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If you think you’re tired of pumpkin recipes this fall, think again! Pumpkin isn’t just for sweet things. This Smoked Pumpkin Ravioli is an easy and delicious savory dish finished with a quick sage butter sauce for the ultimate smoked pumpkin recipe. This is pure fall bliss!
The things you can do with a pumpkin and a smoker are just glorious. Like roasting in the smoker over low heat until it’s smoky and soft. From there you can make a smoked pumpkin puree that will work in any dish, from savory ravioli to smoked pumpkin pie.
Table of Contents
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Pumpkin – We’re using a whole pumpkin for this, then smoke-roasting it, and turning it into a puree. If you don’t have a smoker you can use canned pumpkin puree. Be sure the pumpkin is quartered with the seeds removed. We like using sugar or pie pumpkins for the flavor.
- Ricotta Cheese
- Dried Seasoning – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger.
- Kosher Salt – We use Diamond Crystal. Avoid using iodized table salt as it will be too salty.
- Fresh Sage Leaves
- Eggs – Used for the egg wash to fuse the wontons into ravioli.
- Packaged Wonton Wrappers – There are many brands and styles, we recommend the thicker style versus the thinner. They hold better when boiling. But if all you can find are the thinner ones, this recipe works as well.
- Sage Butter Sauce – Unsalted Butter, fresh sage, and smoke-roasted almonds.
Preparation
- Start by quartering the pumpkin and removing the seeds. You can leave the skin on, or you can remove it with a peeler. We prefer the skin on while smoking. We do not salt or season the pumpkin yet so we can use excess puree for other dishes like pumpkin pie.
- Be sure wontons are defrosted if frozen.
Smoked Pumpkin Puree
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using a fruit wood like apple or cherry for a sweeter flavor. For a more pronounced smoke influence, you can use oak or hickory.
- Place the quartered pumpkin on the smoker and close the lid. Smoke for one hour then increase the temperature to 300 degrees F. Continue roasting for up to one hour or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
- Place the quartered pumpkin on the smoker and close the lid. Smoke for one hour then increase the temperature to 300 degrees F. Continue roasting for up to one hour or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
- Remove from the smoker, remove the skin, and smash the flesh in a large bowl using a fork, or puree in a food processor if you want a creamy texture.
How to Make Pumpkin Ravioli
Use the puree to make the filling and then make the ravioli. For consistent filling consider using a one teaspoon ice cream or measuring scoop. The wonton wrappers are an easy alternative to homemade pasta.
- Place smoked pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Then add ricotta cheese for more creaminess and dried spices like fresh ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, kosher salt, and coarse black pepper, and mix together.
- On a large sheet tray lay out a wonton wrappers and place one heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your finger or paintbrush place some egg wash on the outline of the wrappers, then place another empty wrapper over the top.
- Using your fingers press the wontons together to form a bonded edge. You can us a fork to add texture. You can leave them like this, in a square shape, or you can take a cookie cutter to shape into a circle.
- I like circle to remove any excess pasta so the bite you get is balanced between the filling and the wonton.
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Make Ahead Tip
You can make the ravioli up to three days before cooking them. Then you can boil them when you are ready to make them. This helps with preparation to make them ahead of time.
Line a sheet tray with parchment paper, and add your layer of filled ravioli. Add another layer of ravioli until you have up to four layers. Then cover with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. The parchment paper prevent them from sticking together.
Sage Butter Sauce
Make the sage butter sauce before boiling the ravioli so you can plate it warm. Once the ravioli is boiled and excess water removed, you’ll toss the ravioli in the sauce, then plate, and garnish.
- In a 10-inch skillet, add butter over medium heat. Once it melts add the sage and cook until the sage begins to fry (about 3-4 minutes). Watch closely and don’t let the sage burn. If you start to see the sage turning brown right away, the butter is too hot. Turn the heat off and take out the sage leaves. Remove from heat and place the sage pieces on a paper towel to dry and harden.
Cook Ravioli
- In a large stock pot bring salted water to a boil. The water should taste like sea water. Be sure to taste it before boiling.
- Add the raviolis, no more than six at a time, for around 3-5 minutes. The time will depend on what kind of wonton wrappers you use. If you use the ultra-thin ones this should take about 3-4 minutes, but if you use the thicker ones (and I recommend the thicker ones) then they can take around 4-5 minutes in the boiling water.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove finished ravioli from the boiling water and dab on a paper towel to remove any excess water. Toss in the skillet with the sage brown butter to coat, and then serve. Pour any excess brown butter on each plate.
Plating and Serving Ideas
- Top the smoked pumpkin ravioli with fried sage for garnish on your plate. As a bonus, you can make smoked almonds or hazelnuts, crush them up and add.
- This makes for a great appetizer or starter. Serve a singe ravioli as a starter course.
Wine Pairing
I really love pairing sparkling wine, like Prosecco, with a rich and creamy dish like smoked pumpkin ravioli. The creaminess of the dish is a nice contrast to the brightness of the bubbly and the bubbles work well to cut through the richness of the filling. Plus the bright fruitiness of the wine works great with the baking spices in the filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Homemade pasta adds a rich texture, but wonton wrappers are a convenient shortcut.
You can still roast the pumpkin in the oven for a similar effect, though the smoky flavor will be less pronounced. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the pumpkin on a sheet tray and then roast on the center rack for up to 40 minutes or until it’s fork tender.
About Vindulge
Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
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Smoked Pumpkin Ravioli
Ingredients
For the smoked pumpkin:
- 1 yellow or sugar pumpkin, 4-5 lbs, seeds removed and quartered
For the Ravioli:
- 2 cups smoked pumpkin puree, cooked and mashed
- ½ cup ricotta
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, about 1/8th of a teaspoon if you are sensitive to salt.
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh nutmeg, if using whole nutmeg use just a few swipes
- ⅛ teaspoon dry ginger, less than 1/8th of a teaspoon
- 2 fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 16oz package thick wonton wrappers (about 80 wonton wrappers total)
- 2 eggs beaten, for egg wash
For the Sage Butter Sauce:
- ½ stick butter
- 6-8 fresh sage leaves, roughly torn
- ½ cup smoke-roasted almonds, chopped
Instructions
For the Smoked Pumpkin Puree
- Preheat smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using fruit wood or oak.
- Place the pumpkin quarters on the smoker, skin side down, and smoke for 1 hour. After 1 hour increase temperature to 300 degrees and continue cooking the pumpkin until it is fork tender (30-60 additional minutes). Remove from the smoker and when cool enough to handle spoon out the flesh and puree it in the food processor depending on the size of the pumpkin this should yield about 3-4 cups of puree. Reserve 2 cups for the raviolis.
For the Ravioli
- Combine the pumpkin puree, ricotta, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, dry ginger, and chopped sage leaves in a medium sized bowl and mix well (or process in a food processor until smooth).
- Spoon about one teaspoon of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush all sides of the wonton wrapper with egg wash, then place another wonton wrapper over the top, pinching edges to seal. Use a circle cookie cutter to cut the wonton squares into a circle and discard the remains (as seen in photo above). Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, liberally season with salt so it tastes like the ocean. Add ravioli and cook until they float, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add raviolis to the skillet of brown butter sauce and gently toss to combine. Serve and garnish with fried sage and chopped smoked almonds (optional).
For the Sage Butter Sauce:
- In a skillet, add butter over medium heat. Once it melts add the sage and cook until the sage begins to fry (about 3-4 minutes). Watch closely and don’t let the sage burn. If you start to see them turning brown, turn the heat off and take out the sage leaves. Remove from heat and place the sage pieces on a paper towel to dry and harden.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Mary! Your Smoked Pumpkin Ravioli looks and sounds delicious! Super unique recipe that is ideal for fall. I have tried butternut squash ravioli before and I loved it, so I can just imagine how great pumpkin ravioli tastes! 🙂
I love making ravioli, and these sound fabulous. We really need to get a smoker.
Yes you do! Everyone should own one 😉
Wow, I have never thought to try smoked pumpkin!! Sounds very yummy and cozy, though!
pumpkin on the smoker?! why have i never thought of this? BRILLIANT! can’t wait to try it!!!
Oh my gosh this looks AMAZING! Perfect recipe for fall.
I love savory pumpkin recipes, and this one sounds amazing. I like your hack to use wonton wrappers instead of going to the hassle of making your own pasta dough!