minced garlic until crumbled and cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain away any excess grease before moving on.
Add vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, Italian seasoning, chopped sage, black pepper, and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in cream cheese until melted, then gradually pour in heavy cream while whisking continuously until combined.
Whisk in 1 cup of parmesan cheese until the sauce thickens slightly. Fold in the partially cooked penne pasta until they're evenly coated in the sauce.
NOTE: Stop here if you don't want to bake the pasta. Just top each individual serving with more parmesan cheese.
Transfer to the prepared dish and top with remaining ½ cup of parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes.
Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes more. Once removed from the oven, allow the pasta bake to rest 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat ¼ cup olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Drop in the sage leaves and fry for 5 to 6 seconds. Transfer the fried sage to a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve the Pumpkin Pasta Bake and top each plate with crumbled fried sage.

VIDEO

RECIPE NOTES

STORING INFORMATION

Refrigerated, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 7 days.
Frozen, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.
Reheat leftovers in the oven or microwave until warm.

HOW TO FREEZE AND BAKE LATER

Fully assemble (but do not bake) your pasta bake in an aluminum baking pan. Cover it with aluminum foil and then plastic wrap to keep the air from getting in. Freeze.
When you are ready to eat it, thaw in the refrigerator overnight (do not thaw it out at room temperature).
Bake the pasta dish as specified in the recipe card below.