Like fireworks in the night sky, they exploded over our heads, raining down seeds and guts and orange flesh. This is what happens when you play pumpkin baseball. I never knew smashing pumpkins could be so much fun. Perhaps a bit irreverent, but soon they would become mulch anyhow- so we started the process a few days early. A golden light-filled afternoon spent outside with friends – pressing fresh apples into cider, pumpkin picking, and pumpkin carving -turned into a unforgettable evening.
After dinner, a scavenger hunt entertained the kids, then a jack-o-lantern contest with pumpkin faces all aglow in the dark. Before the night ended, we took to the lawn. Organized lines of pitchers and batters sprayed pumpkin bits across the starry night towards the pumpkin patch. It was messy, beautiful, exhilarating. For a few fleeting minutes I felt like a kid again. Giddy. Oh the incredible lightness of being…
And it’s this creamy rich quality that makes them perfect for sauces. In this recipe for Stuffed shells with Pumpkin Sauce, the luscious Pumpkin Parmesan Sauce is a substitution for a creamy bechemal sauce, or an Alfredo sauce and with less calories You can simplify this recipe by only making the sauce, serving it over pasta, gnocchi or ravioli ….or swirling into risotto. It can be further “trimmed-down” or vegan-ified, by substituting vegetable broth and soy milk. Make it your own.
Though winter squash can vary greatly on the outside, with different shapes, sizes and colors ranging from orange to yellow to whites to subtle blues and deep greens, interestingly, they are all similar on the inside- with orange yellow flesh and a center full of seeds. In these photos, I used pumpkin to make the sauce, but keep in mind, butternut or acorn work just as well.
To roast a winter squash, cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, place it on a greased or parchment lined sheet pan and roast in 425F oven for 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with the tip of a fork.
While the pumpkin is roasting, boil the shells and make the filling.
Pour a little sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish.
You can use one large baking dish or several small individual baking dishes.
Cover and bake.
Stuffed Shells with Pumpkin Sauce
Stuffed shells with Italian sausage (or substitute mushrooms) and a creamy flavorful Pumpkin Parmesan sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pacific Northwest
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Roasted Sugar Pumpkin (or any winter squash like acorn, kuri, delicata, butternut…. or use canned pumpkin puree)
- 24 large pasta “shells” about 10 oz
- 16 oz Spicy Italian sausage ( or substitute mushrooms)
- 1–2 T olive oil
- 1 C diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic- minced
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 2 T fresh sage
- 2 T Pine nuts ( optional)
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 Cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/4– 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 C chicken stock
- 1 C milk
- 1/2 C Parmesan or romano cheese
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- white pepper
- fresh grated nutmeg or 1/2 tsp ground
- NOTE: If using real pumpkin, make sure its a “sugar pumpkin”.
Instructions
- 400 F Oven
- To roast winter squash, cut in half, scrap out seeds and roast open side down on a parchment lined baking sheet for 40-55 minutes, until easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Scrape out flesh and you’ll only need two cups. Save the rent for another use.
- In the mean time, boil water for shells, and cook shells according to directions.
- Drain, coat with olive oil and set aside.
- While the water is boiling, brown sausage in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Set aside on a paper lined plate.
- Wipe out skillet, heat 1-2 T olive oil and saute onions over med heat until golden and tender. Add garlic and mushrooms. Saute on med low heat until mushrooms are tender. Add sage, saute for one minute and turn heat off. Place sausage back in to the pan and stir in pine nuts ( optional) ricotta and mozzarella. Taste for salt ( some sausage is saltier than others) and add 1/4- 1/2 tsp kosher salt -if needed, and cracked pepper.
- Stir and set aside.
- When squash is done remove from oven, turn heat down to 350,
- Spoon out 2 Cups of roasted squash into a blender with cold chicken stock, milk, Parmesan, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, nutmeg and pepper. Blend until very smooth and silky.
- In a large greased baking dish ( or individual ramekins) pour enough sauce to generously coat the bottom. Stuff the shells and place them in the baking dish over the sauce.
- Pour more sauce over top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 until heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 10 minutes.
- You could add more cheese or any remaining sauce to the top at this point.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Calories: 495
Keywords: Baked shells, pumpkin sauce, baked shells with sausage, italian sausage baked shells, creamy pumpkin sauce
This recipe is the bomb! This will be the second year I make a huge batch.
I buy high end (Le Crueset or Staub) bakeware, fill each with this recipe and freeze (it freezes nicely). Each of my three adult children and their significant others LOVE this as a Christmas gift, and I love giving it.
★★★★★
thanks, that’s awesome Patrice!
Absolutely delicious. I substituted walnuts because that’s what I had, but otherwise made the recipe as is. Will make time and time again. We loved it.
★★★★★
I have made this twice and it is amazing! Comforting and elegant at the same time. Great for an anytime meal or a pasta course for a dinner party. I made it just as written the first time, then substituted marinara sauce instead of the squash the second time. Both options were great. The squashes I used were butternut and acorn, mixed. I added rosemary instead of the sage when I used the marinara sauce. Oh, and I used a piping bag to fill the shells. Very helpful and not as messy.
★★★★★
Great to hear Christy, thanks for sharing!
I had a mother-load of butternut-like squash this year and I love this one made with squash. The sauce is creamy and mild and the filling yummy! I look forward to making it again and again! Thanks for this recipe…..I never would have thought to make squash(or pumpkin) into a sauce.
Thanks and Im so glad you used your own homegrown squash! So perfect!
I’ve just found your website a few weeks ago, this was the first of several things I’ve made so far!
Everything turned out really well. I followed the instructions to a tee. I thought the sauce was delicious, but next time I think I may try a blend of two smaller squashes just to see if its any sweeter.
On to the Sumac Chicken tonight!
Thanks, love your ideas!
Thanks so much for the note Michelle and welcome to the blog! Let me know how it goes with the different squashes…I think that is a great idea. this time, did you use a sugar pumpkin? Hope you love the Sumac Chicken as much as I do. All the best to you!!
I made this tonight for dinner and my husband and I LOVED it! It was a little time consuming, but everything could definitely be made in advance on the weekend (or on a food prep day) and then put together and put in the oven the night you want to eat it. I used butternut squash for the sauce, just because it is what we always use. I added more parmesan and mozzarella to the top after removing the tin foil. This will definitely stay on my fall recipe list. Thank you for the great meal!
I was looking forward to finding use for my leftover pumpkin, so I was excited when I found this recipe. However, I really did not like the taste the pumpkin gave. It was so terribly bland. I added a bit of all-spice and then added tomato because I didn’t know what else to do with it. Needless to say, the tomato did help out. The shells and filling turned out perfectly though.
Thanks for the feedback. I am really sorry the sauce did not turn out. Can you tell me if you followed it exactly -or if you made any modifications? Did you use chicken stock and add parmesan? Will double check the recipe. Again, appreciate you letting me know.
Gah. These look amazing. I seriously can’t get enough of this post! Every element of the recipe sounds positively crave-worthy — and I love that your shells have little basket handles! The better to carry them to my mouth. 🙂
Thanks!!
Love the pumpkin sauce idea! Creamy and healthy. Pumpkin baseball? Hahaha… That sounds fun. But I just hope I won’t get hit by a pumpkin. That must hurt!