Pumpkin Pappardelle with Brown Butter

Cozy up with a big bowl of this pumpkin pappardelle with brown butter sauce this fall. Like something you’d get at a restaurant, but surprisingly quick and easy to make at home. 

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This pumpkin pappardelle with brown butter sauce is the perfect fall comfort food. It’s flavorful, yet easy to make with simple ingredients.

When you look at the ingredient list for this recipe, you may not think much of this dish. But this is one of those recipes where I like to say the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This is due to a few simple ingredients cooked in a way that brings out the best of each flavor and comes all together to compliment each other in tastes and texture.

Tender, yet crispy diced pumpkin, toasty walnuts and salty crisped prosciutto come together in a medley of flavors. The star of the dish is a rich and nutty brown butter sauce seasoned simply with fresh sage, thyme, salt and pepper.

We garnish everything with crispy sage, an additional step that’s worth the effort and rewards in both flavor and presentation.

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is butter that has been cooked just until the milk solids in the butter begin to turn a light brown color and gain a nutty aroma.

Browning the butter adds extra depth of flavor. It’s perfect for a simple pasta sauce such as this one.

Brown butter can be used on savory recipes such as pasta dishes like this, as well as sweet recipes like cookies cupcakes and blondies.

Ingredients

Pappardelle: pappardelle is a long, wide, flat noodle made with eggs. It can usually be found with the egg noodles in the pasta aisle of the grocery store.
Pumpkin: you will need about a quarter of a small pie pumpkin for this recipe. Use the rest for pumpkin soup!
Butter: using a high quality butter will make all the difference. I used Kerry Gold unsalted butter so I could control the saltiness, but you can use salted.
Shallots: the shallots are caramelized in the butter, which bring out their sweetness and provide more depth of flavor.
Walnuts: for a bit of toasty nuttiness and crunch.
Prosciutto: the prosciutto is crisped up in a hot pan and offers a salty bite.
Sage: sage is an earthy, slightly peppery herb that pairs perfectly with pumpkin.
Thyme: thyme is another classic Fall herb that compliments the pumpkin, shallot, brown butter and sage. Dried or fresh thyme can be used in this recipe.

Equipment

Large pasta pot
Large sauté pan
Small sauté pan
Cutting board and knife
Measuring cups and spoons
Rubber spatula
Tongs

Instructions

Crisp the Prosciutto and Sage

Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add pieces of prosciutto and allow it to crisp up, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Remove prosciutto from the pan and set aside. Add one teaspoon of butter or oil to the pan and add sage leaves.

Allow sage leaves to crisp, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove sage leaves and drain on paper towel.

Cook the Pappardelle and Sauce

Cook the pappardelle according to package instructions in well salted water. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add one tablespoon of the butter. Add the pumpkin and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are soft and pumpkin begins to crisp, approximately 5 minutes.

Next, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the rest of the butter, thyme, sage and walnuts. Allow butter to melt and then continuously swirl pan until walnuts are toasted and the butter is browned and has a nutty aroma, which will take approximately 5-10 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add pappardelle and crispy prosciutto and toss so everything is coated in the brown butter. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed, as well as pasta cooking water, to thin the sauce.

Pour pasta into serving bowl and top with crispy sage.

Tips

• Tear the prosciutto into small bite sized pieces.
• Use fresh thyme, if you have it, for more flavor.
• When making the brown butter sauce, your pan should be hot enough for the butter to foam and gently sizzle (see third step in photo above), but not so hot where the butter is splattering.
• Do not walk away or stop swirling the pan while browning the butter. It can go from brown butter to burnt butter very quickly!
• When seasoning the dish with salt, keep in mind the prosciutto will also add saltiness.

Substitutions and Variations

Pappardelle: tagliatelle or fettuccine will work if you can’t find pappardelle. Tagliatelle is made with egg like pappardelle but fettuccine does not contain eggs, so it is a good substitute if you want to avoid eggs.
Pumpkin: butternut squash or similar winter squash can work in place of the pumpkin.
Walnuts: chopped pecans work just as well.
Prosciutto: try crispy crumbled bacon in place of the prosciutto.
Gluten free: use a long grain gluten free pasta.
Dairy free: use vegan butter, I like Country Crock Plant Butter or Earth Balance. I’ve tested this recipe with Country Crock plant butter and it did brown!

More Fall Recipes

• Autumn Harvest Salad with Quinoa
• Pear and Brie Flatbread
• Sheet Pan Maple Mustard Chicken
• The Best Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Autumn Chicken Salad

As always, if you make this Pumpkin Pappardelle with Brown Butter recipe please let me know by leaving a comment/rating below. If you take a picture, tag me on Instagram @thechowdown. I love seeing your recreations!