Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce Recipe

Creamy butternut squash pasta sauce made with squash, cream, Parmesan, and a touch of turmeric.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 699kcal

Author Adina

Cook the pasta: Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil while you chop the ingredients. Once the water boils, add salt generously and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Make the sauce while the pasta cooks.
1 lb pasta
Prepare the ingredients: Peel it carefully. Remove the seeds with a spoon and cut the squash into small cubes. Chop the onion, garlic cloves, and parsley.
1 lb butternut squash + 1 medium onion + 2 garlic cloves
Sauté: Heat the olive oil in the pan. Add the onion, garlic, and butternut squash cubes, stir well, and cook until the onions are translucent and the pumpkin glossy, 3-4 minutes. Add turmeric and stir for 30 seconds. Add ½ of the parsley and stir to combine.
2 tablespoons olive oil + vegetables + ¼ teaspoon turmeric + 1 ½ tablespoons of parsley
Simmer butternut sauce: Stir in the stock and cream. Cook on high heat, uncovered, until the butternut cubes are soft (12-15 minutes, but check).
1 cup vegetable stock + ⅔ cup heavy cream
Blend the sauce with an immersion blender
Drain the pasta but reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water – you might need it to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
Add Parmesan: Stir in remaining parsley and Parmesan, and add salt and pepper to taste.
1 ½ tablespoons parsley + 2 tablespoons Parmesan + fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Adjust sauce consistency: If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water.

Blending the sauce: I prefer the immersion blender, but you can use a regular blender or, food processor instead. Be careful when blending hot sauce - work in batches and hold the lid securely. A potato masher works too, but the sauce will be a bit rustic.
Replace butternut squash with a flavorful pumpkin like Hokkaido or sugar pie pumpkin. Hokkaido doesn’t need peeling, but peel any other sort.
Vegetable stock: Made from a cube is perfectly fine. Chicken stock works perfectly, too.
Vegetarian option: Use vegetarian hard cheese if you would like this dish to be strictly vegetarian - Parmesan is not vegetarian as it is made with animal rennet.
Vegan option: Replace the cream with coconut milk or other plant-based cream (soy, oat, or almond milk). Replace the cheese with nutritional yeast to taste – about 3 tablespoons.