Pasta with Pumpkin, Sausage and Spinach
By: Roni | Posted in: 7 WWP, 9 WWPP, Dinner Ideas, Food Photos, Pasta Ideas, Toddler Approved | 38 Comments
Believe me, I never thought I would put those three things together either. Pumpkin? Sausage? Spinach? But Oh.My.Word! So yummy!
I saw Rachel Ray make something similar a while back and I think she used fresh sage and nutmeg. So those are the flavors I stuck with. Of course starting with a base of onion and garlic.
The result was surprisingly delicious! The sausage helped flavor the pumpkin sauce and using fusilli (curly pasta) helps the pumpkin stick to the noodle guaranteeing The Husband and Little Guy would be eating it. :)
Speaking of, I did NOT tell them what I was making. I just told them we were having sausage and pasta. At one point the husband came over to give it a stir and I cringed thinking he was going to ask me what it was. Instead he simply said it looked and smelled good. I was shocked.
We sat down to eat and the only complaint they had was the spinach. Both kind of moved it out of the way to get to the pasta and sausage. but hey… They ATE it without argument. Win in my book.
I did tell them it was pumpkin afterwards and their reactions were priceless. The Little Guy was ecstatic, thinking it was cool. The Husband? Well he said he would never eat it again. Jokingly, of course. :)
Oh! I got creative with sausage tonight in honor of the Johnsonville Pastaville Italian Sausage Recipe Contest. Keep you eyes peeled later this week for a special giveaway in honor of the contest!
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic diced
- 1 package of mild Italian sausage (preferably turkey and preferably frozen)
- 1 15oz can of chicken broth
- 1 15oz can of pumpkin
- 1/4 cup of non fat greek yogurt
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 8 oz whole wheat fusilli pasta
- About 1/3 of a bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
I recommend keeping the sausage frozen as it’s easier to cut. Simply pull the package of the freezer, pop in the microwave for a minute and then cut in slices.
Put up a pot of water and cook the pasta according to the package.
While waiting for the the water to boil, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray it with non-stick spray and brown the sausage with the onion and garlic.
Once brown add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Lower to medium and add the pumpkin, yogurt, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine everything. Keep on medium until the sauce begins to boil again then lower to a simmer.
By this time the pasta should be done. Drain and add to the skillet with the pumpkin and sausage. Stir to coat and combine everything. Add the spinach and stir in until it wilts.
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan!
I’m getting 5 servings out of skillet, each just under 2 cups. The nutritional information is based on turkey sausage which is much leaner then traditional.
| Servings | Amt per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | About 2 cups | ||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs |
| 370 | 10g | 7g | old: 7 new: 9 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein |
| 4g | 4g | 46g | 25g |
Other ideas you may enjoy... |
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Will definitely be trying this one out soon!
Mind if I feature this on my Saturday Stumbles post? It looks awesome and I LOVE how you faked out the family! I’m so making this! Thanks!
Please do! It’s why I blog. :)
This looks crazy delicious! Wow, wow! You might enjoy Pumpkin Chili as well – here’s the link to the recipe I made from the Whole Foods website http://muminbloom.blogspot.com/2009/11/recipe-turkey-pumpkin-chili.html
I am totally making this tonight! Thanks!
How do you create these cool combinations? I think all of these look delicious. Good call on the fusilli to catch all the good stuff.
I think I will be making a vegetarian version of this tonight for dinner. Maybe using eggplant in place of the sausage! :)
This is one I will definitely be trying! I am doing a butternut squash pasta this week but this one sounds even better!
You sure are an inventive clever cook, and I really enjoy your blog. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity.
I’ve never used just pumpkin but I ALWAYS add pumpkin to my homemade sauce (instead of tomato paste)! It thickens, doesn’t change the color and it adds a certain flavor to the sauce. it’s a great way to add vitamins while fooling the hubby and my 4 yr. old…we had turkey sausage and raviolis last night with added pumpkin to the sauce : ) deeelish and such an awesome trick!! i’m going to have to try this, maybe i’ll get lucky and hear no complaints lol!
I just made this, it was delicious. I had to vary it a bit based on what i had, but it still came out great! I used vegetable rotini instead of fusili, ommitted the nutmeg, and used veg. broth instead of chicken. I’m looking foward to the leftovers tommorrow :)
Question please! How much sausage is in the one package? I buy a spinach & feta turkey sausage from costco but naturally, there’s about 12 sausages in the package so I’m thinking maybe 2 – 3 sausages would cover it. Thanks Roni! This looks fantastic.
Oh sorry! Should have been more specific. The package I use (and most I buy for some reason) are right around 20 oz. Usually 5-6 links.
Hope that helps!
That’s perfect! Thanks Roni!
I made this tonight and it was really really good. My husband is not a big fan of pumpkin and I can’t get enough so I was worried that he wouldn’t like it. I tried to hood wink him but he caught me in the middle of scooping pumpkin out of the container… Still though, he liked it and even went back for seconds :)
I didn’t have any sage so I omitted but I’d like to get some and try it again with the sage.
Tried this last night but I had to modify it slightly since I didn’t have all of the ingredients (used beef broth instead of chicken and thyme instead of sage). Would have been better your way for sure, but it was still pretty good and my husband even found some good things to say about it! Definitely a winner! Thanks! :-)
I made this last night, it was a wonderful fall dish! When I calculated it was 10 points per serving but I am sure that is because of things like different brands of pasta and turkey sausage.
Oh yea.. sausage brand is a huge variable! Glad you liked it! :)
Who woulda thought this combination would be so excellent!! I made it with a 16 oz box of pasta and it was still spicey and flavored enough.
I’ve never made anything (longtime lurker) but I made this last weekend and it made enough for an entire weeks worth of dinners. I didn’t have sage so I omitted that, I bumped up the spinach, omitted the yogurt and used vegan italian sausage and it was DELICIOUS! So warm and hearty-thanks Roni!
Made this last night and as I was making it, my fiance walked in the kitched, spotted the pumpkin and said, with full on attitude, “we’re having pumpkin in our dinner?!?!” I had to giggle thinking of your family :) I told him to just keep an open mind (and reminded him that if he didn’t like it, he knows where Subway is)…wouldn’t you know…he had 2 helpings!!! Thanks for posting this!! Can’t wait to make it again!
Roni this was perfect and we’ll be serving it again and again. Everyone had 2 bowls of this delicious supper. See my post & pics here
http://muminbloom.blogspot.com/2010/11/pasta-with-pumpkin-sausage-and-spinach.html
Thank you!!
This look so good! I think I’m going to make it this weekend! :)
This sounds wonderful! I just found your blog froma Weight Watchers Message Board. I’m looking forward to trying lots of new recipes!
Tried this today and it was amazing. I added some extra spinach and used veggie sausage. The flavors are wonderful – absolutely perfect this time of year. Thanks for the unique and delicious recipe!
do you think if i make this with ground chicken breast or would it change the flavor of it? because the hubby doesnt like sausage
Amy – You can use any meat you like but without sausage you’ll probably have to bump op the seasoning. Maybe a bit more sage and garlic. The sausage does help flavor the pumpkin. If you give it a try let us know!
thanks i will def try it and let you know how it comes out
I was so excited to try this meal that I cooked twice in a day (very rare!). I usually only cook once and eat the leftovers. Anywho, this was SO yummy!
My hubby said, “Pumpkin? Wow, it’s good!” Of course, silly man! I also added some pumpkin to my tomato sauce (following a comment on your blog) and it made it 10X better.
Awesome recipe :]
I was poking around the kitchen last night trying to think of a way of combining what I had to make something a bit different and I noticed that I had a can of pumpkin – I remembered reading this recipe a while ago and so I thought – “why not”? Such compliments I got – the meal was delicious! I used Wegman’s “chicken sausages with spinach and feta cheese” as well as some onions and mushrooms. I didn’t have any yogurt, but I found just adding a little bit of white wine made the sauce tasty too!
You have great ideas which can be used by real people whipping together meals on regular weeknights! Thanks for the blog – I hope you can publish your cookbook!
Thanks! That’s my goal. The book is on the way.. I’m self publishing! :)
This sounds like a really interesting combination! I’m vegan so will try a version with meatless sausage and soy yogurt. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds awesome! I had pumpkin ravioli with the family while vacationing in Seattle (a fresh and natural “Foodie” heaven!) and we loved it! So I cannot wait to try this! I just found your website this week and have made a ton of your recipes which my picky eaters have loved! Tip for dog owners- Mark Moroni’s show gave a tip about adding pumpkin to wet dog food. Stretches your dollar and increases fiber for your dog. Mine love it!
I just want to say that it is so great to have the old WW points listed in your recipes since that is the plan that has always worked for me. Thanks so much for this very great site!
This looks great! I might make it this weekend :)
Your welcome. I will always list old points. I will forever be a fan. :)
How do you think it would turn out using kielbasa?
kielbasa – I’m not a big kielbasa fan but if you like it I’m sure it would be fine.