Butternut Squash Pasta (with Bacon and Sage)
This is my favorite fall pasta recipe, with roasted butternut squash, smoky bacon, and sage. With garlic, shallots and parmesan cheese for extra flavor, butternut squash pasta isn’t your generic fall dish!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 ½ pounds butternut squash diced into ½ inch cubes
- 1 pound applewood smoked bacon diced
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medium shallots finely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 handful fresh sage leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Hot pepper flakes optional to taste
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or parmesan cheese to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. On a baking sheet, toss squash in ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Spread out squash into a single layer. Roast for 25-30 minutes until just caramelized. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While the squash is roasting, cook bacon in a large, dry pot over medium heat until crispy. Drain excess fat out of the pot, leaving just the bacon and drippings.
- Add ⅓ cup olive oil, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, and hot pepper flakes to the pot with the bacon. Sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat. Turn heat to lowest setting (to keep mixture warm).
- Boil the pasta in a separate pot.
- While the pasta is boiling, add butter to a medium pan over medium-high heat. When the butter melts and just starts to bubble, add the sage leaves. Swirl them around in the pan for 45-60 seconds. If you want brown butter, keep the sage in the butter for longer.
- Pour the sage and the butter into the pot with the bacon. Add the drained pasta and toss.
- Add the roasted squash and gently toss (you don’t want to squish the squash!).
- Top with parmesan shavings, and more hot pepper flakes if desired.
Video
Notes
- You can also use penne or orecchiette pasta!
- Applewood smoked is my favorite kind of bacon for this pasta but most other types of bacon will be delicious too!
- You can use just olive oil instead of the butter. Of course butter makes everything better though!
- You can add a handful of grated parmesan to the pasta itself! Yum
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1143kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 65g | Fat: 64g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 2413mg | Potassium: 1537mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 18670IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 431mg | Iron: 4mg