How good does this sound? Great, if you ask us – or anyone we have made it for. We are bringing you all the flavors of fall in this dish, and believe us, this is a to-die-for Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce! It is the perfect fall comfort food!
At the center of this dish is pumpkin ravioli. Pumpkin in the fall? Duh…pumpkin IS fall. And we really wanted to focus on all things fall for this recipe. If you aren't used to eating pumpkin in a savory dish, well, be prepared to have your mind blown. You will find that the familiar "pumpkin" flavor often identifiable in pumpkin pie or other desserts, or the Pumpkin Spice Latte (aka the mascot of fall) typically takes on the flavor of all the spices incorporated into these classic foods.
But pumpkin is more than these cliché seasonal favorites and, being a member of the squash or gourd family, it is easily interchangeable in dishes that typically use butternut or acorn squash. In fact, the inspiration behind this particular ravioli was from a dish Angela tried at a restaurant made with butternut squash ravioli instead of pumpkin. Again, you can switch it up and use either of these in this dish if you are going the homemade or store-bought route.
Looking for other delicious savory recipes with pumpkin, check out our Pumpkin Rosemary Risotto with Taleggio Cheese!
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Homemade Ravioli or Store-bought
Ten out of ten times we will tell you to make your own pasta from scratch. This homemade pumpkin ravioli recipe is that much better, and although it takes a bit more time, it really isn't that hard to do.
Reality speaking, you can certainly use premade or store-bought ravioli or tortellini that is widely available now in many grocery stores. Having said that, the sauce goes particularly well with this filling, so if you go the route of store-bought stuffed pasta, try to find one filled with butternut squash, pumpkin or something fall-ish. This sauce would work well with a mushroom filling as well.
You can find our recipes and tips for homemade pasta dough HERE. With a little extra effort, you can make stuffed pasta – such as ravioli – and you will be rewarded five-fold. In fact, I find making ravioli a very tranquil experience and quite fulfilling. Zen and my chi as an aside, I really hope you can try this recipe from scratch.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make this recipe. If you don't plan to make fresh ravioli, you can skip down to the pumpkin ravioli sauce ingredients.
Pumpkin Ravioli filling:
- Canned Pumpkin Puree: Look for plain canned pumpkin or make your own pumpkin puree at home. Avoid canned pumpkin with added spices or ingredients that will affect the flavor.
- Ricotta Cheese: Full fat whole milk ricotta cheese is the best option for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: The real authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano is the only option for this recipe. Make sure you buy the real stuff that is imported from Italy for best results.
- Salt and Pepper
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: These will add a small kick to round out the flavors of the dish without making it spicy.
- Egg
- Toasted Bread Crumbs: The bread crumbs provide a bit of body to the ravioli filling. You can use Panko or Italian bread crumbs, and lightly toast them with 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan to add to the filling mixture.
We prefer to roast our own pumpkins to make homemade pumpkin puree giving this ravioli a nice clean pumpkin flavor. If you want to do so, you can find our instructions for homemade pumpkin puree HERE. Otherwise, the canned pumpkin from the store will work fine. Just make sure you buy 100% pumpkin puree without any added spices or ingredients.
Other classic ravioli ingredients such as ricotta, parmesan, and red pepper flakes are incorporated into the pumpkin filling resulting in a delicious pillow of love and joy!
Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce Ingredients:
- Heavy Cream
- Fresh Sage Leaves: Fresh is best here and shouldn't be replaced with dried sage in this recipe.
- Whole Black Peppercorns: The peppercorns are left whole to delicately infuse some flavor into the cream sauce without becoming too peppery. They will be strained out of the sauce for the final dish.
- Parmesan Cheese: Again, use the real Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Chopped Fresh Sage: The chopped sage is added to the cream sauce at the end to boost the sage flavor.
- White Wine Vinegar: White wine vinegar in this recipe acts as a flavor enhancer. It adds a touch of acidity to the sauce to balance the flavors.
- Salt
Instructions: Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce
As far as making the sauce, it is very easy and straightforward, but so full of flavor and character.
Step 1: Reduce the heavy cream on the stove over medium-low heat with a few sage leaves and peppercorns.
This process of infusing some of the sage flavor into the cream is important for the overall flavor, so don't skip it or rush it!
Reducing the cream by about half will thicken it enough to ensure that this is more of a sauce than a bowl of hot milk.
Step 2: Strain the reduced sauce and return to a simmer.
Once the cream is reduced, you will strain these out, but the flavor infusing transforms this sauce into something a bit more unique.
Step 3: Stir in the Parmesan, chopped sage, vinegar and salt.
Once you add the parmesan, the sauce will thicken even more. We prefer this creamy sauce to be thick to drizzle over the ravioli rather than thinner, but you can adjust this to your liking by reducing by ⅓ instead of by ½.
Why should you use sage in the parmesan cream sauce?
Let's give sage a bit more time in the spotlight:
Sage is the ultimate herb of autumn and winter. Yes, back off rosemary, I said that! Sage is the master of cold weather food concoctions, so it was only fitting that we married pumpkin and sage for this recipe.
Sage is a great herb that can stand tall next to some really rich flavors. This makes it the perfect choice for a cream sauce and ravioli like this one. In the sauce, the sage can roll up with speakers blaring next to some prosciutto and toasted breadcrumbs, cover the ravioli and you have the October through March dish of a lifetime! We are pretty passionate about this dish if you haven’t figured that out by now!
Additional Toppings and Garnishes
The crisped sage is really simple and adds a stunning presentation piece to your dish. The flavor profile of the crispy sage is minimal, and it won't overpower your dish like raw sage would.
Adding the prosciutto enhances the final flavor a bit more and we encourage you not to skip this ingredient. We buy the thinly sliced deli version of prosciutto usually pre-packaged at most grocery store. It should be fairly easy to find, but you could switch this out with pancetta or bacon if you cannot find it. Although, bacon will add a bit more of a smokey flavor to your dish, so go easy on it.
Finally, DO NOT SKIP THE BREADCRUMBS! Adding breadcrumbs is something we experienced frequently in Italy, but rarely here in America, and we often forget these. The breadcrumbs add the perfect amount of texture to the dish that will delight your senses! We promise, this will change your pasta world!
Substitutions
Here are a few common substitutions that can be made in this recipe:
- Pumpkin Ravioli: You can, of course, use store-bought pumpkin ravioli in place of the homemade version in this recipe. Simply cook the ravioli per the package instructions and serve with the Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce and toppings.
- White Wine Vinegar: If you do not have white wine vinegar, we recommend substituting it with a squirt of lemon juice instead.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: You can sub out the panko for a different style of bread crumbs.
Variations
If you want a tasty variation of this recipe, try our version of this recipe with Butternut Squash ravioli filling from our cookbook Mangiamo.
Additionally, you can use any variety of ravioli or other filled pasta with the Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce. The sauce is versatile and can be used with a variety of pasta dishes!
Storage
If you plan to make fresh homemade pumpkin ravioli for this dish, you can always freeze the raw, uncooked ravioli and enjoy at a later time. They are great to make in advance so that this dish is easy to make with the sauce any night of the week.
Simply place the uncooked fresh homemade ravioli in a single layer on a sheet tray or plate and place them in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the ravioli from the sheet tray to a freezer safe zip top bag or sealed container and place back in the freezer to use within 3 months.
When you are ready to cook frozen ravioli, remove them straight from the freezer to your pot of salted boiling water and cook until they float.
If you have leftover cooked ravioli and cream sauce from your cooked meal, you can store the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat the ravioli leftover, add them to a saucepan over low heat until heated through.
FAQ
Yes! Simply follow the package instructions to cook your store-bought ravioli and enjoy them with the Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce and toppings in this recipe.
Related
Looking for more fall recipes? Try these:
Pairing
These are our favorite desserts to enjoy after this dish:
If you give this recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce a try, leave us a comment below! Or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
If your love for pumpkin runs deep like ours, check out some of our other seasonal pumpkin recipes below:
- Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake with Candied Cinnamon Pecans
- Pumpkin Rosemary Risotto with Taleggio Cheese
- Pumpkin Spice White Russian Cocktail
- Pumpkin Passion Fruit Spice Cake
- Pumpkin Spice Butter Cake aka “Crack Cake”
Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Large pot for cooking ravioli
- 1 small saucepan for making the sauce
- 1 Fine sieve to strain the sauce
- 1 slotted spoon or spider spatula to remove cooked ravioli from water
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
Ravioli Filling
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin
- 1.5 cup ricotta cheese
- ⅛ cup Parmesan cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon salt and pepper each
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup toasted bread crumbs
Sauce
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 3 sage leaves - ripped in half
- 8 black peppercorns - whole
- 1.5 cups Parmesan Cheese
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- ¼ teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Ravioli Toppings
- ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs browned in butter
- 2 slices prosciutto - pan-fried for 10 seconds per side and then chopped
- 8 sage leaves - fried in olive oil for 8 seconds or until just crisp and not soggy
Instructions
Pasta Dough
- Follow the instructions to make 1 recipe Multipurpose Pasta Dough {Or use your favorite frozen ravioli and skip the pasta making steps below}. The pasta dough will need to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before you roll it out into sheets for the ravioli. While your pasta dough is resting, prepare the filling. The dough can be made several hours and up to one day in advance, if needed.1 recipe Multipurpose Pasta Dough {Or use your favorite frozen ravioli and skip the pasta making steps below}
Ravioli Filling for Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and set aside in the fridge until your dough is rolled out.
Make the Pumpkin Ravioli
- Remove the pasta dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Next, unwrap and knead on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes by hand. Cut the dough into manageable pieces about the size of the palm of your hand.Press each piece on a flat surface with your hands to flatten it to about 1⁄4 inch (6 mm) thick (cover the pieces you aren't rolling yet in plastic wrap).
- Run each piece through a pasta roller starting with the widest setting. Fold the sheet in half and run through on the widest setting a total of three times. If it gets too wide you can fold the sides in to make it thinner. If it rips or tears, simply fold it over and start again.
- Run it through the next lowest setting two more times, folding in between.Then run the sheet through once at the next lowest setting and continue until your desired thickness is achieved. We typically roll it to the 5th lowest setting for ravioli. Every roller is different, so you may need to try out a few thicknesses to find what you prefer. Lay your pasta sheet on a flat surface dusted with flour to fill and cut your ravioli. To prevent the dough from drying out too much, we prefer to roll out one sheet at a time and make the ravioli from each sheet before rolling out another sheet.
- Alternatively, you can roll the pasta dough out with a rolling pin, but be prepared to really put some muscle into it. You want to roll the sheet out until you can see the light through it when you hold it up.
- Next add 1 tablespoon of the filling about 3 inches apart on half of the sheet. Fold the sheet in half onto your filling scoops, bringing the two short edges together. Carefully press the sheets together around each scoop of filling. Press out as much air as possible. Finally, use a ravioli cutter or a knife to cut your sheet into 3 x 3 inch squares (7.5x7.5 cm), then set the ravioli aside on a parchment-lined and lightly flour-dusted baking sheet.
Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce
- Start the sauce by putting the cream, ripped sage leaves and peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer (very gentle boil) and hold until the cream has reduced by half, stirring with a rubber spatula to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan every couple of minutes. This will take about 15-20 minutes or so - be patient.
- Once reduced, strain the solids and return to the saucepan. Add the parmesan, chopped sage, vinegar and salt. Stir and simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Toppings
- For the toasted breadcrumbs: Add 2 Tbs butter to a skillet on medium-low heat. When butter is done bubbling, add breadcrumbs. Stir often (you can turn the heat up a little) and when the breadcrumbs have golden brown remove from heat. They will turn to toasty brown very quickly so be careful here. Remove to a plate to cool.
- For the crispy prosciutto: Use the same skillet you used for the breadcrumbs (if you want) heat on medium heat and add 3 thin slices of Prosciutto. They will crisp up quite quickly so you only want them on for 5 seconds or so per side. Remove to cutting board and chop into small bits - you can use slices or dices or whatever.
- For the crispy sage leaves: In a small saucepan with about ½ inch of oil, heat on medium-high for a few minutes. Pick out some sage leaves you want to crisp (large nice looking ones). Use a tester sage leaf in the oil - it should sizzle right away but not discolor. It will be in the oil for about 5-8 seconds. Remove to paper towels to drain the oil. The sage leaves should be a darker green (not brown) and not limp and greasy. If you take them out and they are greasy limp, put them back in the oil for 2-4 seconds (they should bubble and crisp as soon as they hit the oil as the water in the leaves hasn't completely been removed).
Finishing the Dish
- Once sauce and toppings are done, you can cook your ravioli. Bring a large pot with water to a slight boil. Once it boils, add salt (2 tablespoon per 6-8 quarts of water). For fresh ravioli, add the ravioli to the gently boiling water until it floats (approximately 2-3 minutes). For store-bought, follow the cooking instructions on the packaging and start cooking while you prepare the toppings.
- When the ravioli are done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon from the water to serving plates and add sauce and toppings.
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