My boss’s wife prepared this delectable spaghetti casserole and sent it to us all with him. Really tasty and creamy! It has absolutely no pumpkin flavor!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 55 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch pan |
Ingredients
- 1 pound rotini pasta
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
- Cook and stir sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crumbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain sausage on paper towels and reserve 2 tablespoons grease in the skillet. Add oil to grease in the skillet; cook and stir onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the hot oil-grease until onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
- Stir chicken broth, pumpkin, bacon, Italian seasoning, and salt into onion mixture; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir cream and sausage into broth mixture and simmer until creamy and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add rotini and gently toss. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling and golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 381 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 35 g |
| Cholesterol | 51 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 993 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Everyone in my family liked this pumpkin pasta bake. I felt the sauce did not have enough of the pumpkin flavor. The red pepper dominated. If I make it again I will add more traditional pumpkin spices like some sage, cinnamon, and nutmeg; and maybe sub some cayenne for the red pepper flakes.
Super great! No taste of pumpkin (used my leftover pureed pumpkin from Hallowe’en)- I used gluten free pasta, tomato basil chicken sausage, 1/2 &1/2 cream (10%) instead of full fat whipping cream & used asiago instead of parm. Definitely a keeper, teens & husband went back for 2nd helpings.
Absolutely delicious! Like others, the taste of pumpkin didn’t directly come through, but the blend of ingredients created a great mix that really comes together in its own unique way. Great for family, pitch-ins, and groups!
Excellent. I used pumpkin ravioli so I omitted the pumpkin and I used pork sausage (that’s what I had)
This was delicious! I made it for a neighborhood party and everyone really liked it. I used regular Italian sausage because that’s what I had on hand, half & half, butternut squash and about half the red pepper flakes. It’s a keeper!
Tastes pretty good
This was delicious and a lovely change from our usual pasta dishes. We eat pasta once or twice a week and will definitely add this one to our rotation. Being lactose intolerant, I substituted 3/4c plain almond milk for the cream and used 1/2c parm on the bake then let the non-lactose intolerant family add their parm at the table. Also omitted bacon for fat reduction. Didn’t miss it, but I’m sure it would be good (obviously, it’s bacon). Also sliced the onion, rather than dice, for a little added texture, just as a personal preference, and used chicken sausage (lower fat, my stomach is weak). Would be excellent with a little shredded mozzarella baked as well, for the non-lactose intolerant folks. Wonderful flavor, creamy texture, and easy ingredients that are generally on hand or easy to store in the pantry make this a keeper for easy weeknights or to impress company.
Wow! This is incredible! I wanted to make it because of the unusual combination of ingredients and it will be a dish I make again. I wouldn’t change a thing. Using tri-colored rotini is a great way to make it look appealing.
Delicious. I used half n half. Only change would be to reduce the red pepper a tad for company. My family Ioves spicy, but grandma couldn’ t take the heat.
Delicious and easy. I generally followed the recipe but used a bit more bacon, onion and Parmesan than it called for. I also had sausage links rather than ground sausage so cut it into rounds. The red pepper flakes add just the right amount of heat. I do think that you can detect just a bit of pumpkin in the dish… it’s not overpowering, but it’s there!
delicious, a bit of kick. Our youth group students loved it
This was delicious. We are moving towards more pumpkin based pasta dishes and away from tomato. I did put my own spin on this recipe. First, we make our own chicken stock. Also, I added 2 tbsp organic raw unbleached cane sugar crystals. 1 tbsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp fennel (from our garden), thinly sliced zucchini, diced yellow squash, mushroom pieces. The sausage got changed to 1/2 lb sweet Italian and a 1/2 lb mild. It’s what we had in the freezer. This dish is simply delicious.
So good! Everyone fought over the left overs! Just enough kick!
We did like this recipe but in an effort to lighten it up made some changes. I substituted milk for the heavy cream and omitted the bacon. Since I used hot Italian turkey sausage, I left out the red pepper flakes. I added 3 cups of butternut squash chopped into 1/2″ cubes and sauteed with the onion and garlic. I also halved the salt and it was still plenty salty due to the sausage, cheese and chicken broth. Also, I used sage and pumpkin pie seasoning in place of the Italian seasoning. The sauce thickened beautifully. I will make this again.
Delicious! Creamy with just a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes (the cream really tones that down). Only variation we made was using gluten-free pasta. We will definitely be making this again.
Very satisfying dish. For personal preferences, omitted the onions and Italian seasoning, and just seasoned how my husband and I like. Also subbed cooked butternut squash for the pumpkin, and sour cream (with a little pasta water) for the cream. Proportions and timing kept the same, but halved the recipe for just the two of us. I’ll make this again.
Very good casserole! I made it as the recipe was written, except I used tricolor rotini (very pretty for fall!), and used half and half instead of cream. The consistency was fine, and we loved the flavor! I’m passing it on to friends!
This was awesome! I doubled the bacon and put a layer of provolone under the Parmesan.
This was easy to make and very tasty. Could not really taste the pumpkin.
I wasn’t expecting much from this recipe but it really surprised me. The pumpkin flavour is very subtle. I did add a bit of extra bacon, which I really enjoyed and a bit of cheddar cheese to make it a bit more Mac-and-cheese-esque. It was REALLY good! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!
It was very good. Used chicken italian sausage. Used thyme, basil and oregano in place of italian seasoning. Used ff 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream. Didn’t take the time to cook it in pan long enough t hicken it, but it thickened nicely in the oven.