Fall Flavors: Sausage & Apple Pasta in a Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Need a perfect fall pasta recipe for your family dinner? Try this recipe for sausage and apple pasta with a pumpkin cream sauce that’s tasty, not too heavy and marries together two favorite fall flavors.
A couple weekends ago, I mentioned that we spent the weekend visiting family and picked basically all the apples from an orchard near my grandmother’s house (here’s the video). (Maybe not all the apples, but when we got home, it felt like nearly all of them.)
I’ve been eating my apple a day to keep the doctor away since our return home and also have been trying out a few recipes that incorporate apples to make the most of our bounty before it goes bad.
Recently, I decided to marry two of just about everyone’s favorite fall flavors: apple and pumpkin. Thus was born into our kitchen this apple and spicy Italian sausage pasta in a pumpkin cream sauce.
The result ended up being something nice and tasty and surprisingly light. It didn’t feel like a heavy, creamy pasta at all (which isn’t really my thing). The sauce consists primarily of pureed pumpkin and has just a bit of heavy whipping cream to finish it off.
On the way home from an exercise class last weekend (on a rare occasion at our local Giant Foods grocery store by myself), I stopped to pick up some groceries. Who doesn’t love a solo trip to the grocery store (even if I’m coming home from the gym)? Among other things, I bought Galbani mozzarella cheese and we shredded it ourselves. The boys were big fans (and even ate a few handfuls of the cheese before we got to adding it to the pasta).
We opted for Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage, but you could certainly swap it out for a sweet sausage or milder flavor if spicy flavors aren’t the best for your family. If you have trouble cutting the sausage into pieces, I typically cut the sausage with kitchen shears before sauteing. The scissors cut so much easier than a knife.
I finished the recipe with some whole grain Barilla penne pasta. While my boys prefer it cooked (seems obvious?), they also eat it uncooked… like crackers or chips. I have no idea where they picked up this habit. It’s certainly not something M or I do, but whatever floats their boat. In an effort to make them adventurous eaters, I do my best not to deter them from trying and eating anything that strikes their fancy (within reason, of course).
Be sure to give this a shot, and let me know what you think if you try it!
Heads up: Thanks to Johnsonville, Barilla, and Galbani for collectively sponsoring this post and to readers for supporting the brands that support the blog. When you stop by your nearest Giant Food Stores location between 10/21-10/27 and purchase Barilla Pasta, Johnsonville Italian Sausage and Galbani Cheese, you’ll automatically save $3 at checkout with your store loyalty card! While supplies last.
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® & Lactalis American Group but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #MealSolutionMatch http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
Sausage & Apple Pasta in Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound Johnsonville spicy Italian sausage
- 1 apple, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried parsley
- 16 ounces whole wheat Barilla penne pasta, prepared
- Galbani Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese “for shredding”, shredded
Instructions
- Prepare Barilla pasta accordingly to package.
- Saute Johnsonville sausage pieces in a large saute pan over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from pan and let rest on a plate lined with paper towel.
- Add apples and garlic to the saute pan and saute for 2 - 3 minutes.
- Add white wine, bay leaf and sage to pan. Cook for another couple minutes to allow wine to reduce.
- Add pumpkin puree and chicken broth. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Add cream through parsley and mix together.
- Return sausage to the pan, mix together, and let simmer for a couple minutes.
- Add prepared pasta into the pan. Mix together to incorporate all ingredients and coat pasta with sauce.
- Sprinkle Galbani mozzarella cheese over dish before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
