Butternut Squash Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz pasta (I used penne)
- 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 3/4 – 1 inch cubes
- 6 slices of bacon, sliced into lardons
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/3–1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- To prep the butternut squash, use a really sharp, sturdy knife to cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds, peel it and cut it into 3/4 – 1 inch cubes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta, just slightly less done than you like it, since it will finish cooking in the sauce. Set aside some of the pasta water, to thin out the pasta later, if it needs it.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the bacon on medium heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Pour off most of the bacon drippings, leaving about 1 Tablespoon of bacon drippings in the skillet. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens.
- Add the butternut squash and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, at a simmer, until the butternut squash softens. Deglaze the bottom of the skillet with some of the broth as the vegetables are cooking if the bottom of the skillet gets too dry.
- Pour in the chicken broth, increase the heat to high and cook for another 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan until the sauce thickens.
- Add the cream, mix to combine and add the parsley and Parmesan cheese.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes, just until the pasta is done cooking. As the pasta cooks in the sauce, it will soak in all the aromatic flavors, thickens a bit more and finish cooking. If the pasta and sauce are thicker than you’d like, add some of the pasta water.
- Garnish with the bacon and more cheese and herbs, if you’d like.