This butternut squash pasta is healthy, comforting, and delicious! Roasted squash, sage, and thyme fill the creamy sauce with cozy autumn flavor.
The first time I made this butternut squash pasta sauce, Jack couldn’t stop talking about it for days. “That sauce!” he kept saying. “That sauce!” Of course, I teased him for it, but if I’m being totally honest, I was completely smitten with it too.
Looking at this butternut squash pasta, you might expect it to taste like mac and cheese. But don’t be fooled. The creamy sauce is rich and nutty, with bold autumn flavor from herbs like sage and thyme. Because it’s so flavorful and complex, this butternut squash pasta would make a show-stopping vegetarian main dish at a special occasion dinner (pasta for Thanksgiving, anyone?). Still, it’s really comforting and easy to make, so go ahead and enjoy it on regular old weeknights too.
Why You’ll Love This Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe
- No heavy cream required! Roasted, blended butternut squash and cashews create the sauce’s rich and creamy texture. It’s totally dairy-free, though Jack likes to top his bowl with a little Parmesan cheese.
- It tastes like fall. The combination of the sweet, caramelized squash with the woodsy sage and thyme fills this cozy pasta dish with fall flavor.
- It’s surprisingly easy to make. This butternut squash pasta recipe feels elevated, but it’s actually simple to make. Just roast the squash, blend up the sauce, cook the pasta, and toss it all together with a little pasta cooking water. So easy!
Butternut Squash Pasta Ingredients
If you love butternut squash, you’ll go crazy for this pasta sauce! In it, the squash is front and center, adding to the creamy texture and supplying sweet autumn flavor. You’ll need 1/2 small squash to make this recipe, enough to yield 1 cup cooked flesh. Chop up the other half and roast it, or save it for a salad or soup. In addition to the squash, gather these ingredients to make this recipe:
- Shallots and garlic – They roast along with the squash, becoming sweet, nutty, and tender. Yellow onion works well in place of the shallots if you don’t have any on hand.
- Cashews – My go-to ingredient for making sauces rich and creamy. Make sure to use raw, not roasted, cashews to give the sauce a neutral flavor. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, soak the cashews for 6 hours before making the sauce.
- Nutritional yeast – It adds umami flavor to this butternut squash pasta sauce.
- Balsamic vinegar – For tang.
- Sage and thyme – They add earthy autumn flavor to the creamy sauce. I love using fresh herbs here, but in a pinch, you can substitute 1 teaspoon each dried sage and dried thyme.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- And sea salt and fresh black pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Last but not least, you’ll need some pasta! I like to serve this sauce over rotini, but you can use any pasta shape you like. I recommend a shape with lots of folds and creases to catch the delicious sauce.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
This butternut squash pasta sauce is super easy to make! Here’s how I do it:
First, roast the veggies. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Then, place it cut-side-down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Wrap the shallots and garlic in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, and add them to the baking sheet too. Roast for 30 minutes at 425°F, or until the squash is tender.
Then, blend the butternut squash sauce. Add 1 cup roasted butternut squash, the shallots, peeled garlic cloves, cashews, nutritional yeast, vinegar, herbs, salt, and pepper to a high-speed blender. Pour in some water and olive oil to get the blender moving, and blend to form a thick, creamy sauce.
Assembling the Pasta
Once the sauce is ready, the pasta comes together quickly:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
Toss the pasta with the sauce and some of the reserved pasta water. Return the cooked pasta to the pot. Add the butternut squash sauce, plus 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and coat the pasta.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Add plenty of pasta water. The pasta water is the secret ingredient in this recipe. It loosens the sauce, giving it a silky, velvety texture instead of an overly thick one. It also adds starches that help the sauce coat the pasta. I often use a full cup when I make this recipe. Don’t forget to reserve some before you drain the pasta!
- Make it nut-free. Replace the cashews with 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. You can also simply omit them for a lighter sauce.
- Get ahead. Roast the veggies up to 2 days ahead and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the pasta. If necessary, warm the sauce over low heat before serving.
What to Serve with Butternut Squash Pasta
Jack and I love this recipe with sautéed broccoli on the side. Make roasted broccoli if you prefer, or replace it with roasted cauliflower, roasted Brussels sprouts, or sautéed kale. A fall salad, like my Pear Salad, Caesar Salad, or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, would pair nicely with this recipe too.
If you like, round out the meal with crusty bread or homemade focaccia to wipe up any sauce that’s left at the bottom of your bowl. It’s so delicious that you won’t want one drop to go to waste!
More Butternut Squash Recipes to Try
If you love this pasta, try one of these delicious butternut squash recipes next:
- Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ small butternut squash, halved vertically and seeded
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 shallots, coarsely chopped (⅔ cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
- 12 ounces rotini pasta
- Red pepper flakes, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drizzle the squash with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place cut side down on the baking sheet. Wrap the shallots and garlic cloves in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on the baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the squash is soft.
- Measure 1 cup of the roasted squash flesh and transfer to a blender with the shallot, peeled garlic, water, cashews, olive oil, nutritional yeast, vinegar, sage, thyme, ¾ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper. Blend until creamy.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions in a pot of salted boiling water. Reserve 1 cup of the hot pasta water.
- Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the sauce, adding ½ to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and coat the pasta. Season with ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt. Top with freshly ground black pepper, a few thyme leaves, and red pepper flakes, if desired.
The sauce is tasty, but overall was disappointing. The color was nothing like the photo in this post, more of an unappealing grayish tone which did not make the pasta look very appealing! Maybe this was the cashews? I used large raw organic cashews and followed the recipe to a T. The squash was delicious. I don’t know what went wrong. Now I have extra sauce and don’t know what to do with it…..any ideas?
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this one. I would drizzle extra sauce over vegetables or maybe spread it on toast.
This is delicious! All four of us loved it! I did soak my cashews in hot water for 30 minutes prior to blending, so the sauce was very creamy! Will definitely make this again,.
Hi Jayne, I’m so glad you loved it!
What’s a good substitute for the cashews? My son is allergic to nuts. Would almonds be ok?
I am allergic to nut. How can I replace the caches? Thanks
Hi Vanessa, you can use blanched, peeled almonds. If you can’t find whole blanched almonds, try slivered almonds. The skins make the sauce less creamy but generally they’re a good sub for cashews.
I made this tonight just as it’s written except I didn’t have fresh sage so used about 1/4 tsp of dried sage. It was fantastic….thank you!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Can someone please tell me what this tastes like? Is it sweet? Is it salty? I’ve never had butternut squash before so I’m curious to know how this dish tastes before making it.
Hi Jenny, it’s savory with just a little sweetness from the squash. The sage and thyme give it fall flavors (ie, they’re herbs used in Thanksgiving type dishes).
Fantastic! Did a test run a couple of weeks ago, as I need a substantial side that can serve as a Thanksgiving main for an almost-vegan guest. This time I added about a Tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and it gives it a nice hit of sharpness. So great with out home grown fresh herbs~
Hi Robin, I’m so glad you loved it!
Amazing! This might be the best pasta sauce I’ve ever tried. It’s certainly the best I’ve made myself. The depth of flavour was really unexpected. I’ll be making it again for sure!
This recipe is hard to follow. How much does a small squash weigh? I don’t have fresh thyme, how much should I use if my thyme is dried? Is there a way to see the ingredients by weight that I don’t see?
Hi Mike, I would use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. I don’t have a weight, but the size doesn’t have to be so precise. Just look for a small butternut squash, or use a smaller portion of a medium one.
Hey, I made this twice now. The first time I didn’t know what I was doing, the store only had huge squash available and they weren’t ripe. I bought one anyway because I didn’t know how to pick a good squash. I also used way too much sage… and forgot to buy cashews so I used sunflower seeds, and also forgot shallots so I used onions, also didn’t have pasta water because I used left over pasta… that batch didn’t turn out so good.
The second time though, I followed the recipe exactly and knew how to pick a good squash, the sauce came out fantastic! 🙂
On the second attempt I used my cocotte to roast the squash, the squash didn’t fit inside cut in half so I peeled the squash and cubed it then put it back in the cocotte with the shallots and garlic and roasted them together.
Thanks for the recipe! I’m bringing the dish over for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I’m the only vegan at the table but maybe if people like this enough they’ll join me next year? I won’t hold my breath but I will stuff my face with this pasta 🙂
Can this be made ahead of time and heated up before eating? I need to take it with me to someone else’s house for the holiday.
Hi Megan, I think the pasta is best fresh, soon after it’s tossed with the sauce. Would it be a possibility to make the sauce ahead of time, then cook the pasta and toss it together when you get there?
Hi what do you mean by nutritional yeast? I have instant yeast or regular dry yeast.
Hi Tania, nutritional yeast is totally different, here’s more about it: https://fit-discovery.info/nutritional-yeast/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
Looks delicious! Can you make it without the cashews or would you need an alternative? We have an allergy in the family so no tree nuts.
Hi Binder, you could try using 1/4 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds instead of the cashews.
Have you ever tried freezing this? I wonder if it would be as tasty after. I’m looking for ways to stretch past the season and this looks delicious
Just recently started eating a vegan diet and was searching for recipes when I stumbled upon this one. Made last night…it was amazing!
Will be making again real soon.
Thanks for recipe. Looking forward to trying more of them.
I’ve made this several times and it is absolutely fabulous. I do need to provide a word of caution. This needs to be made with a ripe squash. I made it today and it went from 5 star to 2 for that very reason. Found online, that if picked too soon, butternut squash is tasteless. I barely salvaged it with some lemon juice. By all means make this one, just take a moment to learn how to pick a ripe squash when you do.
Just tried this and it’s delicious! I added a little extra balsamic vinegar to the sauce because I wanted extra zing. Also used dried sage because I didn’t have any fresh and worked fine.
This kobacha squash recipe from your book and the butternut squash soup recipe from the other book are both delicious! I used leftover kabacha and butternut squash that I had frozen from making these recipes before to make them again. Do you think I can then freeze any leftover soup or pasta sauce or would freezing the main ingredient for a 2nd time ruin them?
Jeanine, I just came across this recipe while looking for a stuffed winter squash idea. I’ll make this tonight as it looks fabulous! I just want to say, even though I subscribe to a couple of food bloggers, your recipes by far look – and taste the best! Thank you so much for sharing these delicious recipes with us!
Marcia
Just made this today–it is pretty much PERFECT. Thank you again for another excellent one!
This recipe was so delicious! I panic-bought a can of pureed butternut squash at the beginning of the pandemic and it has sat in the back of my pantry since. I saw this recipe today and had to try it! Will definitely be making this again, so delicious and easy!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Totally delish! I wanted to test our new blender with this one. And the sauce came out nice and creamy. I used the extra butternut squash for butternut squash soup and roasted some extra garlic and onions for that. I didn’t have sage, but just threw in some extra thyme. We made some green beans as our side and wow! So good! I love how all of your recipes seem to be flexible and I use them as a guide or inspiration and they always turn out so well.