Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Spinach Pasta
Make the ultimate Fall pasta, full of warm spices, butternut squash, sweet Italian sausage, and spinach in a creamy sauce!
Ingredients
Roasted Squash
- 1 2lb butternut squash
- 2 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground sage
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Pasta
- 1 lb thin spaghetti sub linguine, vermicelli
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1½ tsp ground sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated/shredded parmesan
- 2 cup fresh spinach torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°
- Peel the butternut squash, slice in half, and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into ½ in slices, then cut each slice into ½ inch match sticks, and then the sticks into ½ in cubes.
- Sprinkle the cubed squash with salt, pepper, sage and nutmeg, and drizzle on olive oil. Toss to coat
- Spread the squash on a line baking sheet and cook for 30-40 minutes or until tender, tossing halfway
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook your pasta according to package directions until al dente
- Strain the pasta and place the empty pot back on the stove. To it, add 1 tbsp of butter and a diced onion. Cook the onion for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, and then add in the Italian sausage.
- Cook the sausage until no longer pink, and set the sausage onion mixture aside.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan along with the minced garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant.
- Add in the salt, pepper, sage, thyme, oregano, and nutmeg to toast in the butter. When the butter begins to deepen in color, deglaze the pan with the stock.
- Add in the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Mix in the parmesan cheese, whisking to avoid clumps, and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes to thicken.
- Add back in the sausage and onion mixture, the cooked pasta, and the roasted squash.
- Add in the fresh spinach and toss to incorporate. At this point you can turn off the heat, the heat from the pasta and sauce will wilt the spinach.
- Garnish with additional parmesan and sage leaves, and serve immediately.