Pumpkin Ravioli with Browned Butter Sauce

Pumpkin ravioli is a delicious, vegetarian dinner and one of my favorite fall recipes. The pumpkin ravioli sauce is savory, rich, and simple to make with browned butter, sage, and walnuts. We eat a lot of sweet pumpkin recipes in the fall, so this savory meal hits the spot!

How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli

Wondering what kind of pumpkin to use for ravioli? While you can certainly buy and prep a whole pumpkin, using canned pumpkin makes this pumpkin ravioli recipe easier and faster. 

Some pumpkins tend to be watery and less dense than others, so if the one you purchase seems to be particularly loose, drain it in a strainer to remove excess liquid. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, here’s how to make pumpkin puree from scratch. 

When it comes to wrapping the ravioli, I discovered a trick over 30 years ago and have used it ever since: Wonton wrappers!

I know it’s cheating, and definitely not “authentic” to use wonton skins in lieu of hand-made pasta dough, but doing so makes this do-able for a weeknight meal, especially when you have some little hands to help out. 

I have always loved anytime I can cook with my kids. It’s a great way to get them to try new dishes, teach a skill and make my job easier! This brown butter pumpkin ravioli recipe is easy enough for kids to help with. My now 20-year-old started making wontons, rolling sushi and making homemade ravioli when she was very young.

If you’re feeling ambitious, here’s a recipe to make your own pasta dough from scratch.

I find that creating an assembly line is the best way to make the ravioli very quickly. Using 2 wonton wrappers, place one scant tablespoon of pumpkin mixture in the center of one, brush the edges with water and place the second wrapper on top, pressing all around to seal. 

Place ravioli on a cookie sheet and cover with a slightly damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Prepare the pumpkin ravioli sauce before cooking the ravioli.

What’s the Best Sauce for Pumpkin Ravioli? 

Pumpkin ravioli is pretty rich and a little goes a long way. A brown butter sauce with sage is just the right counterpoint to the rich filling and it’s a light, easy sauce for pumpkin ravioli. 

Best yet, it’s also just as quick and simple as the ravioli themselves. Just heat butter and sage leaves until the butter becomes light brown and nutty. Then stop the butter from cooking with a squeeze of lemon juice. I add toasted walnuts for additional flavor.

How Do You Cook the Ravioli?

Just like any other pasta, you want to cook the ravioli in a large pot with heavily salted water (like sea water!). The ravioli need plenty of room to cook. Cook them in batches and don’t crowd them! Too many in the pot, and they will stick together. 

Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat until it’s just a light boil. I find that if the water boils too vigorously the ravioli will separate.

Ravioli cook quickly since the “pasta” is fresh. It will turn opaque when done – usually about 3 minutes. Once the ravioli are cooked, gently lift them from the water with a slotted spoon or wire spider strainer and cover with foil until the rest are cooked.

How Far Ahead Can You Make Pumpkin Ravioli?

Like any fresh pasta dish, this is best eaten fairly soon after preparing it. The pumpkin can ‘weep’ and make the ravioli too wet. You can make the filling and refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble the ravioli, or assemble the raviolis and cover them with a lightly dampened tea towel and refrigerate for up to an hour or so.

What Do You Serve With Pumpkin Ravioli?

This pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce is a very rich dish. Serve it with a simple antipasto salad for a delicious, balanced meal.

The sauce for pumpkin ravioli can be used in many other recipes. How about Pumpkin Gnocchi with Butter Sage Sauce? Or Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Sage? Or maybe Butternut Squash Lasagna with Browned Butter and Sage. (You can tell I love browned butter and sage sauce!)

Pumpkin Ravioli With Browned Butter, Sage andWalnuts

Cynthia

Easy pumpkin ravioli filled with ricotta and parmesan in a browned butter and sage sauce. Serves 4 as an entree, or 6 as an appetizer or starter. This recipe makes about 24 ravioli, using a 14 ounce package of won ton wrappers.

5 from 49 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Entree

Cuisine Vegetarian

Servings 6 people

Calories 452 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup pumpkin canned or cooked, drained if necessary.
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan or Romano cheese finely grated
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 package won ton wrappers (round or square)
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 10-12 fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 cup walnuts chopped and toasted (optional)
• Additional grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine first 8 ingredients, pumpkin through nutmeg, and pulse 4 or 5 times, scrapping down sides until blended.
• Using 2 won ton wrappers, place one scant tablespoon of pumpkin mixture in the center of one, brush the edges with water and place second wrapper on top, pressing all around to seal. Place ravioli on a cookie sheet. Cover with a slightly damp tea towel to prevent drying out.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over over medium heat. Add sage leaves. Butter will become fragrant and begin to turn golden brown. Watch it carefully, as it can quickly burn. When it begins to darken, remove pan from the heat and stir in lemon juice to stop butter from cooking.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and carefully drop ravioli, 3 to 4 at a time in. Ravioli cook quickly since the "pasta" is fresh, and will turn opaque when done, about 3 minutes.
• Remove ravioli from water with a slotted spoon and place on a serving platter, cover with foil until all ravioli are cooked. Top with warm browned butter and walnuts if desired. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

You can use either round or square wonton wrappers.

Keep wrapper moist, by covering with a lightly dampened tea towel. 

Wontons can be made ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and keep chilled until ready to boil.

Avoid crowding the wontons when cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1personCalories: 452kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 13gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 716mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1467IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 3mg

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