Creamy Butternut Squash Italian Sausage Pasta with Spinach is a comfy and comforting weeknight meal to make on a chilly Fall or Winter evening. This recipe makes use of unsweetened coconut milk and is dairy-free. Made with spicy Italian sausage and seasoned with nutmeg, purple pepper flakes, and recent thyme, this pasta dish is filled with taste and may grow to be your loved ones’s new favourite option to eat butternut squash!
Butternut squash sausage pasta
This cozy Fall and Winter consolation meals combines creamy roasted butternut squash sauce along with spicy Italian sausage, spinach, bow-tie pasta, and unsweetened coconut milk. It is completely seasoned with nutmeg, numerous recent thyme, and purple pepper flakes. You may simply make it forward and assemble it when able to serve – see the recipe card for particulars on making it forward! Which makes it an ideal alternative each for busy weeknights or for particular events. You by no means know – it would grow to be considered one of your household’s favourite dishes to make in the course of the chilliest months of the 12 months! And, in case you’re on the lookout for extra butternut squash dinner inspiration, do not miss this tasty feta, spinach, and bacon stuffed butternut squash or this simple butternut squash pasta salad with Brussels sprouts, pecans, and dried cranberries.
Most important components
- Butternut squash is a winter squash with an attractive orange coloration that has a candy and nutty taste. It is filled with vitamins and a very good supply of nutritional vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It is a wonderful supply of nutritional vitamins A, B6, C, and E, in addition to a number of minerals, together with magnesium, manganese, and potassium.
- I extremely suggest spicy Italian sausage. It is so flavorful, and the spiciness will get fairly mellow because it’s combined in with roasted butternut squash sauce. Spicy Italian sausage may be very savory, which you need on this recipe. Delicate or candy sausage may add an excessive amount of sweetness and is just not flavorful sufficient.
- Bow Tie Pasta. This recipe makes use of an Italian pasta, referred to as Farfalle, or bow tie pasta. The bow-tie form of this pasta works very nicely with the creamy butternut squash sauce. Cook dinner bow-tie pasta al dente for the most effective texture.
- Greens. I exploit recent spinach. You can too use frozen spinach – thawed and drained of any liquid. Or, use kale as an alternative.
- Coconut milk. Use full-fat unsweetened coconut milk. It is an incredible dairy-free various to common cream. You will not even style the coconut taste as will probably be disguised by the spicy Italian sausage and different seasonings
- Seasonings embody nutmeg, purple pepper flakes, recent thyme, salt, and freshly floor black pepper. Quite a lot of taste comes from the spicy Italian sausage, so I extremely suggest that you just use it.
- Olive oil is used to prepare dinner sausage brush butternut squash halves earlier than roasting.
Variations, substitutions, and add-ins
- Use any winter squash. You can also make this recipe with pumpkin puree (canned) or roasted acorn squash. When utilizing acorn squash, understand that they’re smaller in measurement and bake quicker within the oven (about half-hour within the preheated oven at 400 F).
- Veggies. You should utilize spinach, kale, arugula, or Swiss chard. Different choices are bell peppers or mushrooms.
- If you happen to use milder sausage, I like to recommend upping the spices and including smoked paprika and gentle purple chili powder to the combination.
- Cream. Although I used coconut milk to maintain this dairy-free, you can even use common heavy cream or half-and-half.
- Add cheese similar to Parmesan, Pepper Jack, shredded mozzarella, or Gruyere cheese.
Cooking ideas
- Time-saving tip. I like to recommend that you just roast the butternut squash and puree it upfront. It’ll save numerous time in making ready this recipe.
- Cook dinner pasta al dente. That is when the pasta texture is at its greatest. It is particularly necessary if you wish to make this forward.
Tips on how to make it forward
Be aware that the whole recipe is on the backside of this submit, within the recipe card. Many of the steps of this recipe might be executed a day or 2 upfront. If you wish to prep a few of the steps previous to once you’re able to serve, I might do these steps upfront:
- Roast butternut squash within the oven after which mash it right into a puree upfront.
- Slice and prepare dinner sausage upfront.
- You may even prepare dinner the pasta upfront. On this case, ensure you prepare dinner it al dente in order that it retains its texture.
- Then, if you find yourself able to serve, all you need to do is proceed to the recipe part “Meeting” (within the recipe card on the backside of this submit) and go from there!
Storage Suggestions
As a result of the sauce for butternut squash sausage pasta is made with none cheese, this recipe is straightforward to retailer and reheat.
- Fridge. Retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat within the microwave oven. Reheat the refrigerated leftovers in a microwave oven for about 1 minute. Style and reheat for 30 seconds extra, if wanted.
- Reheat on the stovetop. You can too reheat this in a big, high-sided skillet on the stovetop on low-medium warmth. When utilizing this technique, add a small quantity of heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk to skinny out the sauce when reheating.
Tips on how to make it meatless
- Use plant-based Italian sausage, similar to Past sausage model.
- Use chopped portobellos as an alternative of sausage. Cook dinner chopped portobellos (generously seasoned with purple paprika, purple pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper) with olive oil and plenty of minced garlic. The wealthy meaty taste of portobello mushrooms works nice to exchange sausage!
What sort of pasta to make use of
- Use a short-cut pasta, similar to bow-tie, penne, rigatoni, orzo, gnocchi, or fusilli. Quick-cut pasta works higher with the creamy butternut squash sauce.
- Use stuffed pasta, similar to store-bought ravioli or tortellini.
Tips on how to make it gluten-free
- Use gluten-free pasta. All different components on this recipe are naturally gluten-free.
Different butternut squash pasta recipes you may like
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
- Butternut Squash and Black Bean Orzo with Sausage and Spinach
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Shells Filled with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes
- Creamy Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup with Orzo and Spinach
- Creamy Butternut Squash Orzo with Sausage
Creamy Butternut Squash Italian Sausage Pasta
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Components
- 12 oz pasta bow-tie or farfalle
- 16 oz Italian sausage crumbled or casings eliminated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup butternut squash puree
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon purple pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons recent thyme solely leaves, no sprigs
- 6 oz recent spinach
Directions
Make butternut squash puree
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I like to recommend doing this step upfront. Right here is the way you make butternut squash puree.
Cook dinner pasta
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Convey a big pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and prepare dinner it in salted water in accordance with the package deal directions, normally about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain. Proceed with the remainder of the recipe whereas the water is boiling.
Cook dinner sausage
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Crumble the sausage into massive items or take away the sausage from the casings and slice it.
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Warmth 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium warmth in a big, high-sided skillet.
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Add sliced sausage and prepare dinner on medium warmth for about 4 minutes on one aspect, with out turning, to get the sausage slices browned. Flip over to the opposite aspect and prepare dinner for two extra minutes.
Meeting
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To the skillet with sausage, add 1 cup of butternut squash puree, 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk, minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon purple pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon of recent thyme (simply leaves, no sprigs). Stir and produce to a boil and cut back to a simmer.
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Add spinach step by step till it wilts, on low-medium warmth, and stir every thing nicely. Cook dinner for about 3 or extra minutes. Be sure that the garlic is cooked to your liking.
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Season with salt and freshly floor black pepper. Add extra seasonings to style (nutmeg, purple pepper flakes, and recent thyme).
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Add cooked and drained pasta and stir it in. Prime with the remaining 1 tablespoon recent thyme and purple pepper flakes.
Notes
Make butternut squash puree upfront
- The overall cooking time doesn’t embody the time required for roasting the butternut squash and making the butternut squash puree. I like to recommend that you just do this upfront.
- As a result of you’ll be roasting entire butternut squash, you’ll have greater than you want (1 cup) for this recipe. Refrigerate or freeze the leftover butternut squash puree in an hermetic container.
You should utilize both recent or dried thyme
- Use 2 tablespoons of thyme leaves (no sprigs) if utilizing recent thyme. Half for the sauce, half for sprinkling on high as garnish.
- If utilizing dried thyme, use ½ teaspoon of dried leaves (not powdered) or ¼ teaspoon of powdered dried thyme.
Tips on how to make it forward
- If you wish to make it forward, I might counsel prepping the next steps a day or 2 upfront: Prep all of the steps above the “Meeting” part upfront. This contains making the butternut squash puree, cooking pasta (al dente on this case!), and cooking sausage.
- Then, if you find yourself able to serve, you’ll be able to full the recipe following the “Meeting” part of the recipe directions – which ought to take underneath 10 minutes!
Diet
