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This silky smooth and extra creamy Brown Butter Pumpkin Tortellini Alla Vodka is that cozy bowl of pasta we’re all craving most. Cheese Tortellini tossed in a nutty brown butter pumpkin vodka sauce that’s creamy and so delicious! The pumpkin adds a vibrant layer of flavor and richness to this silky smooth and creamy tortellini. Serve this quick cooking dinner up any night of the week. It’s delicious and looks pretty on any table…and everyone LOVES a GOOD creamy vodka pasta. Such a fun fall twist!
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It’s mid-October, and in my book, the more creamy pasta and pumpkin recipes the better. I’m trying my best to keep a balance. But with the temperature drop and all the snow this week, I’m really just embracing the cozy.
And this cheesy, creamy tortellini is a true reflection of that.
It’s the perfect dinner to cook up when you’re in need of something simple, but totally delicious and comforting too.
Here are the quick details
I based this recipe off of my traditional vodka sauce, but added in pumpkin and cheesy tortellini.
It’s all really quick to throw together!
Since we’re using pumpkin, I wanted to include a little sage. I just love the flavor blend of sage and pumpkin…with brown butter. So start out by crisping the sage in butter. The butter will brown on the sage leaves and create a really delicious base for your pumpkin vodka sauce.
Next, add the shallots, garlic, oregano, and chili flakes – for a little extra heat. Then stir in the pumpkin and tomato paste and cook until the mix thickens up a bit.
Now stir in the vodka and let everything simmer for a few minutes. Then add the cream and parmesan and let the sauce hang out for a bit.
What does the vodka actually do?
In a traditional vodka sauce, the vodka adds a sharp bite that helps to balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes. And the same is true with pumpkin. When used in small amounts, the vodka will boost and intensify the aroma of the sauce. The key is to slowly simmer vodka into the sauce. This will release its flavors and cook out the alcohol.
If you prefer to not cook with alcohol, swap the vodka for chicken broth, vegetable broth, or even just water. That will be totally fine and your sauce will still be great.
While the sauce is slowly cooking, bring some water to a boil for the tortellini. Boil off the tortellini, it should only take a few minutes. I love to use the cheese tortellini from Whole Foods, but Trader Joe’s has really nice options too!
Now toss that tortellini in the sauce. Then serve up bowls of creamy pasta topped with those crispy sage leaves and an extra dusting of parmesan.
An extra special, but super easy, fall dinner. Oh, and I like to serve this up with a big salad on the side – yum!
Looking for other simple winter pasta dishes? Here are my favorites:
Sage Butter Pumpkin Cheese Ravioli
One Pot Spicy Pesto Cheese Baked Rigatoni
Creamy Bacon Tortellini with Charred Broccoli
Lastly, if you make this Brown Butter Pumpkin Alla Vodka Tortellini, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
watch the how-to video:
Brown Butter Pumpkin Alla Vodka Tortellini
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
- 1 pound cheese tortellini
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, melt together 2 tablespoons butter and the sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is browning and the sage is crisp, 4 minutes. Remove the sage leaves from the butter and set aside.2. To the skillet, add the olive oil, shallot, garlic, and oregano. Cook until the shallots begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the tomato paste, pumpkin, and red pepper flakes, cook 4-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the vodka, cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, 1 tablespoon butter, and the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain.4. Add the tortellini to the vodka sauce, tossing to coat. If needed, thin the sauce with pasta cooking water.5. Divide the tortellini among plates and top with crispy sage and parmesan. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Yummy! Perfect amount of pumpkin. Added some Italian sausage and served with a choice of the tortellini or gnocchi, both were great! Side of crusty bread and a Cesar salad. So good!
Hey Rebecca,
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment! Glad to hear it was enjoyed. Have a great week! x
This didn’t land for us. It was a bit too pumpkin’y for my taste. Maybe it would be better with some Italian sausage. It was a fun experiment though.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! x
Perfect fall dish! We love this and pair it with a crusty bread and red wine
Hey Jill,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try:) So glad it turned out nicely for you! x
This is AMAZING!!! Because of the sage component, we served it with country sausage and it was over the moon! Especially if you take a little bit of pomegranate molasses and dip the sausage in it! Thank you so much for publishing this recipe
Hey Cathy,
Wonderful! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it turned out well! x
🤯 This dish was so easy to make and legit restaurant quality. I didn’t have tortellini but had a really interesting pasta shape from Whole Foods that substituted really well. This makes me want to have a dinner party and share with loved ones!
Hi Katie,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
This is one of my favourite recipes of yours! It’s fairly quick and easy and delicious! Thank you Tieghan!
Hey Paige,
Love to hear that this recipe is always enjoyed:) Thanks so much for making it and your feedback! xT
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!
Lol thanks so much Lisa!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this dish, thanks a lot for making it! xT
This was delicious! Great heat and creamy! I did add a touch of ricotta just to try it. I thought it was delicious either way! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Valerie,
That’s fantastic to hear! Thanks for trying this dish and your comment, love that it was enjoyed! xT
So good and came together so fast! Felt like a special treat – dontvtell my family how easy it was!
Hi Lori,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) xT
Love this every time I make it. I used this recipe as an inspiration for my own tonight – subbed pumpkin puree for roasted and smashed up butternut squash, and used half regular butter and half brown sugar cinnamon butter (came with my chopped squash!), and then used gnocchi in place of the tortellini. The brown sugar and cinnamon add such a warm fall-ness to an already spectacular fall comfort bowl.
Hey Colleen,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! xT
This was a great recipe! Could I make this sauce and freeze it for later?
Hi there! Yes, that would work great! xT
Someone sang praises for this recipe on social media so I decided to give it a try (albeit with a few replacements – with dry rubbed sage, bear garlic, thyme, instead of fresh sage, dry cheese powders, and various crushed mexican chiles instead of flakes, wine instead of vodka, onion instead of shallot) It’s a great recipe, sauce is really rich.
Thank you so so much! xT
This was excellent! Only change I made was using a small onion instead of a shallot, since the store was out. Teens loved it, too.
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I really hope you loved it! 🙂
I just made this recipe for my hubby and myself for date night, and it was the bomb! As good as any 5 star Italian restaurant! You’ve knocked it out of the park yet again, Tieghan. Your recipes are different enough to intrigue without scaring me off. Haven’t found one yet that we didn’t enjoy, but this one was perfect to celebrate the first day of fall!🍂🍁❤️
Thank you so much Lin! Happy fall to you! 🙂
Omg this is TO DIE FOR. I’m on my third bowl. I can’t stop. SO GOOD.
(Also i thought I had vodka but my husband drank it (insert eye roll here) so I used chicken broth and white wine in place of the vodka because that’s what I had). Still so good. The crispy sage leaves are so good, add a nice little crunch, next time I might make more than 8 leaves. Mmmmm just so good.
Hi there! Thank you so so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have an amazing weekend 🙂 xT