Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Crispy Sage – the ultimate bowl of comfort to keep you cozy all winter long. Quick, easy, and on the table in under 30 minutes, it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner.
My favorite dishes are ones that have a perfect, balanced combination of textures and flavors. This Creamy Butternut Squash is big on both.
Creamy – A luscious, decadent sauce that is ultra-smooth clinging to every noodle. Pureed butternut squash is so creamy. Add to that butter and cream and you’ve got a heavenly sauce that you might just want to eat with a spoon.
Crunchy – Topped with bits of bacon that have been sautéed until perfectly crunchy.
Crispy – Crispy sage (!) sprinkled on top.
Chewy – From perfectly cooked al dente linguine.
Slightly Sweet – Oven roasting the butternut squash deepens and really brings out its flavor.
Salty – From the bacon to the perfectly salted pasta.
Smoky – Bacon sprinkled on top adds the perfect complement of smoky flavor to balance the sweetness of the butternut squash.
Savory and fragrant – Just a little sautéed onion and garlic, as well as sage, develops the flavor without overpowering the delicate flavor of the butternut squash.
Umami – That all important secret flavor- The Yummy Factor – from the parmesan cheese and chicken bouillon.
This recipe for this Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta was inspired by the flavors in my Butternut Squash Ravioli. My kids loved it so much, I wanted to turn it into a pasta sauce that could be ready in the time it takes to boil pasta. My son thinks it’s the best pasta he’s ever had! And it’s a good thing – I’ve been testing and tweaking this recipe for several months.
I’ve used oven roasted butternut squash as the base of this sauce. I love how roasting brings out the sweetness and deepens the flavor of the squash, almost caramelizing it. I also love how easy it is to roast the squash. Check out my step-by-step tutorial on how to make butternut squash puree. Simply cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and bake for an hour. It comes out perfectly cooked and the skin comes off so easily.
I also tested this recipe by peeling and cubing the squash, then sautéing it and boiling it until soft. Three reasons I don’t like this method:
I don’t have the patience for doing all that work by hand when the oven can do it all for me.
I didn’t like the taste and texture as much as the oven roasted squash.
It takes too much time to go through all this process at dinner time. Yes, you could make the sauce in advance, but with some butternut squash puree in the freezer or a can in the cupboard, you can finish this Creamy Butternut Squash sauce by the time the pasta is done boiling. You can even substitute canned pumpkin for the butternut squash puree.
To make the Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta, sauté the chopped bacon over medium to medium high heat until crisp. Stir in the chopped sage and toss to coat. Remove with a slotted spoon.
You can use the same pan, if you like, to make the sauce. But if the bacon left anything too browned in the pan, I like to rinse it out so it doesn’t make the sauce bitter. Add butter to the pan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic. When it’s soft and translucent, add the butternut squash puree and stir it around for a minute. Then add the cream and chicken broth. I always use water and bouillon for the broth. It heightens the flavor, and I can have the strength I choose. When it comes to a simmer, stir in the parmesan cheese until melted. Remove from heat and toss with hot, buttered pasta. Top with the bacon and sage.
Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Crispy Sage
Ingredients
- 1 lb linguine or other pasta (454g)
- 2 tablespoons butter (1oz, 28g)
- 6 ounces bacon chopped (170g)
- ½ cup chopped sage
- 2 tablespoons butter (1oz, 28g)
- ½ onion chopped fine
- 3 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1 ½ cups butternut squash puree (11.25oz, 319g)
- 1 cup heavy cream (8oz, 227g)
- 1 cup chicken broth or 1 cup water and 1 bouillon cube (8oz, 227g)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese (2oz, 57g)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with 2 tablespoons butter. Salt to taste.
- Sauté the chopped bacon over medium to medium high heat until crisp. Stir in the chopped sage and toss to coat. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- You can use the same pan, if you like, to make the sauce. But if the bacon left anything too browned in the pan, I like to rinse it out so it doesn’t make the sauce bitter.
- Add butter to the pan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic over medium to medium-high heat until it is soft and translucent.
- Add the butternut squash puree and stir it around for a minute.
- Add the cream and chicken broth (or water and bouillon).
- When it comes to a simmer, stir in the parmesan cheese until melted.
- Remove from heat and toss with hot, buttered pasta.
- Top with the bacon and sage.
- Serve immediately. As the pasta sits the sauce will thicken.
It looks creamy and delicious! I wouldn’t mind eating this butternut squash for all three meals of my day.
Thanks so much, Umar!
Another great and delicious well made dish. Good job!!
Thank you very much, Pasta Chief!
Tasty!
Thanks so much, Rawan!
I want to drink that sauce 🙂 So yummy and comforting!
It’s delicious! Thanks so much, Angie!
Tried this at home— SO GOOD!!! Can’t wait for your next post!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Kristina!
Another home run, fantastic!!
Thank you, Cookie Monster!
Yes please! Looks so creamy and delicious! I will definitely be making this soon!
And it’s so easy to make! Thanks, Karly!
This is definitely the ultimate in comfort food! It even goes perfectly with our desert sunshine! Thanks, Kelly!
I could really go for some of that desert sunshine right about now, David! Thank you!
Oh myyy! Seems like the only dish I’ll ever want to eat again! It covers all the bases! Plus – it’s pretty! Thanks for sharing, my friend! Pinned!
It’s addictive! Thanks so much, Annie!
I love, love, love pasta sauces made with a squash puree’. the flavors in this dish remind me of my favorite ravioli – butternut ravioli with a butter sage sauce. Your dish is so much easier and looks extremely tasty. Can’t wait to make this. Thanks for sharing!!
My family loved my Butternut Squash Ravioli so much that I wanted to develop a recipe with the same flavors that was super quick to make. You can have everything done before the pasta finishes boiling. Thanks so much, MJ!
This says comfort food!!! It looks amazing and I love that there’s a bit of bacon in there too! Nicely done 🙂
There’s just a bit so it doesn’t overwhelm the delicate taste of the butternut squash, but it makes the dish just perfect. Thank you very much, Kathy!
This is such a brilliant combination of flavors. I love each one, and together I bet they’re like magic. Such a hearty meal, too. Wishing it was my dinner!
A wonderful meal and so comforting and satisfying. Thanks so much, Valentina!
You nailed it here, Kelly! I am totally saving this recipe to make soon. I love creamy pastas, and the butternut puree here sounds like such a fun twist. Great cooking tips, too. As I was reading this post, I was thinking “man, that sounds delicious…but I bet it’s a lot of work.” Not the case at all. I can’t wait to try this one, my friend! Pinning now!
Thanks so much, David! I love recipes that taste amazing and are quick and easy to prepare. Hope you like it!
I love this kind of creamy pasta sauce. And the bacon makes it perfect! 🙂
Bacon is the perfect addition to this pasta. Sprinkled on top, it adds a lovely salty, smoky contrast to the butternut squash and a nice crunch to contrast the creamy pasta. Thanks so much, Adina!
I love butternut squash and pasta – who knew they were a heavenly match? This pasta looks and sounds addictive!
One of my favorite combinations for fall and winter! Thanks so much, Laura!
this is making me hungry kelly. it sounds so delicious. cheers sherry
It’s wonderful! Thank you, Sherry!
everything is better with bacon.:) cheers sherry
I agree! Thanks so much, Sherry!
I’d rather eat this than any cake or pie! Fabulous flavors. Whole foods sells pumpkin puree in aseptic packages, and it’s super good. I know they also sell sweet potato. Now I need to go to one to see if they have butternut squash puree, although pumpkin would work also. Can’t wait to make this!
Thanks so much, Mimi! It’s very satisfying, that’s for sure! Pumpkin puree would work perfectly in this recipe.
Kelly this is brilliant ! You made my day, really ! Thank you so much !
Thank you very much! We love this dish!
What a fantastic and unusual pasta dish! I absolutely love it! This will be on my dinner table this week. Thanks for sharing!
It has a lovely flavor. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much, Marcellina!
Butternut squash and winter squash, in general, are just gaining popularity over this way. We have to order them from our grönsaksförsäljare (veggie seller) and we have to take the lot. We have just ordered this past Saturday so I know what we’ll be making first with the soon to arrive squash. I’ve had BN squash ravioli and soup many times, but never thought to put them to together. Brilliant job Kelly and thanks for sharing.
So glad you’ll be able to enjoy squash for the season. There are so many lovely recipes to enjoy it this time of year. I’ve had so many requests for the butternut squash ravioli that I wanted to find the quickest, easiest way to enjoy the same flavors in a pasta dish. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much, Ron!
I just love using veggie purees for sauces. It’s unbelievably creamy, but on the healthier side at the same time. With bacon and crispy sage added to the mix, there’s no going wrong! Hope you have a fabulous week ahead, Kelly 🙂
I haven’t tried other veggie purees, but now you’ve got the wheels turning in my head. I’ve just mentally pureed about 10 different veggies. This could be another fun experiment! The bacon and crispy sage really take this pasta to the wow level. Thanks so much, Dawn! 🙂