Butternut Squash Pasta

Discover ways to make one in all my favorite consolation recipes: creamy roasted butternut squash pasta with garlic crumbs. Utilizing delicately candy butternut squash, hardy rigatoni pasta and easy components for the sauce, this dish is match for a restaurant menu, but you may simply make it at dwelling with my easy-to-follow recipe and step-by-step directions, images and video. It’s an absolute crowd-pleaser, and your loved ones and dinner friends shall be impressed and glad! 

In This Put up:

Recipe Overview

This creamy rigatoni pasta dish is simple to make but it has loads of flavour complexity and finesse to suppose you bought it at a elaborate cafe or a restaurant. So, why is it so good?

There are three key parts: the correct pasta, the roasted butternut squash blended into the pasta sauce and the garlic thyme crumbs (don’t skip this one!). 

Rigatoni Pasta

This pasta is only a bit fancier than your typical penne or shells. With its giant tubes and ribbed texture, rigatoni holds onto the sauce and has a novel visible look. Giant shapes offer you higher sauce to pasta ratio in each chunk.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

The creamy pasta sauce has the roasted butternut squash blended into it together with some pasta water. It has plenty of flavour, beautiful yellow color and is creamy and wealthy, with out utilizing as a lot cream as your typical Alfredo sauce. 

Garlic Crumbs

The crumb topping is garlicky and herby, including a a lot wanted crunch and a bit of saltiness to the completed pasta. In my view, this can be a essential a part of this dish so don’t skip on the golden garlic crumbs. 

Pasta-Free Possibility

Avoiding grains or pasta? Make a pasta-free model by pan-frying some rooster and mixing it with the butternut squash sauce. Serve with quinoa, rice or cauliflower rice.

Okay, let’s get into the nitty gritty of the way to make all the weather for this butternut squash pasta. Don’t fear, it’s simple as soon as I break it down into easy steps.

Elements

• Pasta – I like to recommend rigatoni however in fact you need to use penne, fusilli or giant pasta. The sauce is creamy and wealthy so if you happen to use pasta that’s too small, you’ll get the flawed ratio of the pasta to sauce. 
• Butternut squash – It’s delicate and candy and has a comfortable, creamy texture as soon as roasted, which is ideal for our sauce. You can even use kabocha squash (it’s a bit of sweeter) or one other candy winter squash/pumpkin. You will want a bit of olive oil and salt for roasting.
• Breadcrumbs – you want larger-sized breadcrumbs, comparable to Panko, so that you get the correct texture. Positive breadcrumbs is not going to work as properly. To season, I used some garlic, dried thyme, salt and butter.
• For the sauce – butter, garlic, cream, Parmesan. The bottom of the sauce is similar to Alfredo however makes use of much less butter and fewer cream, with pasta water and roasted squash including texture, physique (and flavour, in fact).

How To Make Butternut Squash Pasta

Discover the complete record of components and dietary information within the full recipe card under. Listed here are some step-by-step images and directions to stroll you thru the method. 

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 395 F/200 C.

Step 2. Peel and reduce the squash into medium cubes. Toss the squash in a bit of olive oil and salt and roast on a flat tray for 35 minutes at 395 F. No must stir or flip the squash. Do examine it at a 25-30 minute mark in case your oven runs very popular.

Step 3. Soften the butter in a small pan over medium warmth. Stir within the garlic for 10 seconds. Add the breadcrumbs, dried thyme and salt and cook dinner, stirring ceaselessly, till golden brown. These are simple to burn so control them. Take away from warmth and put aside. 

Step 4. Add the pasta to a big pot of boiled water together with 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir and cook dinner to al dente, as per pasta directions.

Step 5. As soon as cooked, scoop ½ cup to 1 cup of pasta water right into a bowl and pressure the remaining. Set pasta apart. 

Step 6. Add the ½ cup of pasta water to a jug or a tall bowl together with 1 cup of tightly packed roasted butternut squash. Puree utilizing an immersion blender stick or you are able to do this in a blender/meals processor. Put aside. 

Step 7. Make the butternut squash pasta sauce. In a big, deep saucepan, warmth butter over medium warmth. Add the garlic and stir till fragrant and barely golden. Sprinkle within the nutmeg and white pepper and stir. Add the cream, pumpkin puree and grated Parmesan, stir till melted. Style and season with a bit of additional salt. Prepare dinner for about 2 minutes, stirring ceaselessly. The sauce will thicken barely. 

Step 8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and fold by means of. Then add the remaining butternut squash cubes and stir by means of the pasta and sauce. Prime the pasta with garlic crumbs, you may reserve some to garnish particular person servings. Prime with extra Parmesan cheese and a few thyme.

Watch The Video

Recipe Ideas

• Butternut squash will be roasted forward of time to save lots of time. 
• Giant formed pasta is finest for standing towards the wealthy, creamy sauce.
• Sure, you possibly can use canned pumpkin puree right here! You will want so as to add 1 cup of pumpkin puree and 1/4-1/3 pasta water to the sauce. 
• Panko breadcrumbs are finest for the topping, don’t skip on this buttery, garlicky garnish because it completes the dish.  
• This pasta is finest served sizzling. The sauce will thicken and agency up as soon as it cools; you may add a bit of water when reheating the pasta to skinny it out. 
• Retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Ideally, retailer the crumb topping individually to maintain it crunchy. Reheat with a bit of water to skinny out the sauce.
• You can also make this with common or gluten-free pasta. For a pasta-free model, pan-fried some rooster and blend in with the butternut squash sauce.

What To Serve With Butternut Squash Pasta

It is a wealthy, creamy pasta dish and is finest served with one thing refreshing and light-weight. Because the flavour of the pasta is barely candy, complement it with aspect dishes which are extra savoury or tangy.  

It should pair properly with a crisp salad, vibrant steamed inexperienced beans or broccoli or grilled asparagus, Greek salad, or an olive-oil-based tangy cabbage slaw. 

I’d counsel going for a medium-bodied white wine like a Chardonnay or a Viognier. These wines have sufficient depth and fruitiness to face as much as the creaminess of the pasta and produce out the beautiful flavours of the butternut squash. 

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Full Recipe 

Discover the complete record of components, directions, and a dietary breakdown under. You probably have questions or cook dinner this recipe, please let me know within the feedback, and ensure to charge this recipe so it’s simple for others to search out.

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