Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pasta

Butternut squash goat cheese pasta bake sits in a white casserole dish.

4.50 — Votes 2 votes

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pasta

This Butternut Squash Pasta bake is loaded with crumbled Italian sausage, goat cheese, cubed butternut squash, garlic, heavy cream, and crispy sage leaves for the most decadent fall pasta dish ever. Plus, with the exception of the noodles, everything gets tossed into the oven together for an easy, hands-off meal!

Prep Time10

Cook Time55

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Servings

Author: Cassy Joy Garcia

Ingredients

15 ounces cubed butternut squash, about 2 full cups or 1 small butternut squash-worth
1 bunch fresh sage leaves, about 3 tablespoons packed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound Italian sausage, hot or mild
10½ ounces goat cheese
2 bulbs-worth garlic cloves
1 cup heavy cream, or another dairy-free milk
12 ounces fusilli pasta

Instructions

Toss the butternut squash cubes and sage with half of the olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a 9x13 casserole dish.
Stud the casserole dish with small pieces of the Italian sausage, place the goat cheese log in the center, and sprinkle the garlic cloves throughout. Pull the sage leaves up so they’re sitting on the top and then drizzle with more olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, or until the cheese looks bubbly and the sausage looks crispy.
While the squash and sausage bake, cook the pasta according to package instructions.
When the squash and sausage are finished, pull the (now crispy) sage out of the dish so you can sprinkle it on at the end.
To assemble the pasta, add the cream and stir to make an even sauce.
Add the cooked pasta, stir to combine and then top with the crispy sage and additional red pepper flakes (optional).

Notes

Lighten it up - the heavy cream definitely adds to the decadence of this dish, so if you're looking to lighten it up, you can either swap half of the heavy cream for chicken broth or nix the heavy cream altogether and use all chicken broth.

Adjust the spice - there are a couple of ways to control the spice in this recipe. You can use more or less red pepper flakes, and/or you can choose between a mild or hot Italian sausage.

Make it dairy-free - swap the goat cheese for a dairy-free version and the heavy cream for a dairy-free heavy cream or chicken broth.

Make it grain-free - use a grain-free pasta (this Jovial Foods cassava pasta is a great choice) to make this recipe grain-free.

Make it gluten-free - as for gluten-free, you can either use the cassava pasta linked above or use a gluten-free (still has grains) pasta. Barilla's gluten-free pasta is our favorite!

Nutrition