This sauce came to be by pure chance. I simply opened up my refrigerator and saw a jar of leftover pumpkin purée next to leftover diced tomatoes. They reminded me of a pasta sauce I bought at Trader Joe’s last year, called Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce.
“Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce” might be a more accurate title for this recipe, since it’s not overtly pumpkin-flavored. It’s a mouthful, though!
This sauce tastes like fall, with a hint of spice. The bell pepper’s flavor really shines through, so if you want a more pumpkin-y sauce, omit the pepper. Maybe add some extra cinnamon, too, since pumpkin spice flavor is more about the spice than the pumpkin. While pumpkin doesn’t offer a lot in the flavor department, it does make this blended sauce nice and creamy, without any cream.
This sauce is comforting like mac and cheese, but full of vegetables. It’s the perfect way to warm up on a chilly fall evening. I hope you love it like I do! Please let me now how it turns out in the comments.
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Creamy Pumpkin Marinara
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
This pumpkin marinara recipe tastes like fall. It’s comforting like mac and cheese, but lighter and full of vegetables! Just add pasta. Recipe yields about 4 cups sauce (enough to generously coat 12 ounces/4 modest servings of pasta).
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 can (15 ounces) diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin purée
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Finely grated Parmesan and chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (both optional)
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s shimmering, add the onion, bell pepper and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and pepper are very tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, oregano, tarragon, and cinnamon. While stirring, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, while stirring. Add the pumpkin purée and stir to combine. Continue simmering for 5 minutes, then remove it from the heat.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to your blender. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
- Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and additional salt (I usually add another ¼ teaspoon salt). For a more luxurious sauce, add another tablespoon of butter, or for more tangy complexity, add another teaspoon of vinegar. Blend to combine.
- Stir into warm pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped parsley on top.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the butter or blend in olive oil instead. Use vegan Parmesan or omit it.
Make it gluten free: This sauce is gluten free. Just serve it over gluten-free pasta.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Amber3
This was great!!! The only difference I made was to add cream instead of balsamic vinegar and leave out the capsicum (because I didn’t have either!) Absolutely delicious! Am going to make it again for sure!
★★★★★
May
I used kabocha squash purée that I prepared. Doubled the recipe and made two lasagnas. Yummy!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, May! I’m glad you enjoyed it with a different squash.
Kat
The sauce is okay! I found it to be a tad bit bland. I doubled spices. Cream probably would have been more to my liking than the balsamic. The balsamic was to tangy in my opinion. I will look forward to eating the leftovers though, and make something else for my carnivore husband.
★★★★
Leah
So good! Added some paprika, cayenne, and also a dollop of yogurt that I was trying to use up. I also browned some butter before adding the blended mixture back into the pot. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Leah! Thank you for your review.
Diana
Thanks,this was really yummy!I added chives instead of garlic and also nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan.It still had a really full flavour.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Diana!
Em
This creamy pumpkin marinara is SO GOOD. The cinnamon is a perfect addition that blends the pumpkin and tomato flavors together really well. I topped it off with crispy roasted lemony broccoli and crumbled goat cheese. 5 stars – will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m delighted you loved it, Em! I appreciate your review.
Laura
What an inventive dish! It is perfect for fall. The red bell pepper and balsamic give it a twist that keeps it from feeling heavy. We’ve made it many, many times.
★★★★★
Joseph
Just found out I’m a type 2 diabetic. I love to cook and grow food and I’m sticking to a MUCH healthier diet. I made zucchini raviolis with turkey and a carrot and bell pepper puree. Topped them with this delicious sauce and wowza!!! Only thing I did different was make my own pumpkin puree from a home grown pumpkin
5 stars ma’am thanks for sharing. I’ll be following this page closely in order for more delicious healthy recipes.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m glad you found something you can enjoy! Thank you for sharing.
Echo
I think I have a new favorite pasta sauce. I’ve been making my way through the October recipes and they have all been good but this was a highlight. So yummy!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m excited you love it, Echo! I appreciate your review.
Donna Wang
This is an amazing recipe. And very versatile. I added arugula into the sauce. Then I topped the pasta with blue cheese and roasted walnuts. Perfection!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Donna! I appreciate your review.
Sam
So I’m a high school student who rarely sets foot in the kitchen, but I wanted to make some fall-ish food for my friends coming over for Halloween. Dude, throughout the whole process this stuff smelled immaculate. There’s a really nice balance between the tomato and pumpkin, like it’s experimental enough that you notice that there’s pumpkin in it, but not enough to taste odd. This stuff is really good, both my friends and family loved it. Definitely gonna make this again sometime :]
★★★★★
Amanda
We use this recipe as a base for our annual Thanksgiving Pizza (basically an entire Thanksgiving dinner on a pizza). This sauce is so good! We’ll make it multiple times during the fall, usually with whole wheat pasta, Brussels sprouts and walnuts.
★★★★★
G T
Thanks for the recipe! It was really tasty and seasonal.
I didn’t have bell pepper on hand, so I just doubled the dice tomatoes and added protein. In addition to doubling the black pepper, I added 1/2 tsp turmeric. If I were cooking for myself, I would have also added habanero pepper powder or similarly spicy stuff. I liked going for the spicy/tangy variant and used 2 tsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp veggie butter.
17.6 oz red lentil pasta
12 oz Impossible Meat (yay protein)
2x diced tomatoes (= 2 cans, 30z total)
+ 1/2 tsp turmeric
+ more spices to taste
A nut butter would have also been fine in place of the veggie meat.
There was plenty of sauce to cover the pasta! Yummy!
★★★★★
nobody, really
This was freakishly spectacular. Had too much fresh-roasted Fairytale pumpkin puree after making pies, so used thus recipe. My only significant additions were a dash of nutmeg and a tablespoon of chicken soup base for a subtle umami flavor. MSG, an anchovy filet, or some sort of mushroom would work as well.
My wife has informed me that we’re having this in the regular rotation.
★★★★★
sv
amazing
★★★★★
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I found it quite insightful.
Corrie
I’ve been eyeing this recipe since trying the out the pumpkin seed recipe and finally tried it tonight using some pumpkin I roasted and froze back in the fall. Wow! Really, really good! This going to become an annual fall recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it, Corrie!
Deb
Used the sauce on butternut squash raviolis and it was delicious! Topped it with Parmesan cheese too! I used my immersion blender and it worked great for this recipe. Served with a Caesar salad and garlic bread. I plan to make this for when company comes for dinner!!!
★★★★★
Greg Curlett
This was so great ! A perfect blend of tomato flavor, some spice and vinegar , pumpkin and simple perfection! Even my picky son liked it, ha it’s being added to my rotation for sure
★★★★★
Kate
I love to hear that, Greg!
Lexie
This has become one of my all time favorite fall recipes! It’s so easy and so good! It freezes well too! :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Lexie!
Anna
Just wondering what I could substitute for the tomatoes (allergy)?!
Kate
You could try to omit, but it will change the flavor. Let me know if you do try it!
Shannon
Delicious! Served this over cheese and spinach tortellini and it was a hit.
★★★★★
Val
Wow! This is beyond tasty. So easy to make and packed with flavor and nutrients. I was skeptical in making this recipe, as I’m not a pumpkin flavor lover, but this was exceptional. Another do-over to save from Kate! Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Val! I appreciate your review.
Patrick
I printed the recipe. My wife Kathryn made it. I suggested replacing pasta with ravioli. We bought mushroom and vegetable ravioli from sprouts along with a wedge of pecorino/Romano from Italy. Excellent flavors. Outstanding recipe, no changes except the ravioli. Thank you.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Patrick!
Sasha
Hi there! I would love to make this sauce for next week but I recently developed an intolerance to bell peppers (ugh!!). Do you think something else might work in its place or would it be ok without the red pepper? Thanks!
Kate
Oh no! I’m not sure. You could try to omit it.
Carol
Oh my gosh – this was amazing!!!! We made it this evening and topped it off with some pan-toasted walnuts and a pinch of red pepper flakes. We used fresh pumpkin and tomatoes and this recipe is a keeper!
Nita
Kate – absolutely obsessed with your stuff, for the past 5 years I have been cooking your recipes 1-2x a week, and now my carnivore fiancé is hooked on them too.
So glad you’re putting out new recipes this fall, can’t wait to try all of them!
Have been wanting to make this for awhile because my fiancé is obsessed with fall foods but I can’t seem to get my hands on pumpkin puree in our grocery store.
I’m seeing a lot of canned goods for “pure pumpkin solid pack” in cans though, is there anyway this could be subbed in?
Julie B
This was tonight’s sauce for squash ravioli. Superb! It was thick so I added some broth. It made quite a bit of it for just two of us so tomorrow night we will add more broth for a soup with a swirl of roasted red pepper cream and toasted pine nuts. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jan G.
This is delicious. I’ve made it twice – once using canned diced tomatoes and once using crushed. Interestingly, when I made it with the diced tomatoes, I felt it needed the 2nd tsp of balsamic. With the crushed tomatoes, I used just one tsp but added the 2nd Tbsp of vegan butter. It’s a nice alternative sauce for pasta in the fall. One question: Can the leftovers be frozen?
★★★★★