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Butternut Squash Pasta

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5 from 1 review

This butternut squash and pasta bake combines roasted squash, crispy bacon, seasonal greens, and a rich, creamy Parmesan sauce for an elevated version of a classic mac and cheese dinner.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1″ pieces
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt & black pepper to taste
  • 1 lb medium whole wheat pasta (rotini or penne)
  • 4 slices of bacon, cut into ½” pieces
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 10 oz collard greens, roughly cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 white onion, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp cayenne or red pepper flakes (optional, but very good – my heat-sensitive child didn’t even notice)
  • 1 cup half-and-half OR whole milk, if needed
  • 4 oz Parmesan, shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Place squash in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the squash and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta al dente according to the directions on the package. When done, drain and set aside.
  4. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until cooked through and crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a medium bowl. Leave the grease in the pan and reduce the heat to low.
  5. Add collard greens, onion, and garlic to the bacon grease and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Add 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil if additional moisture is needed.
  6. When the greens are no longer bitter and the onions are nearly translucent, remove them from the pan and add to the bowl with the bacon.
  7. At this point, the cooked squash should be about done. When it is, add it to the bowl with the greens and bacon. Toss gently with a spoon and let cool slightly.
  8. Reduce oven to 350F.
  9. To the same pan as the bacon grease, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for 3-5 minutes, until bubbles form infrequently and the mixture becomes medium golden brown.
  10. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
  11. Cook, stirring very often so not to burn the milk, until the mixture is thick and bubbly (about 8-10) minutes.
  12. Add rosemary, nutmeg, paprika, and cayenne, if using, and stir well. Taste and add additional seasoning if desired.
  13. With the heat on low, add shredded Parmesan, stirring well until mostly melted, then remove from the heat.
  14. Butter a 9×13 baking dish or Dutch oven.
  15. Layer the cooked noodles on the bottom and pour the squash mixture evenly on top.
  16. Pour the cream sauce over the entire dish.
  17. If needed, pour up to an additional cup of half-and-half OR whole milk over the dish to ensure the entire top is covered with sauce or cream.
  18. Bake uncovered in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the entire dish is warmed through.

Notes

  • Multitask intentionally. This butternut squash and pasta recipe has lots of moving parts, but if you get the squash started and then take it one component at a time, it’s easy to keep it moving forward and get all of the ingredients ready to go. You can also prepare the squash, bacon, and greens ahead of time and refrigerate them until you’re ready to make the sauce and pasta and assemble everything.
  • Make extra. If you use a large butternut squash and up to a pound of collard greens, you can get away with splitting this butternut squash and pasta into two baking dishes, which means you get at least one night off from cooking! Bake them both right away and have plenty of leftovers, or cover and freeze one for later.
  • Store the leftovers. One pan of pasta and butternut squash usually feeds my family for two nights. You can let the baking dish cool completely and just throw some plastic wrap over the top before refrigerating the whole thing overnight or store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
  • Add protein. Cooked shredded chicken like my All Purpose Chicken complements the rest of the flavors and bulks up this pasta with butternut even more.
  • Swap out for sweet potato. If your people aren’t squash fans, but you really want to try this dish, try making it with sweet potato. Cut the roasting time to 25 minutes for tender but not mushy sweet potato.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/butternut-squash-pasta-bake/