Pumpkin beef bolognese. Imagine a hearty meat sauce with meltingly tender pumpkin chunks. Served with pasta and topped with ricotta. You may think that this pumpkin bolognese is a time consuming cooking project, but actually it’s comfort food at its best. It’s wonderfully easy to throw together and you only need one pan.
We begin with a base of finely chopped celery, onion and garlic. Then we add the pumpkin and fennel. If you’ve never added pumpkin to your sauce before, it’s a delightful surprise. It has a mild but slightly sweet flavor and pairs really well with other veggies and meat. Fennel stands in for the more common aromatics, and it brightens the rich beef with a subtle and sophisticated undertone.
When the vegetables are tender, we add the beef and cook until browned. No beef? You can use ground pork or chicken to replace it.
Next we add some beef stock to round out the meat flavor and give the beef something to cook down in without drying out. Beef stock gives the whole dish a richer flavor, but you can use chicken or vegetable stock for a milder taste.
Finally, we add tomato sauce and allow everything to simmer. The only thing left is to stir in cooked pasta, top with ricotta, and enjoy! And if you never tried adding ricotta to your pasta, you should! A creamy blob of ricotta makes everything better. Just whip some whole milk ricotta with grated Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper for an instant dinner upgrade.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
RECIPE NOTES
- This sauce is really delicious, it’s a decadent pleasure served with pasta or as part of a larger recipe like lasagna. I like to make a double batch and freeze half for a later date.
- For best result, use a pumpkin or squash variety with a soft skin like Hokkaido pumpkin or Red Kuri squash.
More delicious pumpkin recipes:
- Roasted Pumpkin and Sour Cream Pasta
- Pearl couscous and roasted pumpkin salad with pomegranate and pecans
- Potato waffles with roasted pumpkin and chanterelles
Cooking Video
Calories Per Serving: 708 kcalPumpkin Beef Bolognese
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.