Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Featuring roasted butternut squash and red bell pepper, along with garlic, onion, and the perfect blend of seasonings, this homemade pasta sauce is sure to become a hit. Not to mention, it’s a great way to use up fresh squash and can easily be prepped ahead of time and enjoyed later!
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a large butternut squash or 1 small butternut squash), peeled, seeded, and chopped into chunks
- 1 red bell pepper washed and roughly chopped
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- olive oil
- sea salt to taste
- white pepper, to taste you can also use freshly ground black pepper, but I prefer the flavor of white pepper for this recipe
- 1 cup pasta water + more as needed
- pasta of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Place the chopped squash and bell pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt. Mix to coat all the pieces, then bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the squash is soft and the pepper looks roasted.
- While the veggies are roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta to al dente according to package or recipe instructions. Drain the noodles, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water. Rinse the cooked noodles under cold water and set aside. (You can skip this step if you are prepping your sauce ahead of time.)
- Once the veggies are roasted, remove them from the oven and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and celery, and sauté until the celery is tender and the onion is translucent.
- Transfer the onion mixture to a food processor. Add the roasted squash, bell pepper, tomato paste, and pasta water. Blend on high until smooth and creamy, adding more water as needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Pour the blended sauce into a large skillet. Season with sea salt and white pepper, and heat over medium heat, stirring often until hot. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Add the noodles to the sauce and toss to coat. Remove from heat and serve immediately. I love to top this dish with a little Parmesan cheese and serve it with a side of crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Any leftover butternut squash sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can also purée this sauce in a high-speed blender or with an immersion blender.
This butternut squash pasta sauce can easily be prepped ahead of time. To do this, skip cooking the noodles, use plain water in place of pasta water, and season the sauce while it’s still in the blender. Transfer the finished sauce to a jar or airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you forgot to reserve some pasta water, no worries! You can easily use plain water, vegetable broth, chicken broth, or even unsweetened almond milk to thin your pasta sauce.
I haven’t personally tried freezing this pasta sauce, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t freeze beautifully. Homemade pasta sauce can be frozen in freezer bags or in ice cube trays to create individual portions — perfect for reheating just what you need.
Feel free to add additional spices to this recipe: rosemary, thyme, fresh sage leaves, crushed red pepper flakes, or Italian seasoning would all be delicious.
Nutrition
Calories: 46kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.04gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 18mgPotassium: 335mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 7328IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!