Pumpkin Pasta Bake With Maple & Sage Meatballs

Emily @ Don't Feta 'Bout It
by Emily @ Don't Feta 'Bout It
8 servings
1 hr 30 min

This pasta is AMAZING! It is the perfect Sunday casserole so you have a great Sunday dinner and leftovers for a few lunches during the week. This Pumpkin Pasta Bake with Maple & Sage Meatballs has every fall flavor you could want, pumpkin, sage, and maple. There are a few steps in this recipe, but I’ll also include some shortcuts and hacks if you want all the tasty fall flavors without spending so much time in the kitchen.


I was inspired by these cute little pumpkin pasta noodles that I found at Trader Joes, but macaroni, rigatoni, penne, or any other short noodle pasta would work well for this recipe.

The first step is to make the meatballs, but if you are vegetarian, just leave them out or sub veggie meatballs or sausage. Additionally, if you are short on time, use store bought meatballs, I won't tell :)

Next comes the sauce! Look at that pumpkin color! It takes about 15 minutes on the stove to cook, but could also be made ahead of time to save time.

Top with breadcrumbs and cheese and you are ready to bake in the oven! Finish the bake off with a quick broil to really get that crunchy cheese on top, just be careful to keep an eye so that your cheese doesn't burn!

Pumpkin Pasta Bake With Maple & Sage Meatballs
Recipe details
  • 8  servings
  • Prep time: 1 Hours Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 1 hr 30 min
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Ingredients
Maple & Sage Meatballs
  • 1½ lbs ground pork, I used 80/20 ratio
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ c milk
  • ⅛ c maple syrup
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ large shallot, diced
  • ½ panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbs dried sage
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 10 twists salt & pepper
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
  • 1 15 oz canned pumpkin
  • 1 c milk
  • ½ large shallot, diced
  • ½ yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried sage
Pumpkin Pasta Bake
  • 10 maple & sage meatballs
  • pumpkin pasta sauce
  • 14 oz pasta of your choice
  • ½ lb mozzarella cheese
  • ½ lb Gruyere cheese
  • ½ c panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • fresh sage
Instructions
Maple & Sage Meatballs
Preheat oven to 425 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix all ingredients except the pork in a large mixing bowl. Mix together well to combine eggs and milk with the rest of the ingredients.
Add pork to the mixture and use your hands to combine the ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix, as that can make the texture of the meatballs tougher.
Form meatballs with your hands, I like mine a little larger than a golf ball. The larger the meatball, the longer they'll take to cook.
Bake meatballs for 15-20 minutes until a thermometer reads above 165 in the centers of the meatballs.
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add diced onion and garlic and sauté until onions are soft and translucent.
Add in sage, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes until spices are fragrant.
Pour pumpkin and milk into the saucepan and mix until combined. Once pumpkin starts to boil, reduce heat to medium-low to simmer.
Simmer sauce for 5-10 minutes until flavors have developed and sauce is hot throughout.
Pumpkin Pasta Bake Assembly
Before starting the sauce, start a pot of boiling pasta water on the stove. Cook pasta according to instructions.
Once pasta, meatballs, and sauce is ready to go you are ready to assemble.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Fill a 9×13 casserole dish with the cooked pasta and pour the pumpkin sauce over the pasta.
Nestle the meatballs into the pasta and sauce making sure that at least one will get in every serving.
Top the casserole with the shredded mozzarella and gruyere, then sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until cheese melts and casserole is warm throughout.
Optional: Make butter-fried sage by heating 2 Tbs butter over med-high heat and fry the fresh sage leaves in the butter.
Turn the broiler on high for 3 minutes to crisp the cheese and panko topping. Make sure to keep a close eye so the cheese doesn't burn!
Top with butter-fried sage if desired and serve.
Emily @ Don't Feta 'Bout It
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