Do you wonder how to cook rigatoni pasta for holidays or just for everyday dinner? Pumpkin pasta sauce made with leftover canned pumpkin puree, marinara sauce and seasonings makes a super easy, simple and delicious pumpkin pasta sauce which is served with rigatoni pasta for a simple, tasty homemade dinner, lunch or any meal! You may also substitute rigatoni with penne or other similar shaped pasta shells if you don't have rigatoni.
This rigatoni pasta with pumpkin pasta sauce also makes a great side dish for holidays like Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner as this is very easy to make using any leftover canned pumpkin puree you may have! It is also a great pasta recipe to use any leftover pumpkin puree from the holidays!
More easy, delicious recipes using leftover canned pumpkin puree includes moist pumpkin banana bread, 3 ingredient pumpkin muffins, instant pumpkin spice coffee latte and more!
You can also make instant pot pumpkin mac and cheese using leftover pumpkin puree which is yet another delicious pumpkin pasta using sour cream and cheese!
substitute for rigatoni pasta in easy pumpkin pasta:
If you do not have rigatoni pasta, you may use similar shaped pasta shells like penne pasta. Other substitute ideas for rigatoni pasta include ziti pasta (try ziti noodles),cavatappi pasta (try cellentani pasta or cavatappi pasta), conch pasta or shell pasta, elbow pasta (the one used to make mac and cheese) etc. However, you may replace riagtoni in this recipe with any other types of pasta as well, since the pumpkin pasta sauce goes great with most types of pasta including noodles, spaghetti etc as well!
rigatoni vs penne pasta
Rigatoni and penne pasta are much similar in shape and so you can easily substitute penne pasta for rigatoni and vice versa in most recipes. They both are tubular shaped pasta which is great for serving with sauces as the shape of the pasta naturally enhances the absorption of sauce inside the shells. However, the difference is that regular rigatoni pasta shells are typically bigger than penne pasta shells and so they are perfect to absorb more sauce and great if you like large sized pasta shells. Both rigatoni and penne have ridges on the outside so the texture is not smooth but has more chewy texture unlike elbow pasta.
more easy pasta recipes:
- how long to cook penne pasta in instant pot
- instant pot penne pasta with jar sauce
- corn mac and cheese
- baked mac and cheese
- no boil spaghetti bake
So here is how you can make pumpkin pasta at home using pumpkin pasta sauce and rigatoni pasta shells.
how to make rigatoni pasta with pumpkin pasta sauce?
To make easy, delicious pumpkin pasta to serve with rigatoni pasta or any pasta of your choice, we use the following ingredients.
ingredients used to make pumpkin rigatoni pasta
for the pumpkin pasta sauce:
- pumpkin puree 1 cup (I used leftover canned pumpkin puree)
- marinara sauce 2 cups
- butter 1 tablespoon
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- sage 1 teaspoon
- italian seasoning 1 teaspoon
- dried oregano ½ teaspoon
- dried basil ½ teaspoon
- salt adjust to taste
for the pasta:
- rigatoni pasta (or penne pasta 16 oz) (cooked al dente following package instructions, you may use another kind of pasta if you wish)
- salt adjust to taste
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- butter 4 tablespoons
- shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups (optional)
step by step instructions to make rigatoni pasta in pumpkin pasta sauce
to cook the rigatoni pasta:
- Cook the rigatoni pasta in enough water and salt following package instructions to make al dente pasta (not too soft but cooked just enough). Drain water and keep the cooked pasta aside. In general, I cook the rigatoni pasta in lightly salted boiling water for about 9 minutes so I get perfectly cooked al dente rigatoni pasta, but always follow package directions for the best results.
- Add one tablespoon olive oil and mix with cooked pasta, this will help with the pasta shells not sticking together.
- Also add the butter to the hot pasta, stir in gently to combine, keep this aside (you may add some light seasoning too if you like).
to make pumpkin pasta sauce:
- In a pan, add the marinara sauce (you can use any of your favorite tomato based pasta sauce as well).
- Also add the pumpkin puree and olive oil, mix well.
- Turn on heat and cook in low heat (while stirring the sauce to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan) for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Also add butter, seasonings (sage, oregano, italian seasoning, basil) and enough salt, mix well and simmer for another 2 minutes until the flavors are all well blended with the sauce.
- Turn off the heat and keep the preapred pumpkin pasta sauce aside!
To make pumpkin pasta:
- Based on your preference, you may either top the cooked pasta with prepared pumpkin pasta sauce.
- Or you may mix the pasta with pumpkin pasta sauce.
- It tastes delicious even when just served on top of al dente cooked pasta, which makes a simple, yummy pasta side dish.
- Also, to make it more rich and cheesy, add the shredded cheddar cheese (or use Mexican blend cheese or any of your favorite go to cheese for pasta), mix well to combine with pasta and pumpkin sauce to make a delicious meal!
Below you can get the detailed recipe for easy pumpkin pasta!
How To Cook Rigatoni Pasta With Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
for the pumpkin pasta sauce:
Instructions
to cook the riagtoni pasta:
- Cook the rigatoni pasta in enough water and salt following package instructions to make al dente pasta (not too soft but cooked just enough). Drain water and keep the cooked pasta aside. In general, I cook the rigatoni pasta in lightly salted boiling water for about 9 minutes so I get perfectly cooked al dente rigatoni pasta, but always follow package directions for the best results.
- Add one tablespoon olive oil and mix with cooked pasta, this will help with the pasta shells not sticking together.Also add the butter to the hot pasta, stir in gently to combine, keep this aside (you may add some light seasoning too if you like).
to make pumpkin pasta sauce:
- In a pan, add the marinara sauce (you can use any of your favorite tomato based pasta sauce as well).
- Also add the pumpkin puree and olive oil, mix well.
- Turn on heat and cook in low heat (while stirring the sauce to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan) for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Also add butter, seasonings (sage, oregano, italian seasoning, basil) and enough salt, mix well and simmer for another 2 minutes until the flavors are all well blended with the sauce.
- Turn off the heat and keep the preapred pumpkin pasta sauce aside!
To make pumpkin pasta:
- Based on your preference, you may either top the cooked pasta with prepared pumpkin pasta sauce or you may mix the pasta with pumpkin pasta sauce.
- It tastes delicious even when just served on top of al dente cooked pasta, which makes a simple, yummy pasta side dish.
- Also, to make it more rich and cheesy, add the shredded cheddar cheese (or use Mexican blend cheese or any of your favorite go to cheese for pasta), mix well to combine with pasta and pumpkin sauce to make a delicious meal!
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