One-Pot Penne With Sausage, Pumpkin, and Fennel
Author Notes: This dish combines those classic fall flavors we all love together in a one-pot pasta concept for the ultimate cozy dinner factor. All of the ingredients get cooked together in a wide pan followed by the pasta and cooking liquid. Put the lid on and let the pasta cook to al dente. When you take the lid off, all that's left is to add final seasonings, and voila! Dinner. Revel in your quick autumn dinner genius. —Kelsey Tenney
Serves: 4
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1
tablespoon olive oil
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1/2
fennel bulb, thinly sliced and roughly chopped
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1
large carrot, peeled and chopped
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2
cloves garlic, minced
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1/2
teaspoon red pepper flakes
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2
links (about 3.2 oz) Italian hot sausage, casing removed
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1
leaf of sage
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1/2
cup dry white wine (or 1/4 cup lemon juice + 1/4 cup water)
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2 1/2
cups chicken stock
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3
cups (8 oz) dried penne
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3/4
cup canned pumpkin puree, unsweetened
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1/2
a lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
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1
teaspoon kosher salt
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1/4
teaspoon freshly-grated black pepper
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1/4
cup parsley, roughly chopped
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1/2
cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino, plus more for serving
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fronds from the fennel bulb, for serving
- In a large, tall-sided frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When glistening and hot, add the prepared fennel, carrot, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until the fennel and carrot begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up and crumbling it as it cooks, about 5 more minutes.
- Add the sage to the pan followed by the wine. Use the wine as a deglazing liquid to pick up any bits at the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce slightly for two minutes, until it gets rather fragrant. Add the chicken stock and penne to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Bring the liquid to a low boil, and push any pasta that is sticking out into the cooking liquid. Reduce heat to medium low so that the liquid is simmering. Cover and cook 7 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir to combine and cover to cook another 3 or so minutes. Remove the lid and stir the pasta. It should be close to al dente, and the sauce should be thickening. Let the sauce continue to reduce slightly over the heat as you add the salt, pepper, and parsley to the pan. Stir to combine. Taste the pasta and ensure it is cooked through.
- Shut the heat off—the sauce will thicken as it sits a bit more. Add the cheese to the pan and stir in. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary. I added another 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Roughly chop/tear the fronds from the fennel bulb (optional) and stir into the pasta. Serve with another grating of cheese and cracked black pepper with each bowl and enjoy immediately! If you want more acidity, squeeze a lemon wedge over the top when serving.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Pork|Pasta|Entree|Fall|Winter|One-Pot Wonders
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We are vegetarians, so no meat, but, more importantly, what is missed by not adding the Fennel? I will use better than broth, in place of the Chicken broth.
This was great! Flavorful and kicky from the spicy sausage. I added way more sage, and it could have used more. I also added a large shallot. A bit of nutmeg would have been good too. Will def make again this winter.
Generally, we really liked this dish! A few notes:
- used Tinkyada GF pasta: worked great
- used turkey sausage: worked great
My main note is that the flavor was much too bright for a wintry dish. Next time, I plan to:
- add a small onion along with fennel and carrot
- use mild Italian sausage (even with the calming pasta and pumpkin, there was too much heat for my kiddos; I already omitted the chili flakes)
- use 1 TBSP of lemon juice, not 2
Hi Kelsey! Lovely article. Would love to have you as a member of the 6ya community.
6ya is looking for experts in Italian cooking (and a few other cuisines). Experts get paid for every call they take, as well as a $100 sign-up bonus.
Visit www.6ya.com/experts to learn more and apply. Do share with your friends and colleagues.
I don't know what happened but this was completely dead on arrival for me. I bought high quality ingredients and followed instruction. I had a much easier time getting the pasta to cook than with other one-pot pasta recipes in the past, however the flavor was so flat, unappetizing even.
This technique works for all pasta methods - I just made spaghetti and meatballs in one pan (more flavor, less dishes)
This is so, so good. We just made it tonight and it was phenomenal.
My family are (sadly) not pumpkin eaters (or any other winter squash). What would be good in place of the pumpkin?
They won’t be able to tell it’s pumpkin. A lot of vegan recipes substitute puréed squash or pumpkin for cheese sauce. It just adds a creamy texture without all the fat. If they have allergies you can use any kind of puréed squash.
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