This butternut squash pasta is the ultimate fall dish. It’s cozy, warm, rich – it’s what I like to call sweater weather pasta.
Basically, we’re going to take all the elements of butternut squash ravioli and deconstruct it. You start by making a decadent sauce (which may look familiar if you’ve ever made butternut squash soup!) ,and combine it with pasta. From there, you top all the fixings as you would with the ravioli version — toasted walntes, thyme leaves, and of course, parmesean cheese.
It’s cozy, warm, rich – it’s what I like to call sweater weather pasta.
There are so many different flavors and textures that come together in one bite, it truly satisfies every craving at once – salty, sweet, and nutty.
If I’m not making this for a large dinner party, I’m usually making it just for two servings, so will have plenty of sauce left over. So, I freeze it for the next time I’m craving the dish — so all I have to do is make the pasta.
What do I need to make the butternut squash pasta?
- A small/medium butternut squash
- Onion
- Cumin
- Cinnamon
- Brown sugar
- Salt & pepper
- Ricotta cheese
- Pasta (I used rigatoni for this recipe)
- Lemon for zest
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh thyme leaves
You’ll also need a mixing bowl, sheet pan, colander, blender, and large pot such as a Dutch oven.
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Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 small/medium butternut squash, cubed
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt + pepper
- 1/2 cup of walnuts
- Your favorite pasta (I used rigatoni)
- 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
- 2.5 cups of reserved pasta water
- 1 lemon for zesting
- Parmesan cheese for topping
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme for plating
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
START YOUR SAUCE
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl, mix together your squash, onion, olive oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper. Depending on the size of your butternut squash, you may want to add more olive oil to make sure squash is coated.
Place squash + onion on a sheet pan. Before placing in oven, reserve some space on the sheet pan closest to you for the walnuts you’ll add later. Roast squash mixture for about 30-40 minutes until squash is fork tender.
When there’s 10 minutes left on the squash, place your walnuts on one side of your sheet pan (closest to you) to toast. Only toast your walnuts for 10 minutes.
MAKE YOUR PASTA
While the squash is in the oven, in a Dutch oven or large pot, cook your pasta until 1-2 minutes before package says it will be done. Reserve 2.5 cups of pasta water - (you will need it for the sauce). When your pasta is done, drain and place back into pot.
MARRY YOUR PASTA AND SAUCE
When your squash is done, remove the walnuts and set aside. Transfer your squash/onion to a blender and add your ricotta cheese. Pour in pasta water a little at a time and blitz until you get a creamy sauce. You might not use the whole 2 cups. Taste and add salt if needed.
Pour your sauce into the pasta and add any additional pasta water to thin it out if needed. If you’re out of pasta water add a bit of filtered water/broth to thin it out. You’ll want your sauce to be light and creamy. Zest some lemon into the pasta for some brightness.
Plate your dish with the pasta, toasted walnuts, parmesan cheese, thyme leaves, flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
