As far as seasonal vegetables that I really look forward to with fall, butternut squash is at the top of my list! It is DEFINITELY fall here in Charlotte and now there’s an actual chill in the air, I felt inspired to come up with this fall harvest inspired pasta loaded with a creamy roasted butternut squash and garlic sauce with sausage and spinach.
Y’all know I LOVE fall, and this dish has all the quintessential fall coziness. The blended roasted butternut squash and roasted garlic makes such a rich, creamy sauce that will have you licking the bowl!
I used a butternut squash that was more on the large size. When I added the roasted squash into my blender to make the sauce, I added about 3 cups of it and set aside the remaining roasted butternut squash cubes to mix in at the end to add some additional texture. If you end up with more than 3 cups of squash cubes, you can make more sauce or you can do what I did to make it more of chunky squash sauce!
I used herbs de Provence which is kind of like Italian Seasoning but often has dried lavender and some differed dried herbs included. I got mine at Trader Joe’s and it included dried sage and thyme (not all Herbs de Provence contain sage) which I think works really well in this dish, but I also found this one on Amazon that contains sage. Herbs de Provence are kind of refreshing but earthy and I think add a really different flavor to this dish.
PS: Make sure that right before the pasta is done cooking, that you reserve plenty of pasta water to thin out the sauce to your desired consistency!
Creamy Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- ~3 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 head garlic
- 12 oz bow-tie pasta
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tbsp herbs de Provence
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful spinach
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 tbsp avocado oil or other high temperature oil, divided
- grated Parmesan cheese serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400°F
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Toss cubed butternut squash in avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to a baking sheet and let roast in oven for about 45 minutes.
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Cut top off garlic, drizzle with avocado oil and season with a bit of salt and pepper and wrap in foil. Add to oven and let roast for about 20-30 minutes.
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Cook bow-tie pasta in large pasta pot with plenty of salted water according to box instructions. Reserve about 2 cups of pasta water before draining. Set cooked pasta aside.
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In a large pan, cook and crumble sausage over medium heat. Once browned and cooked thoroughly, remove sausage from pan and set aside.
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Once sausage is removed, add a tsp of olive oil, chopped onion, and seasonings. Let cook for about 5 minutes or until onions are slightly softened and translucent.
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Once butternut squash and roasted garlic is cooked, add the squash and garlic (removing skins) to a blender or large food processor. Blend on medium speed and add in reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup) until sauce is smooth.
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To pan with onions, add in spinach and let cook until wilted. Mix in blended squash and heavy cream. Add more pasta water to thin out sauce until you reach desired consistency. Season with more salt and pepper as needed. Add back sausage and fold in cooked pasta. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I added about 3 cups of cooked butternut squash to the blender to create the sauce. If you have more than 3 cups of squash, you can use it to create extra sauce, or (you can do what I did:) you can mix in additional roasted butternut squash cubes for additional texture.
If you don’t have herbs de Provence, season with dried sage and dried thyme instead.
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