I had so much fun creating this recipe back in 2007, and it has been a quiet, fan-favorite ever since. One of my good friends says she makes it every single year around this time. The béchamel cream sauce is incredibly good with this pumpkin manicotti! Wanting to create a great fall pasta dish, I decided to go with chopped pumpkin added to the filling of this cheese manicotti. Be sure to buy a pumpkin that is suitable for eating- a sugar pie pumpkin. They’re a smaller variety that is used for making homemade pumpkin pie. You can substitute chopped butternut squash, if you prefer.
How to Make Pumpkin Manicotti:
I use fresh pumpkin (sugar pie pumpkin) in my Pumpkin Manicotti. I roast it up with a little bit of olive oil and maple syrup. A creamy, white béchamel sauce is the perfect choice to accompany the flavors of pumpkin and sage in the filling.
Then I mix it with some ‘typical’ manicotti filling ingredients… ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese (not so typical), chopped spinach, etc. and add some chopped fresh sage in there too (instead of traditionally used basil).
You’ll start the assembly of the manicotti by making the béchamel sauce and putting a thin layer of it in your baking dish. Here I show you how you can use a small spoon to get the filling into each of the manicotti noodles. I have another method that I sometimes use for filling the noodles that I also use for my Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti recipe. I scoop the stuffing into quart-sized zip bags, snip the end and squeeze the filling into the noodles. It works really well, and you don’t have to struggle with the mess of trying to spoon it in.
Snuggle the filled manicotti noodles side by side in the baking dish.
The rest of the béchamel sauce is spooned on top. There should be enough to cover all of the pumpkin manicotti. You’ll add a little chopped fresh sage to finish it off. It’s then covered and baked for an hour.
When it emerges from the oven, it will be hot and bubbly.
This manicotti turns out to be a really excellent fall dinner. The roasted pumpkin is perfectly textured and wonderful with the melted mozzarella cheese and sage, as well as the creamy, nutmeg-tainted sauce.
If you’re looking for more fall pasta recipes, you might also enjoy my Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage or these Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells. Fall Rotini Pasta Salad and Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo Pasta are also really great pasta recipes to make during the fall months.
