Did you all have the best Thanksgiving ever?? I hope it was one for the books, and I hope you are still polishing off the rest of those delicious leftovers. I know after the marathon cooking event that is Thanksgiving, a lot of people (myself included) like to take a little break from intensive cooking for a little while and grab some takeout, eat lots of leftovers, or just stick with easy peasy meals that don’t take much effort.

This recipe right here accomplishes three very important things:

It uses up any leftover cans of pumpkin from Thanksgiving, whether from pumpkin pie or any other pumpkin-y goods that you made for family and friends. I allllllways have at least two or three cans of pumpkin in my cabinet throughout October and November, so this is a wonderful go-to meal that I almost always have the ingredients for. And now that it’s the end of November, it’s time to use up the rest of the lingering pumpkin and kiss its deliciousness goodbye until next September. Sad day.
Kind of piggy-backing off that, this recipe gives us a chance to squeeze out the remaining days we have of pumpkin season before December hits. September, October, and November = time to go pumpkin crazy. December = ehhh on the pumpkin. Yay on all things peppermint and festive. SO – we have a few days left, friends – time to make some super easy pumpkin pasta and end enjoy the last few days of pumpkiny goodness!
Allows you to create a baaasically ZERO effort meal after your cray-cray Thanksgiving cooking week. Literally this pasta is so easy it’s not even fair. And it’s SO good, too. Easy + delicious + done in twenty minutes = exactly what we all need after Thanksgiving.

Let me just tell you exactly how easy this twenty minute meal is, friends. Here’s what you do:

Add your spaghetti and water to a large skillet and boil for about 8-9 minutes, or until the pasta is nice and al dente.
Meanwhile, while that’s cooking, you get the rest of your ingredients ready and set out.
When the pasta is done, stir in errythang – aka your pumpkin, milk, and parmesan. Season to taste…and that’s legit it.

How easy? I timed myself making this multiple times, and every single time it took between fifteen and twenty minutes. Seriously the most quick and simple dinner win EVER.

20 Minute One Pot Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta

Author: Annie Chesson
Prep Time: 8 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

8 oz spaghetti (1/2 of a 1 pound box)
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it’s the pure pumpkin puree, not the pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/3 cup milk (we used whole milk, but any kind works!)

Instructions

Add your water to a large non-stick skillet and bring to a boil
Add your pasta and season the water with salt. Push the spaghetti down until the pasta has softened a bit and it’s all under water. Boil for 8-9 minutes, or until the pasta is tender, stirring often (especially the last few minutes as there is less water)
Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, grate your cheese and measure out your pumpkin and milk
When the pasta is done, stir in your remaining ingredients (the pumpkin, parmesan cheese, and milk)
Season to taste and serve!