Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans - everything is made from scratch! Great recipe during the holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas) with lots of seasonal ingredients: pumpkin, pecans, nutmeg.
Pumpkin ravioli was the first recipe idea that came to my mind after I found an unopened can of organic pumpkin sitting in my pantry, leftover, forgotten and unused from this past Thanksgiving / Christmas season. I've already posted two ravioli recipes on this site, and both of them involved cheese and greens. I thought it would be a nice departure to make ravioli without any cheese in the filling - somewhat different from the norm. The use of the brown butter and toasted pecans as a ravioli sauce is also not as common as the white cream sauce or the red tomato based sauce that usually accompany ravioli.
To make ravioli filling, I just used organic pumpkin puree straight from the can, with only a couple of spices added, and the filling was more runny than what I was used to. I used my ravioli mold again and was pleasantly surprised how well the mold worked (once again!) even with a more watery and runny ravioli filling, such as pumpkin puree. Thanks to the mold, I was able to make perfect shapes, and none of ravioli burst or opened up during boiling/cooking. It's key, though, not to overfill the holes in the ravioli mold with too much pumpkin filling - put just enough filling so that it's at the same level as the top of the mold.
Brown butter with balsamic vinegar and a small amount of brown sugar not surprisingly turned out to be an amazing sauce for ravioli filled with pumpkin-nutmeg-brown-sugar filling, and toasted pecans scattered on top made this dish absolutely perfect. I beg you - please make this! It's so good! I've had these ravioli as a stand-alone dinner entry, I've also had it with seared salmon, which was an amazing combination.
Now, if I only knew what to do with the 2nd unopened can of organic pumpkin still in my pantry....
How to make Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
Below are step-by-step photos illustrating some steps in making this pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce from scratch. For the complete recipe, scroll down below the photos.
If you're more of a visual person and would like photos that walk you through on how to use this ravioli mold, I have 2 more very good homemade ravioli recipes with lots of step-by-step photos on how to use ravioli mold:
Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce
Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
Ingredients
Ingredients for ravioli dough from scratch (makes 12 ravioli using mold, double this amount if you want to make 24 ravioli)
Ingredients for pumpkin ravioli filling (makes 24 ravioli):
- 8 oz pumpkin mashed, canned, organic
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Ingredients for brown butter sauce:
- 4 oz butter
- 2 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup pecans , toasted, chopped
Instructions
How to make ravioli dough:
- Mix flour with salt.
- Stir water with egg until well mixed.
- In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated. Knead the dough until well-textured and firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky. It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. It should not be too dry, either. Make the dough into a ball or disk, wrap with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work.
- This recipe uses ravioli mold to make ravioli (you'll see the pic of the mold if you scroll above). This amount of dough is enough to make dough for 12 raviolis, using the mold (ravioli mold makes 12 ravioli). If you need to make 24 ravioli, make a second batch of this dough.
How to make pumpkin ravioli filling and assemble:
- If your pumpkin puree or mashed pumpkin is too watery, drain the pumpkin using a paper towel and a mesh strainer to get rid of any unnecessary liquid.
- Mix pumpkin puree with brown sugar and nutmeg. Season filling with salt and pepper.
- Unwrap a batch of ravioli dough from plastic, divide in 2 equal parts. Flour working area. Roll out each part of pasta dough very thinly, on a floured surface, using a roller. Make sure to flour the upper portion of pasta dough and the roller to avoid sticking. Lift the rolled dough several times during rolling to make sure it doesn’t stick to the counter, and flour working surface with more flour, if necessary.
- Flour the ravioli mold. After you have rolled the 2 portions of dough very thinly, place first layer of dough on the ravioli mold, so that it covers all 12 holes.
- Place a small portion of ravioli filling into each indentation, making sure not to overfill. The filling should be at the same level or lower as the flat part of the mold. Place second layer of pasta dough on top of filled ravioli.
- Using a roller pin, roll across the mold and along the edges to separate ravioli. As you roll the pin, it also removes all air from ravioli, which is very important for ravioli success. By now you should have extra dough hanging off the outside 4 edges of ravioli mold – carefully separate it. Continue rolling the pin along the inside edges of 12 raviolis to separate them from one another: you could also use your fingers to press across the edges to separate ravioli.
- Flip ravioli mold to release ravioli. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil ravioli for 5 minutes, drain and set aside – to be used with sauce below.
- Or, alternatively, if you’re not using ravioli right away, place them on a plate or baking sheet in the freezer to freeze. After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until needed.
How to make brown butter sauce:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Toast pecans for 10 minutes until slightly browned, let them cool off and then chop them finely.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter just begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Do not overcook or butter will burn. Remove from heat. Mix in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Add ravioli to the hot butter sauce, spoon sauce over to coat ravioli. Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Want Thanksgiving recipe inspiration?
Check out this delicious Thanksgiving Side Dish - Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries
Julia; We used toasted almonds. It left delicious a while ago!!! Thank you what a wonderful way to enjoy pumpkin!!! It was so good we are upgrading our pasta machine....we want more! A great way to spend our afternoon. Thank you
Bonnie, your comment really made my day! So glad you've been enjoying this recipe! 🙂 Toasted almonds sound delicious here!
Thanks Julia,
Your brown butter sauce with toasted pecans was excellent. My wife loved it and so did I. We used store bought pumpkin and sage ravioli. I was wondering if you have a suggestion of a vegetable dish to pair with this?
John, thank you for such a positive comment and the 5-star review - I appreciate it!
I have lots of suggestions for a vegetable dish to pair with pumpkin ravioli:
1)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cinnamon Butternut Squash with Pecans and Cranberries
2)
Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Cheese and Spinach
3)
Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Parmesan
4)
Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Caramelized Apples
I too came across the pre-made pumpkin raviolis & had no idea what sauce to pair them with. Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure about the balsamic vinegar but sweet baking gods above, your brown butter with pecans recipe was phenomenal!!! My husband even had seconds & he is not fond of vinegar. It is the perfect blend of tart, sweet & savory.
Michelle, your comment made my day! 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed the flavors! Balsamic vinegar can work wonders in certain recipes! Thank you for stopping by and sharing such a positive comment - I really appreciate it!
I also purchased premade pumpkin raviolis from the store. My husband looks foward to this time of year, being he is a huge fan of pumpkin everything! I had to buy them, but didn't know what sauce would work with it. I was sceptical at first, the combination of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar on pumpkin, kinda scared me. But I took the chance, and it was amazingly delicious! Thank you
Danielle, so glad you took a chance on this recipe and enjoyed it! The flavors are so amazing, the balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite ingredients to use! Glad the recipe was a success! And, thank you for stopping by and letting me know you liked the recipe! 🙂
Would the brown butter sauce hold up if I made the dish at home and had to bring it into work to eat hours later? I have a casserole dish that has a warmer, would it work to put the butter in the dish and keep it on warm?
I think butter sauce is almost the best when it's melted and quite warm, otherwise it just solidifies. But, yes, if you can warm up this dish at work, it works great - and it doesn't take much heat to warm it up.
Bought the pasta ready made. The sauce was fantastic. I had thought it would be too sweet. I served it with a green salad with apples and maple dressing. It was a perfect light fall dinner.
Sarah, I am so glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Yes, store-bought ravioli are so tasty these days, and they will work well in this recipe! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Salted or unsalted pecans? Or does it matter?
Doesn't matter! Either will work!
Any substitute for pecans? Here in Egypt they are impossible to find.
You can use toasted walnuts or pine nuts. I’ve used both. Delicious
This is time-consuming but delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
You are very welcome!
Made it this Thanksgiving. What a treat!
Happy to hear that!
Great - am I missing something? Does it say how long to cool the ravioli?
Yep - I missed it. Sorry! I'm making this right now!
Enjoy! 🙂
Looks great! If I am not able to make my own dough may I use premade pie crust
It's best to use fresh pasta dough.
Dear Julia, use your other can of pumpkin to make pumpkin bread. Just substitute the pumpkin(use a little more) in your favorite banana bread recipe. It was a hit when I did it! Thanks for sharing!!
Great idea! Thank you! 🙂
I made this recipe tonight, and it was excellent!! First time using my pasta machine and ravioli mold, and it went really well!!
I have been making these for a few years and each year gets better and better! My question is after I make the dough and fill them instead of cooking them can I freeze them for a day or two?
Yes, you can freeze the ravioli and use them in the next several days.