We finally had a cold snap here, and I was instantly put into the mood to make some comfort food. I really do treasure the all-too-brief cold weather down here since the rest of the time it’s full-on hot and humid summer weather. But back to the food because that’s why we’re here, right? A quick skim of my Pinterest boards turned up this Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach, and I was hooked. Creamy, roasted squash, pasta, and sausage are all in the name, and all sound like comfort food to me. Let’s find out if they are as good together as the sound!
Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach is a perfect Autumn comfort food. This easy and flavorful recipe is packed with veggies and will become your favorite Fall and Winter family weeknight dinner!
The Ingredients
I had a few things on hand for this roasted butternut squash pasta recipe. Salt, pepper, and olive oil are a given around here. I even had some leftover heavy cream though I forget exactly what from.
That left me to buy several items, but they were all found at my regular grocery store. The type of sausage wasn’t specified, so I chose a tube of mild pork sausage. I think it was breakfast sausage, but it was only a few dollars for a pound. I halved it for this recipe and froze the rest.
This recipe does call for 6 ounces of spinach, but the largest package I could find was only 5 ounces. I could have bought 2 packages and used the extra for something else, but I decided 5 ounces would have to be enough. I must have been having a lazy day LOL.
Lastly, I bought grated parmesan instead of shredding it. My husband is convinced he hates the real deal but he likes this stuff. Bless his heart!
The Process
There was a lot going on with this roasted butternut squash pasta recipe. At one point I had 3 stove eyes and the oven going at the same time. It gave me Thanksgiving flashbacks!
Butternut Squash
First up was peeling and cubing the butternut squash. The recipe didn’t specify a size so I guessed based on the photos and went with fairly small cubes. I used about 3/4 of the butternut squash. Once it was cubed I tossed it in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put it into the oven to roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Sausage
Cooking the sausage was next. I heated a 10-inch skillet, broke up the sausage with my fingers, and let it fry while I worked on the pasta and cream sauce. I put on a pot of salted water as part of the prep work, so it was ready to go when I was done with the sausage.
Cream Sauce
Last up was the cream sauce. I expected this to be difficult for some reason. It must be something in my head because it was not at all difficult. Tip: My 5-quart saute pan was the perfect pan for this. The recipe does say to use a large skillet, but I like the high sides of my saute pan for recipes like this that need to be stirred thoroughly.
All I had to do was let the spinach wilt with the garlic, add the cream, then the cheese. The key was to keep stirring once the cream went in to ensure a smooth sauce. I did add a touch of salt and pepper, then it was time to assemble.
Finishing Up & Assembly
The only problem was the squash still had 15 minutes to go before it was finished roasting. Still, I added all the other ingredients to the saute pan and mixed them up. My stove has a warmer eye, so I covered the pan and placed it onto that to keep it warm. I stirred in the roasted butternut squash as soon as it was done with no problems at all. I was worried the sauce would break or coagulate but it didn’t.
Timing
This roasted butternut squash pasta recipe lists 30 minutes to prep, 40 minutes to cook, and 1 hour and 10 minutes total. I don’t know how I managed it, but I came in way under that with the following times:
- 11 minutes to prep the butternut squash
- 31 minutes to finish prep and cook
- 42 minutes total
