Sick of overly sweet pumpkin recipes? This creamy pumpkin sauce with roasted garlic chicken sausage takes pumpkin to a savory level that you’ll LOVE!
The original version of this meal was simply roasted garlic chicken sausage in homemade spaghetti sauce over whole wheat pasta. Easy enough meal to make for myself being that Kyle is working evenings this week, right?
Well…I got thinking this afternoon about things I wanted to get accomplished tonight and it clicked: Kyle is working evenings this week…evenings this week…hmmm…YES!! It’s not that I don’t love spending time with my husband because I very much do, but the time alone for dinner certainly gives me a little more latitude about what I can cook for myself.
“What do I have in the fridge to beef up my pasta dish tonight? …. PUMPKIN!!” I thought to myself. I had some leftover from the pumpkin pancakes I made over the weekend. I had been reading through another blog today and came across a hazelnut sage ravioli with pumpkin cream sauce and after the pumpkin light bulb went off in my brain, I decided to do a savory creamy pumpkin sauce tonight.
Yes, yes…I realize that I would be taking a chance with this one – garlic chicken sausage with pumpkin sauce?? But you only live once and since I had to opportunity to possibly ruin only one meal, rather than two, tonight, I decided I’d better take advantage.
The ideas raced around my head during my 45 minute drive home and when I got in the house, I got right to work in the kitchen without even changing out of my work clothes. I was on a mission. Oh…did I mention this mission had to be lower in calories and fat since Kyle and I have started a healthy eating plan that involves only eating a certain amount of calories per day? Right…there would be no heavy cream in this sauce and instead skim milk, which I’ve always found works beautifully when making creamy sauces.
This was creamy pumpkin sauce SO good and SO easy!! The mix of flavors from the sweet pumpkin and cinnamon along with the savory chicken sausage and Parmesan cheese was just delightful. And knowing that the sauce was low cal/low fat made eating the meal so much more satisfying!
This is definitely a keeper…and maybe next time I’ll attempt it when Kyle IS home for dinner. Maybe.
Creamy Pumpkin Sauce with Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage
- Cook Time: 10min
- Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
1 ½ tsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon + extra for sprinkling over finished dish
Dash of nutmeg
¼ tsp Kosher salt
A couple cranks freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup skim milk
¼ cup + 2 tbsp (or 6 tbsp) pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
6 oz whole wheat pasta, cooked according to package instructions
2 pre-cooked roasted garlic chicken sausage links
Shaved parmesan
Instructions
-
01
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then whisk in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 1 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking and continue whisking until no lumps remain. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated and cook the sauce, stirring occasionally until it thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes.
-
02
While the sauce heats and thickens, slice the chicken sausage into bite-size slices. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Drop the sausage slices into the pan and heat them through – this should take about 3 minutes.
-
03
Divide the pasta between 2 bowls and pour the sauce over the pasta; stir to coat well. Divide the sausage between the bowls. Sprinkle the top with a little bit of cinnamon and the shaved parmesan cheese. Serve while still hot.
Smells Like Home original
This looks super good, yum!