Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta is a super cosy, warming and comforting dish that is bursting with fall flavor, and is still healthy and nutrient dense. It is made with some fusilli pasta, roasted butternut squash and a simple butter and parmesan sauce. This recipe is all about the sweet squash - the perfect pasta dish for Autumn.
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Butternut squash, when roasted, just transforms into these deliciously sweet bites. When combined with the fragrant (and often underused) thyme and mixed with a little butter and Parmesan, it really is a delicious and light meal - but total comfort food.
Pasta with butternut squash will quickly become and autumn favourite. We LOVE butternut squash and think it is super versatile, but very underrated. This roasted butternut squash pasta is one of our favourite ways to use it.
We love a simple pasta dish, as we think that simple is best. Why not try our Cabbage Pasta, Cherry Tomato Pasta, Easy Bacon Pasta or Garlic Kale Spaghetti?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Pasta - We used fusilli pasta, but really any pasta will work - try penne or conchigli. Spaghetti or tagliatelle would work too as the roasted butternut squash would sit nicely on top of it.
- Butternut squash - This really is the star of the dish and it gets lovely and crispy. You could swap it for sweet potato if you prefer, but we find that a bit too carb heavy.
- Shallots - The chunkiness of the shallots adds some extra texture and once roasted they are nice and sweet which compliments the sweetness of the butternut squash. You can add some crushed garlic cloves too if you like.
- Butter and oil - This helps to make the sauce for the butternut squash pasta and loosens it all up a little. We also reserve some of the water from the drained pasta, as it helps to make the sauce creamy. Never throw away all the pasta water - it's like gold for pasta sauces. Use the best quality olive oil that you can, as you will be able to taste the difference.
- Parmesan - Cheese and pasta are the perfect match. A little parmesan helps to make the sauce (or non sauce) creamy and adds lots of flavour. You could use a mature cheddar instead or even top it with some goats cheese.
- Thyme - Usually we would pair butternut squash with sage, but we think that thyme just really works with this pasta dish. Plus it looks pretty sprinkled on top.
- Salt and pepper - To taste.
Variations
We try to make all of our recipes as easy to adapt as possible. You could roast up some chunks of chicken breast along with the butternut squash, or you could fry some prawns (shrimp) just before serving to put on top. For a plant based protein, add some chickpeas.
Vegetables - Why not try roasting some other vegetables alongside the butternut squash. Mushrooms, carrot and peppers would work well.
Cheese - Not a fan of parmesan? Dry fry some halloumi and serve that on top of the roasted butternut squash pasta dish instead, or even crumble on some goats cheese.
If you want to make this butternut squash pasta recipe even more indulgent, then grilled and chop some bacon or proscuitto to sprinkle on top before serving.
You really don't have to over complicate pasta dishes with lots of different vegetables, an over-the-top sauce, or more than one cheese. Keep things simple and let the star ingredients really shine through.
How to Make Butternut Squash Pasta
Prep: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4.
One: Mix the butternut squash cubes with the half the oil and season. Put on a baking tray and put into the oven for 20 minutes.
Two: Add the shallots to the tray of butternut squash and put back in the oven for 10 minutes until the butternut squash is tender.
Three: Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes until al dente, with a little bit of bite.
Four: Drain the pasta and add the the butternut squash and shallots and the rest of the ingredients and toss it all together well. Serve topped with extra thyme and Parmesan and maybe a little drizzle of olive oil.
Serving Suggestions
We think this is a pretty filling dish on it's own, however if you wanted to serve something with it, then you can't go wrong with garlic bread. Try our Air Fryer Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread.
If you want to serve this butternut squash pasta with something green, then why not try our Little Gem Salad or Rocket Salad. Some Lemon Asparagus or Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli go well too.
Dannii's Top Tips
- The thyme goes really well with the butternut squash and Parmesan, however it isn't essential and could be left out. Dried sage works well too.
- Feel free to add some extra protein to this dish with some roasted chicken or even some prawns.
- Not a fan of Parmesan? Swap it for some dry-fried halloumi chunks or even some crumble goats cheese.
- Don't forget to add a splash of the pasta water to this to help loosen up the sauce.
- Top with pine nuts for some added crunch.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to freshen the dish up.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have leftovers of this, then it will keep in an air tight container for up to 3 days. To reheat it, add it to a frying pan with a little bit of water to heat through. It will be a bit dry, so the water is needed. If you have leftovers of this, then it will keep in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
We wouldn't recommend freezing this dish as it will be too dry once defrosted. We prefer to keep leftovers in the fridge and serve them as a pasta salad the next day.
You can make this vegan by swapping the Parmesan for a plant based option and also using a vegan butter. If you want this to be a vegetarian dish, then you need to use a vegetarian Italian hard cheese. Most supermarket own brands usually are.
Slice it in half around the middle and using a heavy duty peeler or knife, peel off the skin in downwards strokes. You want to peel until you see orange flesh (no green lines left).
Once you have peeled both halves, slice the flatter half in two to reveal the seeds. Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds (keep them to roast too - great as a snack). Chop the butternut squash into cubes.
More Butternut Squash Recipes
If you've tried this butternut squash pasta recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients
- 140 g (5 oz) of Fusilli pasta
- 350 g (2.5 cups) of Butternut squash - cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 3 Shallots - peeled and quartered
- 10 g (0.33 oz) of Butter
- 40 g (0.33 cups) of Parmesan
- 5 g (0.25 oz) of Thyme - finely chopped
- Sea salt and ground black pepper - (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4.
- Mix 350 g of Butternut squash with 2 tbsp of Olive oil and Sea salt and ground black pepper. Put on a baking tray and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Add 3 Shallots to the butternut squash and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, put 140 g of Fusilli pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes, until done.
- Mix the roasted butternut squash and shallots in with the pasta and mix in 10 g of Butter, 40 g of Parmesan and 5 g of Thyme.
- Serve topped extra thyme and Parmesan.
Recipe Tips
- If you don't have any penne pasta, you could use fusilli instead.
- The sage goes really well with the butternut squash and ricotta, however it isn't essential and could be left out.
- Feel free to add some extra protein to this dish with some roasted chicken or even some prawns.
- Not a fan of ricotta? Swap it for some dry-fried halloumi chunks.
- Don't forget to add a splash of the pasta water to this to help loosen up the sauce.
- Top with pine nuts for some added crunch.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to freshen the dish up.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Karen says
Awesome recipe! The only thing I found was next time I will reduce olive oil to 1 tbsp of olive oil when adding to squash before roasting.
Very flavourful. Also topped with mozzarella cheese. Nice touch. Thanks so much for posting. Will definitely be making again!
Dannii Martin says
Sounds delicious with mozzarella.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
So delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Caroline says
I'm a big fan of roasted butternut squash and love the other flavors added in here to make a delicious pasta meal. Yum!
Claudia Lamascolo says
This hit a home run in our home fusilli being our fav pasta and butternut squash a winner for sure!
Alisha Rodrigues says
Yummm .. this looks like the kinda pasta my family would love .. And those bright colors just lift up my mood
Louise Cayzer says
I adore butternut squash and make a version of this but warm! Will definitely be trying it in a salad version! yum!
Amy Deverson says
This looks so delicious - I love butternut squash and feta!
helen @ Scrummy Lane says
I love how the Italians use just a few ingredients in their pastas - to let the quality of the ingredients shine through! It also means you always have something in your fridge that you can pull together to make a tasty pasta dish.
Great combo of flavours here, guys!
Tanya Brannan says
I love butternut squash but would never have thought of using it in a pasta dish like this. I will be changing that soon as this sounds too tasty not to give it a go! Thank you xx
Anna @AnnaTheApple says
Ah I'm sorry, I'm that one person who doesn't like pasta! It's both the texture and taste. I really just am not a fan.
However I love the sauce and toppings :-D
Rachel says
Oh wow, now I could do with a bowl of this right now, I love the mixture of Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese!
Melanie Edjourian says
This looks really tasty I think the combination of the cheese, squash and sage must work really well together.