Easy Fall Dinner Party Recipe: Creamy Pumpkin Sage Pasta in 20 Minutes

While we love the idea of an elegant fall dinner party with multiple courses, beautiful centerpieces, and name cards straight from our Pinterest dreams, it doesn’t always happen that way—and it doesn’t need to. A dinner party can, of course, mean all of the above (we like to throw at least one full-out soirée a year), but it can also mean a simple pasta, a great bottle of non-alcoholic (or traditional) wine, and a few close friends. As the days grow shorter and the season busier, we encourage you to slow down and make time for connection.

Here’s one of our favorite fall dishes—it’s creamy and warming, made with just 10 ingredients, and takes only 20 minutes to prepare. Add a crisp salad with lemon juice and olive oil on the side, pour a bottle of our non-alcoholic Red Blend and there’s your dinner party! To make it even easier, we created our Come Over Pack: 6 bottles, 20% off + free shipping. Now there's really no excuse not to have a party! 

Creamy Pumpkin and Sage Pasta

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni (or any short pasta you love)

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin purée

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup whole milk

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Instructions

Cook the pasta.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining, reserve about 1½ cups of the pasta water, then set the pasta aside.

Make the sauce.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped sage and garlic, cooking just until fragrant—about 1 minute. Stir in the pumpkin purée, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook for another 2–3 minutes to let the flavors meld.

Combine everything.
Pour in the milk and stir until smooth and creamy. Add the cooked pasta along with about a cup of the reserved pasta water, tossing until the sauce coats the noodles and turns glossy, 3–4 minutes.

Finish and serve.
Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan until melted and silky. Adjust the consistency with more pasta water if needed. Serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of cheese and a few crispy sage leaves on top if you’d like to elevate it even more.