Almost two years ago, I posted about a similar recipe: Butternut Squash, Browned Butter, and Rosemary Fettucini Alfredo. It quickly became one of Bowl of Delicious’s most popular posts, and I wanted to create another healthy, seasonal alternative to Fettucini Alfredo. This Pumpkin Alfredo is even easier to make than the butternut squash one, because there’s no blending involved. Just a pan, some ingredients, and a whisk! It’s simplified by the fact that pumpkin comes already pureed in a can, and that I used onion powder instead of fresh onion in order to make the sauce as smooth and creamy as possible without too much fuss. The sauce itself takes only about 10 minutes to make. It’s like a miracle. Just make a simple roux with butter and flour, add milk, and add pumpkin puree, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk together. It’s so darn simple!
I think we’re all pretty used to being bombarded around this time of year with pumpkin everything. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin lattes. Pumpkin cupcakes. Most of what I’ve come across has been delicious looking, but usually very sweet and not exactly healthy. Which is so weird to me, because pumpkin is an extremely healthy ingredient (along with other winter squashes). Who started making pumpkin into sweet treats anyway? It’s not like you see butternut squash pies or acorn squash lattes floating around on Pinterest. New trend, maybe? ……cricket, cricket I digress.
Pumpkin is high in vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as fiber. It even has some Omega-3s! It’s packed full of antioxidant power (it’s not just leafy greens and blueberries that have antioxidants) as well as anti inflammatory benefits (making it a great pre or post workout food). A word of advice when cooking this recipe: don’t skimp on the salt. Traditional Alfredo sauce is packed with parmesan cheese, which makes it really salty. You’re going to want to use a lot of seasoning to bring the otherwise bland ingredients up to the decadence you expect from Alfredo sauce.
I used canned pureed pumpkin for this. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it uses the WHOLE CAN- which means you won’t have a half a cup left lingering about and potentially going to waste. If you prefer, you can make your own pumpkin puree (and if you do this, I highly suggest roasting the seeds!).
You can use whatever pasta you want for this- fettucini, penne, rotini… whole wheat, brown rice, etc. I used regular fettucini. (Not whole wheat. Because I’m pregnant and I DIDN’T WANT TO. So there.) For other healthy pasta dishes, try this Green Goddess Pasta Salad, this Chicken and Linguine with Tomato Basil Butter Sauce, or this Healthy 20-Minute Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff.
Other Pumpkin Recipes- sweet and savory
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes Pumpkin Oatmeal Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins Dark Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Recipe for Pumpkin Fettucini Alfredo below!
