Occasionally I admit that I live in a Disney fantasyland where candlesticks come to life and orchestrate the cleaning of my kitchen and Prince Charming actually texts me back.
In reality, dishes are piling up in the sink and my phone is all too quiet. On the bright side, even though this pumpkin didn’t magically transform into a carriage, it did turn into the tastiest alfredo of my life. Alfredo sounds like he could be a charming character, doesn’t he?
Technically, this is an abstract alfredo since it’s not loaded with butter and Parmesan like traditional alfredo sauce. Instead, it’s made creamy with pumpkin purée and seasoned with rosemary, red pepper and tangy goat cheese. It’s precisely what I’ve been craving in this chilly weather, especially after what’s-his-name didn’t holler back. Alfredo it is.
Last weekend, a guy teased me for using canned pumpkin purée instead of homemade in my pumpkin bread, so I went to the trouble of making my own for this recipe. Was it worth it? I’m not entirely convinced it was. The homemade purée not only took so long that I ran out of daylight to take photos of the finished pasta (grumble), but also has a higher moisture content than the organic canned stuff. Therefore, I’m not sure I would trust it for baking.
In terms of flavor, pumpkin purée really doesn’t have much of it—whether canned or homemade, it’s not that great until you spice it up and add a dash of salt. Conclusion? Make your own if you’re so inclined but feel free to crank open a can instead. I won’t judge.
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) whole wheat fettuccine (linguine would also work)
- 1 generous tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary, plus more for sprinkling on top (a 3-inch sprig of rosemary should do it)
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- 3 ounces goat cheese cheese, cut into big chunks
- 1 cup pumpkin puree*
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- shaved Parmesan cheese for topping
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente (consult directions on package). Drain and set aside.
- Heat a 10 to 12-inch saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in flour and stir to create a roux, until bubbly and golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in milk, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Stir constantly and increase the heat a little bit, if necessary, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add in goat cheese, pumpkin, cinnamon, salt and pepper, whisking until smooth and thickened into a sauce. Season with additional salt (don’t be shy) and pepper to taste. Add cooked pasta to pan and toss to combine. Remove from heat and serve immediately; top each serving with a sprinkle of finely chopped rosemary (necessary), red pepper flakes (optional, if you like spice like me) and Parmesan shavings.
- Adapted from How Sweet It Is.
- Serves two generously or three to four with sides.
- Whole wheat noodles work particularly well here because they retain more of a bite and lend texture to a dish that might otherwise end up mushy. I used Mara’s Pasta fettuccine, which I like, but any brand will do.
- If you don’t like goat cheese, let me first say that I don’t understand you even though I used to be one of you… but I still love you. Try substituting mascarpone cheese or cream cheese or any melty cheese (fontina would be good) for the goat cheese.
- Gently reheat leftovers with a splash of milk.
- *To make your own pumpkin purée: preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut off the top-most part of the pumpkin where it meets the stem. Slice the pumpkin into two, from the top through the bottom. Use a large metal spoon to scoop out the seeds, reserving them for roasted pumpkin seeds if you’d like. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the flesh of the pumpkin halves with a light coating of olive oil and place facedown on the baking sheet. Roast until the skin is easily pierced with a fork, about 45 to 55 minutes. Turn the halves over and let them rest until cool enough to handle. Use a large spoon to scoop the flesh into a food processor or high-powered blender (I found that I could just pull the skin off). Blend well. Measure out one cup for this recipe. Once the rest has cooled down, store it in the fridge, covered, for a few days or in an air-tight bag in the freezer for up to a few months.
79 Comments
Love that you were so blunt about the homemade pumpkin puree. Some people think that is the only way to go because it is truly from scratch. Some things are just not worth the hassle though.
This sounds soooo good! Love this idea!
This sounds and looks amazing! I was wondering what camera and lens you are working with to shoot these lovely images?
Thank you, Kim! I used my trusty five-year-old Nikon D80 and Nikon’s 35mm f1.8 DX lens. Nothing too fancy.
I have been on such a pumpkin kick lately! I haven’t seen a recipe for fettuccine alfredo using pumpkin, that sounds (and looks!) soo good.
I love pumpkin for a pasta sauce and the goat cheese is fabulous! Love this.
Looks delicious!
Most experts agree that since canned pumpkin is almost as good or equally as good as making it yourself, but SO much easier, the fresh stuff isn’t worth it, especially for baking as you said. (I once made pumpkin cheesecake with it – took me forever!)
Pumpkin cheesecake – oh my!
Speaking of pumpkin cheesecake, I just saw a recipe for it in Smitten Kitchen’s new cookbook. I think I will have to make it for Thanksgiving!
Oh, this sounds so good! Right up my alley. Thanks for sharing this recipe! :-)
And yes, thanks for saying that canned pumpkin is ok to use. It just makes things so much easier and I don’t think there’s much of a taste difference to bother with the hassle of making it from scratch.
Sometimes festering over a homemade pumpkin puree is so not worth it, unless you have an exceptional variety of pumpkin available, which seems to be rare in my area.
Wait, isn’t that a metaphor for dating?! I could defend canned varieties, but the comparison might go off the rails I think…
Anyway!, I love that you made an inherently orange-y-beige food look so tasty without an arbitrary sprinkle of something green too (I’m so guilty of this).
Ha! Thanks, Laura. I knew someone would appreciate the metaphor… shoulda known it would be you. Thanks for the photo compliment, too. Photographing this dish was a challenge.
This makes me want pasta so much.
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
This sounds like the perfect bowl of creamy and nourishing pasta; just the right thing for cold and dark evenings. Love this.
Mmmm, this looks so comforting! And bravo on the homemade pumpkin puree. But I’m totally with you on your conclusion!
I’m 100% sure of two things, my dear:
1) any dude who doesn’t call YOU back is a wacko.
2) I need to come over for dinner soon – this pasta is to die for!
Right?! Obviously he never had my banana pancakes. Come visit!
Your photos always make my mouth water, and your recipes are responsible for converting my husband to at least the occasional meatless meal, so thanks big-time! I agree with Ashley about nos. 1 AND 2! As for pumpkin puree, I made it from scratch (and saved and toasted the seeds) just once many years ago and quickly relegated that idea to the not-worth-it pile. But, having said that, I wonder how this recipe might be with another winter squash puree, like Butternut or Acorn? Perhaps a little sweeter, but it works so well in ravioli, why not here? In that case, I might sub sage for the rosemary. Hmmmm…
Sue in RI, I was wondering about the same thing with another winter squash. I have a nice sweet buttercup squash that is already cooked and just needs pureed in my fridge so I might give that a go.
I made a similar pasta dish with creamy butternut squash and it was overly sweet to my taste. But I roasted the butternut squash first so it was extra sweet I suppose.
I say, go for it! The butternut will be sweeter than the pumpkin so you might add a little extra spice or salt so it doesn’t overwhelm.
Hey Sue, I think butternut and sage would be great substitutions! The end result will be sweeter, so you might want to go a little heavier on the spices and salt to cut that. I am not the biggest fan of acorn (too earthy) but if you try it, please let us know how it turns out!
Hi Kate. This recipe sounds great…I wanted to tell you. I make my own puree (sometimes) in a pretty painless way. I roast the pumpkin. It works great, and is easy. The puree has a perfect compactness and not a bit of that irritating watery-stuff. I don’t mean to flog my own blog, but I describe it here…coupled with another really nice recipe I modified from the Smitten Kitchen. http://thedailycure.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/when-food-home/
Pumpkin and sour cream pudding sounds amazing! I may not have picked the best variety of pumpkin for puréeing, so I think I’ll try again.
Good luck…love your upcoming post on the Chile Trail by the way, thanks for helping us out! ; ) and thanks too for this blog. I really love it. So fresh and appealing. I wanna try it all!
This is seriously making my mouth water just reading it. I will give it a try very soon….yummy!
Is fictional Prince Charming texting you back under imagined circumstances as well? Knew he was a player. Glad you’re having a ball of it with Alfredo, though! (Although it’s probably best that we don’t get Charming–case in point being http://www.cracked.com/article_16905_7-classic-disney-movies-that-taught-us-terrible-lessons.html)
No, no texts from Prince Charming yet. That article made me smile. It’s time to give up this fairy tale charade! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers for the recipe. I realised last minute I didn’t have fettuccine, so stir fried some vegetables and tossed them through the sauce instead – and it was wonderful!! Love the rosemary with the pumpkin. You’re totally right about not being shy with salt and pepper. Great photos too, as usual :)
I love the idea of adding vegetables to this dish. Less carbs, more flavor… good thinking.
Canned pumpkin is much more reliable than any boy, I’ll tell you that much. Especially in alfredo sauce form. SWOON.
Hear, hear!
This sounds like a delicious alternative to traditional alfredo. I can’t get enough of squash right now, so I’ll have to make a batch!
This looks awesome! I’m going to have to try this out.
Yes please! Pumpkin, cream, and pasta sound like the best dinner on a chilly fall night.
I wish you were my flatmate! :D
I wish I had someone around to help me eat all this food! :)
So how are you dealing with the light situation? Especially now that daylight savings is here, I’m really struggling. Do you use external lights?
Daylight savings is the worst! Ug! I’m fortunate that I work from home, so I try to take advantage of the late afternoon light for photo shoots. Proper timing can be so frustrating. I’m not sure I will ever invest in external lights because I really prefer natural lighting, but it sure is frustrating when the sun goes down early.
Made this for dinner yesterday night and it was absolutely scrumptious! In fact, my mom loved it so much, she wants me to make it for Thanksgiving!
That’s terrific, Jackeline! Thanks for your feedback. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it. I’d be happy to eat this on Thanksgiving, that’s for sure!
Very good to know about the homemade pumpkin puree. I got a sugar pumpkin (I think that’s what they called it) from our CSA last week, and this looks like that I need to make with it, especially since I need to roast it.
This looks like the perfect chilly weather snack! Thanks for sharing, Kate!
Well, apparently my pumpkin might not have been a sugar pumpkin after all, so yours may make great purée!
Cooks Illustrated did Pumpkin Bread a month or so ago and addressed the canned versus fresh pumpkin quandary. They determined that the canned pumpkin tends to have a metallic tang to it that they found unsavory. However they also debated whether the roasting of the pumpkin in the oven is what makes the fresh so much better than the can. To test they cooked the canned pumpkin before they added it to their pumpkin bread. The result was that it vastly improved the canned taste making the difference between fresh and can pumpkin negligible. I didn’t follow their recipe last time I made pumpkin bread but I did cook the pumpkin and the bread (your recipe, I believe) turned out fantastic. In the past I always roasted pumpkin myself but I doubt I’ll mess with it now that I’ve learned this trick.
That is a great trick! Thanks for sharing, Morgan. How did you cook the canned pumpkin?
I mixed the pumpkin, spices, and salt and then cooked it in a saucepan over medium heat. It reduces the pumpkin a bit so I just cooked more pumpkin than the recipe called for and measured it post cooking.
Interesting! I’ll try to remember to try that next time I use canned pumpkin. Thank you for getting back to me on that!
Love the slew of pumpkin recipes I find here for these cool autumn nights. Thanks for the inspiration, Kate!
Oh man, Alfredo can waltz me around anytime. Seriously, love the goat cheese and pumpkin idea, smarter and healthier, of course. I’m all for creating your own roasted pumpkin and squash but I see what you mean for baking, besides I need something to be easy.
OMG I just seriously died. I LOVE THIS.
Hi, I’ve been reading your blog for years and I’ve never commented before. Love your recipes! Great inspiration. I’ve tried many of them! I have no problem with you using canned pumpkin but I just wanted to let you know the reason you had such a high moisture content from the one you used is because that was not a cooking pumpkin. I have not really seen cooking pumpkins for sale in grocery stores. I grow my own and they don’t compare. You would never use one for carving because the flesh is very thick and when you cook it, it is much more dense and firm. Probably what they use for canned pumpkin…. ;-) You might have better luck with a similar winter squash like a Queensland Blue or a Butternut squash.
Thanks for commenting, Andrea! I’m glad to know you’re out there. I bought that pumpkin at a health store that carries local produce and checked with the girl at the counter to make sure it was a pie pumpkin like the sign said… apparently she was wrong! I’ll keep an eye out for a Queensland Blue at the farmers’ market. :)
This sounds absolutely out-of-this-world amazing. I love most things pumpkin and especially adore it when it’s paired with some carby goodness. What a creative twist! What’s-his-name isn’t worth worrying about ;) He’s clearly missing out!
Oh, yum. I’ve been dreaming about a pumpkin fettucine alfredo for awhile now. Love that yours has rosemary and goat cheese. Whimper!
This sounds amazing!! I made my own pumpkin purée last year and definitely agree with you. The extra moisture can be disastrous in some recipes and oh man is the daylight precious these days. Can’t wait to try this!
I can’t even count all the ways I love this pasta dish – it’s perfection!
Has anyone tried making this with soy milk or almond milk? Can’t wait to try it! Thanks, Kate!
Sorry Allie, I don’t know that anyone has. If you try it, please let us know! I think it would work. You could also substitute olive oil for the butter if you want an healthier, vegan alternative.
Wow…I just made a tart with almost the same flavor profile! Pumpkin and goat cheese custard with candied rosemary hazelnuts. It was good combination for dessert as I imagine it would be for pasta, as well. And I agree with you about the pumpkin- fresh is more trouble than it’s worth.
Goodness, that tart sounds phenomenal. If you enjoy those flavors together, no doubt you would love this pasta dish!
In my experience, the trick with homemade pumpkin puree is to strain the pumpkin juice out after you puree the flesh (let it drain for a few hours in a jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander). Makes the resulting puree as dense as the commercial variety, yet with a fresher flavor and brighter orange color. And you get bonus pumpkin juice, with is great for thickening up risotto or adding flavor to soup or stew.
Mmm, this sounds crazy good. I love pumpkin and goat cheese. {and I agree with you about the whole pumpkin debate}
Also, thanks for making me laugh. ;) Alfredo it is.
Just made this for dinner tonight. Perfect for this time of year. I love pasta & I love pumpkin so I had to try it. This was both delicious and easy!! I will be making this again. Thank you for a great, easy Fall recipe!
I made this for dinner the other night since my friend and i were both craving comfort food. it was amazing. we both loved it. absolutely perfect and warming for the chilly nights.
This sounds friggin’ DELICIOUS! On the to-make list…
P.S. I don’t know why it took me so long to come visit… but I’m so glad I did – I love your site!! I want to eat it all!!!
This looks way better than old what’s-his-name.
This is making my mouth water- yumminess! My husband despises goat cheese- do you have any suggestions for substitutions because I must make this. Thank you!
Love this recipe. Substituted pumpkin for butternut purée, delicious! I love this website and all the great vegetarian recipes.
Thank you, Lil! I’m so glad to hear that. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
I made this the other day and it was SO GOOD. I subbed thinly sliced steamed cabbage for the noodles ’cause MAN did I eat a lot of carbs the day before, and it was delicious. (I know that probably doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it really *was* good.) Thanks, Kate! I am stoked to make this a gazillion more times with different kinds of cheeses and put it on lots and lots of different things. I also think using buttermilk in place of the normal milk would work too, and would amp up the tang of the goat cheese.
Happy to hear it, Kai. I never would have thought to substitute cabbage for the noodles, I might just have to try that as I still feel a little over-stuffed from Thanksgiving.
I can’t get ahold of canned pumpkin puree, unless I make a trip to the expat store and pay ridiculous prices. So it’s roast it myself or live without pumpkin puree. I roast the pumpkins without adding ANY extra liquid, as I agree with one of the previous posters that homemeade pumpkin puree tends to get watery…yuck. So no roasting in water. And no olive oil. And I roast them flesh-side down, so all the extra liquid drains out. Scoop out the flesh…usually it doesn’t even need to go through the food processor. I tend to do 2-3 pumpkins at once, then measure and freeze the puree in plastic bags for easy use later.
Jeez, sorry for the quasi-pointless lecture there. Don’t think I can even really tell the difference between canned and pureed pumpkin taste-wise, truth be told.
I’m totes going to try this recipe.
I used heavy cream instead of milk. Delicious! It ended up being quite thick but that could be because I let it go a bit long (my pasta and sauce looks like mac and cheese). Overall, a delicious recipe!!
I think I used 1% milk in this recipe, so that could also explain why yours ended up thicker than mine. I love the creamy texture that the pumpkin lends, though.
This was easy and fun to make. I made it with a mild goat cheese, but I like think next time I would try a mixture of cheeses (and maybe add some shallots?).
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Megan. I don’t think you could go wrong with either of those ideas.
Kate, I’ve been wanting to try this recipe since you first posted it several months ago. I finally did! It was incredible. I’m counting down the hours until I can eat the leftovers for lunch. Thanks for this, I will definitely make it again.
Hi Janet! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Hope you’re doing well and please give Kirsten a big hug for me.
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