Creamy Pumpkin Marinara
This pumpkin marinara recipe tastes like fall. It's comforting like mac and cheese, but lighter and full of vegetables! Just add pasta.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
This sauce came to be by pure chance. I simply opened up my refrigerator and saw a jar of leftover pumpkin purรฉe next to leftover diced tomatoes. They reminded me of a pasta sauce I bought at Trader Joeโs last year, called Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce.
โAutumnal Harvest Pasta Sauceโ might be a more accurate title for this recipe, since itโs not overtly pumpkin-flavored. Itโs a mouthful, though!
This sauce tastes like fall, with a hint of spice. The bell pepperโs 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 doesnโt 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. Itโs 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.
Watch How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Marinara
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Creamy Pumpkin Marinara
This pumpkin marinara recipe tastes like fall. Itโs 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
- ยฝ teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ยฝ teaspoon dried oregano
- ยผ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ยผ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 can (15 ounces) diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin purรฉe
- 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 itโs shimmering, add the onion, bell pepper and ยผ 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 purรฉe 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 ยผ 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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This was great!!! The only difference I made was to add cream instead of balsamic vinegar and leave out the capsicum (because I didnโt have either!) Absolutely delicious! Am going to make it again for sure!
I used kabocha squash purรฉe that I prepared. Doubled the recipe and made two lasagnas. Yummy!
Thatโs great to hear, May! Iโm glad you enjoyed it with a different squash.
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.
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!
Thatโs great to hear, Leah! Thank you for your review.
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.
Thank you for your review, Diana!
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 โ will definitely make again!
Iโm delighted you loved it, Em! I appreciate your review.
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. Weโve made it many, many times.
Just found out Iโm a type 2 diabetic. I love to cook and grow food and Iโm 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 maโam thanks for sharing. Iโll be following this page closely in order for more delicious healthy recipes.
Iโm sorry to hear that, but Iโm glad you found something you can enjoy! Thank you for sharing.
I think I have a new favorite pasta sauce. Iโve been making my way through the October recipes and they have all been good but this was a highlight. So yummy!
Iโm excited you love it, Echo! I appreciate your review.
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!
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Donna! I appreciate your review.
So Iโm 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. Thereโs a really nice balance between the tomato and pumpkin, like itโs experimental enough that you notice that thereโs 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 :]
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! Weโll make it multiple times during the fall, usually with whole wheat pasta, Brussels sprouts and walnuts.
Thanks for the recipe! It was really tasty and seasonal.
I didnโt 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!
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 weโre having this in the regular rotation.
amazing
Thank you so much for this recipe! I found it quite insightful.
Iโve 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!
Iโm happy to hear you enjoyed it, Corrie!
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!!!
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 itโs being added to my rotation for sure
I love to hear that, Greg!
This has become one of my all time favorite fall recipes! Itโs so easy and so good! It freezes well too! :)
Thank you for sharing, Lexie!
Just wondering what I could substitute for the tomatoes (allergy)?!
You could try to omit, but it will change the flavor. Let me know if you do try it!
Delicious! Served this over cheese and spinach tortellini and it was a hit.
Wow! This is beyond tasty. So easy to make and packed with flavor and nutrients. I was skeptical in making this recipe, as Iโm not a pumpkin flavor lover, but this was exceptional. Another do-over to save from Kate! Thank you for sharing.
Youโre welcome, Val! I appreciate your review.
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.
Youโre welcome, Patrick!
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!
Oh no! Iโm not sure. You could try to omit it.
Oh my gosh โ 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!
Kate โ absolutely obsessed with your stuff, for the past 5 years I have been cooking your recipes 1-2x a week, and now my carnivore fiancรฉ is hooked on them too.
So glad youโre putting out new recipes this fall, canโt wait to try all of them!
Have been wanting to make this for awhile because my fiancรฉ is obsessed with fall foods but I canโt seem to get my hands on pumpkin puree in our grocery store.
Iโm seeing a lot of canned goods for โpure pumpkin solid packโ in cans though, is there anyway this could be subbed in?
This was tonightโs 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!
This is delicious. Iโve made it twice โ 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. Itโs a nice alternative sauce for pasta in the fall. One question: Can the leftovers be frozen?
Itโs a dreary day here in NH and I made this for dinner. It warmed my soul. Thanks, Kate.
Love to hear it was just what you needed! Thank you for your review.
I used this with gnocchi and it was fantastic. This will be my one and only pumpkin sauce!
Wonderful to hear it, Andrea!
Loved this recipe!! I roasted the bell pepper and removed its skin in advance because I canโt digest it. It turned out great anyway.
Great to hear, Serena!
I love this sauce and have used it for both pasta and gnocchi.