An easy way to make your own roasted butternut squash pasta sauce. Toss with some linguine and top with fresh Parmesan!
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Butternut squash is my favorite fall vegetable. Even though I think most people feel intimidated by the shape and the thick skin that it has, it can be used for so many recipes. And it’s usually always on sale or cheap, so you can buy two or three and meal prep for a few days!
Steamed, baked or roasted, you’ll end up with different flavors depending on how you like to cook it. It can be a tough veggie so I prefer roasted butternut squash just because it tends to end up sweeter with all of those crispy caramelized bits which means more flavor!
I made this roasted butternut squash sauce to add to pasta but you could turn this into chowder or make it a little thinner by adding some stock and pour it over some stuffed enchiladas! There’s so many options!
HOW DO I PREPARE MY ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH?
- Prepping the squash
First of all, you’ll need a really sharp knife, preferably with a serrated edge. Slice off the top and the bottom of the squash and simply slice down the sides just enough so that you take off the outer layer. You could also try using a vegetable peeler but I find that it doesn’t’ go deep enough so you’re left with a white layer of outer peel still attached.
- Cooking the squash
If you’re steaming or baking the butternut squash, you won’t need to peel it. Just slice it in half right down the middle length ways and scoop out the seeds. Place both halves skin side facing up on a baking pan. Add about an inch of water and bake in the oven until you can pierce each half easily with a knife. It usually takes about 45 minutes.
But for this recipe I wanted to roast my squash to capture that extra flavor you can always get from roasting veggies. All you need to do is dice the peeled squash and toss with the olive oil and herbs. Roast in the oven until tender and can be easily pierced with a sharp knife and then transfer to your high speed blender to puree.
recipe faq’s
Yes! It’s packed with vitamin A, fiber and potassium. It’s also fat free and sodium free which is huge if you’re watching your weight or blood pressure.
Yes! By using vegetable broth and just a few other ingredients, this makes a really good dinner choice. Make a batch on the weekend and it’ll last you a few days into the week if it lasts that long! You can also add some sliced grilled chicken, shrimp or scallops if you prefer.
Once you taste it, probably not that long! But if you have leftovers, store them in a sealed container and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or the freezer for a month.
Any pasta will do actually. I prefer spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine just because the kids are big fans of those varieties. Penne, farfalle or even ravioli will all still be amazing!
I’d say a firm yes to this although Parmesan can get pricey so another alternative would be Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano. They have the same texture as Parmesan and taste almost the same but can be slightly less expensive.
more butternut squash recipes
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 medium size squash
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp rosemary chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 395. Cover a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Peel the squash and chop into 1-inch cubes making sure to discard the seeds and transfer to a bowl.
- Add the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to the diced squash and toss well.
- Transfer the squash to the pan and roast in the oven for 40 minutes and the squash becomes soft. Make sure to toss the squash around halfway through cooking.
- Once the squash I cooked transfer it to a blender and add the brown sugar and broth.
- Blend on low at first and then increase to high until smooth.
- Add the butter and blend
- Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Add more broth if the sauce is too thick, this will depend on the size of the squash you buy,
- To serve, cook your pasta and toss with some of the sauce. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
YUM!
What a wonderful base recipe to use for so many different dishes!
I literally just bout like 4 pounds of butternut squash! Thanks for the inspiration!
I love the beautiful color of this sauce- and the different spices and even brown sugar added. It sounds divine!
Mouth watering and gorgeous!!! We’ve been eating pasta a bit more so this is definitely going on the menu!
I love butternut squash! This is pasta sauce a definite must-make!
This was super good. I used a little more garlic because I wasn’t cooking for children. So velvety and creamy.
Thank you!
Awesome Maggie, glad to hear it!!
I made this with chicken bone broth and about a half cup of half and half instead of the veggie broth. Serving with procuitto and mozzarella tortellini.
Incredible recipe! Used fusilini and added coarsely chopped pecans to top it off. Thank you!