Cheesy Pumpkin & Sage Sausage Stuffed Pasta Shells
Jumbo Pasta Shells stuffed with savory sage sausage & creamy ricotta cheese covered in a lush pumpkin sauce and melty Italian cheese. The perfect fall comfort weeknight dinner.
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Large Pot
- Colander
- medium sauce pan
- Spatula
- Frying Pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 9×13 Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 20 jumbo pasta shells
For Pumpkin Sauce:
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic 4-6 cloves
- 30 oz can pumpkin puree about 3 cups
- 1 cup cream whole milk, half & half, or heavy cream
- 1/2-3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground pepper
For Sausage Filling:
- 16 oz ground sage sausage such as Jimmy Dean
- 4 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese divided
- pinch salt & pepper
Instructions
- Prep Pasta Shells & Pumpkin Sauce: bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add at least 20 jumbo pasta shells to boiling water and cook according to directions on package. Once cooked, drain pasta using a colander and set aside until ready to use. While pasta is cooking, make pumpkin sauce. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Allow butter to cook until just starting to brown and beginning to have a sweet, nutty aroma. Watch butter closely as it can quickly change from browned to burnt. Once butter has browned add minced garlic and finely chopped fresh sage. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Stir in pumpkin puree, cream, 1/2 cup chicken broth, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, brown sugar, and ground pepper. Stir until fully combined. If pumpkin sauce is a bit too thick, add more chicken broth a tablespoon at a time to thin. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
- Make Sausage & Ricotta Filling: in a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook ground sage sausage until browned and crumbled. Add roughly chopped fresh spinach and continue cooking and stirring until spinach has wilted. Transfer sausage mixture to a paper towel lined plate to drain grease. In a large mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese, and 1/2 cup of pumpkin sauce. Add sausage & spinach mixture and stir to fully combine. Taste and add salt & pepper if needed.
- Construct and Bake: preheat oven to 375F. Meanwhile, pour remaining pumpkin sauce into a 9x13 oven-safe casserole dish. Gently shake dish so that pumpkin sauce spreads out into an even layer. Next, stuff a pasta shell with about 1.5 tbsp of sausage filling. Press stuffed shell into pumpkin sauce. Repeat this process until you have 4 rows of 5 shells. Top pasta with remaining 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese has melted and everything is warmed through. Serve immediately.
Notes
To add a bit of heat, try using hot ground sausage or a blend of sage and hot ground sausage. Spicy Italian sausage also works really well.
Instead of jumbo pasta shells, try using Manicotti, which are long tube like pasta. To stuff them, add filling to a plastic bag with the tip cut off. A 9x13 casserole dish can generally hold 8-10 of these.
Instead of nutmeg & cinnamon, sub 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice which is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
Instead of canned pumpkin puree, you can make your own homemade version. See notes above to find out how.
When boiling pasta shells, throw a few extra shells in the pot just in case some rip.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!