Pumpkin Fettuccine with Sundried Tomatoes – Homemade pumpkin pasta is cooked to al dente and then tossed in a creamy sundried tomato sauce.

I finally did it – I made homemade pasta noodles! I’ve had all the tools to make pasta for YEARS but never made the time. Gnocchi was the only “pasta” I made because it was so simple – no rolling into thin sheets and cutting into perfect noodles. But I had just what I needed to make that process easy, yet I still put it off.

No longer! I made delicious pumpkin ravioli, with pumpkin pasta and pumpkin filling, and it was so fun and simple to do. Plus, the flavors were INCREDIBLE. Pumpkin is such a fun pasta flavor to make because you don’t see it a lot. Plus, that orange color is perfect for the fall.

Ravioli is fun to make but it’s pretty tedious. Not only does that pasta take time to roll out, you have to fill, seal, and cut many ravioli. So I decided to share this recipe in an easier form – Fettuccine. To pair the fettuccine, I decided to use a lighter sauce so it doesn’t overpower the pumpkin flavor in the pasta. The star of the sauce is sundried tomatoes. They are so flavorful and add so much to any sauce without needing fatty cream or cheese. I love them and use them whenever I can.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at my Pumpkin Fettuccine with Sundried Tomatoes.

Making the pasta

The dough is so so easy to make. I made mine using a dough hook in a stand mixer. But you can easily make the traditional way. Simply place all flour on a counter and make a well. Fill the well with the pumpkin and egg and salt. Using a fork, slowly combine all the ingredients together until the dough forms. Knead until smooth and soft. Cover with plastic for 15 minutes so it can rest. This allows the gluten to relax and make the dough easy to roll.

Once the dough has rested, it’s rolled (either by hand or in your pasta roller) a few times to ensure it’s nice and smooth. Then it’s rolled at thinner settings in the pasta roller to get it a little thinner. Then, it’s time for shaping the pasta into fettuccine. I have a cutter that does this for me but you can do this by hand with a pizza cutter – it will just take longer.

The pasta is covered with flour and then gently twirled into a circle and onto a floured baking sheet while the rest of the pasta is formed.

Assembling the pasta with sauce

The pasta only takes about 3 minutes to boil so don’t place in water until the sauce is ready. But you can start boiling water when you begin the sauce.

The sauce starts by cooking the onions, garlic, and sundried tomatoes in a little residual oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. Then, the spices are added in – Italian seasoning, paprika, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. The chicken broth and half and half are added and brought to a light simmer before adding in the fresh spinach. The spinach will wilt as it heats up, which is just what you want.

Let the sauce thicken up a bit as the water evaporates from the broth. Now, you can cook your pasta. After three minutes, remove the pasta from the boiling water, drain, and place straight into the large skillet with the sauce. Toss together to combine.

Tips and Tricks

1. I rolled and shaped my pasta with an attachment to my stand mixer. It makes the process sooooo much faster and creates a uniform shape. However, you can still do this by hand. Simply roll out the dough into thin sheets and then use a pizza cutter to create noodles.
2. It’s very important that your pasta is the right consistency. If too wet, the noodles will break apart when cooking or eating. Plus, they’ll be all mushy. So make sure the dough is properly floured and not sticky when you begin to work with it.
3. I bought my sundried tomatoes already sliced (aka julienne-style). But if you can only find sundried halves, you’ll need to slice them before adding to the sauce.
4. The fresh pasta only takes a couple minutes to cook. Don’t leave them cooking too long or they will be soft and loose their bite.
5. You can make the pasta ahead of time and save for later. If eating later in the week, you can refrigerate before boiling and then boil later. Just make sure it’s sealed in a storage bag. If wanting to save for a later date, simply dry out completely for about 20 hours and then store in the pantry for up to 1 month. Be very gentle with dried pasta – it’s super fragile!

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