This pumpkin carbonara pasta is a super quick and easy recipe that is ideal for Fall. Rigatoni noodles covered in a thick and creamy pumpkin and egg sauce with sun dried tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh parsley.

Recipe inspo

It’s Fall y’all. Almost, anyway. Carbonara is one of my favorite pasta sauces, and I decided to give it a pumpkin twist. Pumpkin is low-calorie and great for your health, and it adds a creamy richness to the dish (and great color).

I also decided to make this dish vegetarian (that is, if you consider eggs part of the vegetarian diet) – traditional carbonara includes some kind of meat like guanciale, pancetta or prosciutto, but I swapped in sun-dried tomatoes instead to make the meal very quick and easy.

What is real carbonara made of?

Carbonara is typically made with five or so ingredients: eggs, guanciale, black pepper, pecorino Romano and noodles, of course. If you haven’t made it before, it might sound strange, but you do not cook the eggs. Instead, the heat from the boiled noodles cook the egg sauce just enough to create a creamy and gooey sauce. It’s delicious.

Equipment needed to make pumpkin carbonara

Here’s what you need:

A large baking dish for your pasta – or you could use a large bowl – anything that you’d like the meal to be prepared in. This dish won’t be going in the oven.
A large pot to cook pasta – you will need a separate pot to make the pasta as you prepare the sauce.
A pasta strainer
Whisk – or a spoon at the very least.

Ingredients

Add these pumpkin carbonara ingredients to your grocery list:

Rigatoni noodles – or 1 pound of any noodle you prefer!
2 eggs, room temperature – we don’t want them too cold or else the sauce won’t form nicely!
Pumpkin puree – I find that organic pumpkin puree is really nice and delicious. Regular is fine too!
Sun-dried tomatoes – try to get ones that are in a jar of oil. The oil is really flavorful and delicious and can be used in this dish.
¼ cup oil from your sun-dried tomatoes’ jar – OR olive oil if there isn’t enough.
Garlic cloves
Pecorino Romano cheese – you can opt for similar blends or Parmesan cheese.
fresh parsley
salt & pepper – Pepper is key!
pine nuts for serving, optional – but it looks nice 🙂

Directions

Step 1

Prep the sauce. In your large baking dish, whisk two eggs until well mixed. Add in the sun-dried tomatoes, pumpkin puree, garlic, Pecorino Romano cheese, a hefty pinch of salt and pepper, and the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar or can (or olive oil). Whisk it all together until combined.

Step 2

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add your pasta noodles and cook until al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Reserve about ⅓ cup of pasta water (you may or may not use it). Quickly strain the the pasta.

Step 3

While the pasta is still very hot, immediately dump the noodles into the dish with the egg mixture. With a spoon or tongs, toss the noodles throughout the sauce thoroughly. The heat will cook the egg mixture into a thick pasta sauce.

Step 4

If the pasta needs it (AKA it looks dry, needs more moisture), add some of the pasta water to loosen it up. Add the parsley and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with pine nuts if you’d like. Serve while hot!

Recipe Substitutions

Make spaghetti carbonara: spaghetti is a pretty famous noodle for carbonara sauce. You can make the recipe the same exact way, just be sure that you don’t overcook your noodles.

Make it spicy: adding red pepper flakes will give it some nice heat.

Add meat: I’d recommend some crispy pancetta for this dish. It’s like bacon but provides a more meaty bite. I like to dice mine up and heat it in a saucepan until browned, about 4-5 minutes.

Recipe Storage

To keep your pumpkin carbonara in good condition, transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for 4-5 days. To reheat, pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

More Recipes to try

If you enjoyed this pumpkin carbonara recipe, try out these other ones on my blog:

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