Creamy Pumpkin & Sage Pasta

Thu, 5 November 2026

Creamy Pumpkin & Sage Pasta

Pumpkin sauteed with sage and Mutti tomatoes until soft, blended into a creamy sauce with Irish butter, tossed through giant rigatoni. A popular winter dish in our house.

Serves 4

Ingredients

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 1 tbsp butter

- 800g pumpkin or butternut squash, diced

- 4 cloves garlic, chopped

- Sea salt and black pepper

- 1 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp brown sugar

- 1 x 400g can Mutti Polpa

- 100ml double cream

- A small handful of sage leaves

- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

- 400g giant rigatoni

- Vintage Irish cheddar, grated, to finish

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the diced pumpkin, garlic, salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften.

Stir in the tomato paste and brown sugar, then add the Mutti Polpa. Simmer everything together until the pumpkin is completely soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Blend the sauce until smooth, pouring in the double cream as you go.

While the sauce simmers, toast the sage leaves and pumpkin seeds in the oven or in a dry pan until the sage is crisp and the seeds are golden.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni according to the packet instructions. Strain, keeping a little of the pasta water, and toss the pasta through the sauce, loosening with a splash of pasta water as needed.

Spoon into bowls and garnish with the toasted seeds, crispy sage and a scattering of cheddar.