If you have never eaten butternut squash with Alfredo sauce before then you absolutely need to try this recipe! This spaghetti dish is about as easy as it gets when it comes to combining butternut squash with pasta. If you are looking for a little extra challenge, we provide some ideas for more advanced butternut squash pasta dishes as well. All of the dishes we mention in this recipe are vegetarian. They are gluten free when made with gluten free pasta.
Tips to make this recipe even easier
In this recipe I describe all the steps you need to go through to peel and cube a raw butternut squash. Peeling a raw butternut squash can be tricky and it is easy to skip over this step if you want to. Instead, you can just roast a halved butternut squash per the instructions in this recipe and scoop out bite sized pieces of cooked squash to add to your spaghetti. The result might not be quite as pretty, but it will taste just as good! I generally use this method when I am cooking for myself at home, but if I am cooking for a large crowd I will cube the butternut squash before roasting.
Other butternut squash pasta recipes
The beauty of this recipe for spaghetti with alfredo sauce and butternut squash is that it is easy to make – especially if you have experience making alfredo sauce. You can simply make pasta with alfredo sauce and add some butternut squash on top. If you make this recipe a few times and want to branch out a little, there are so many ways to incorporate butternut squash into savory pasta recipes.
Before I go into specific pasta recipes, you should know that butternut squash tastes great when mixed with ricotta cheese! You can replace plain old ricotta cheese with a mix of butternut squash and ricotta cheese to add an extra pop of flavor to your favorite pasta recipe. For best results, replace the ricotta with 1 cup of ricotta, 1 cup of butternut squash, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, and 3 mashed cloves of roasted garlic. If you are adding rosemary to the ricotta mixture, you should refrain from adding it to the alfredo sauce.
Here are a few additional ideas for pasta dishes that combine butternut squash and alfredo sauce.
- Butternut squash lasagna. Lasagna is probably one of the first dishes that comes to mind when you think of ricotta cheese. I love to make butternut squash lasagna by substituting the ricotta cheese with a butternut squash and ricotta mixture! I like to add spinach and onion when making white lasagna (which is just code for lasagna with alfredo sauce).
- Butternut squash stuffed manicotti. I love manicotti! If you are not familiar with manicotti, it is a large tube-shaped pasta with an opening that is about one inch in diameter. Making manicotti takes a little longer than making spaghetti with butternut squash because you have to take the time to stuff each individual tube with the ricotta mixture.
- Butternut squash stuffed shells: This one is similar to the butternut squash stuffed manicotti. Whether you choose stuffed shells or manicotti is a matter of personal preference. I generally choose manicotti because the ricotta filling to pasta ratio is higher for manicotti.
- Butternut squash ravioli. This one is a classic and one of my favorite savory dishes that uses butternut squash. It requires more work than the other recipes because you have to make your own pasta rather than using store bought pasta, but trust me it is worth it! If you are making butternut squash ravioli, I would recommend adding half a teaspoon of nutmeg to your alfredo sauce. I love using nutmeg with homemade pasta.
- Butternut squash gnocchi. Did you know that you can make gnocchi with other vegetables other than potatoes? These butternut squash gnocchi are more flavorful than regular potato gnocchi and they are even easier to make!
- Butternut squash noodles. I will caveat this by saying that I have not tried this one, but I intend to! You can use a spiralizer to make noodles from butternut squash the same way you make them from zucchini. I have not tried this so I can not speak to how easy it is to do this, but it sounds like a fun experiment for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Preventing alfredo sauce from curdling
My best tip for making sure that your alfredo sauce does not curdle is to make sure to keep the temperature low after you add the parmesans cheese to the sauce. This means using finely grated, room temperature cheese so that it will melt more easily at low temperatures. If you are interested in more tips for preventing alfredo sauce from curdling, see the “Preventing a cheese sauce from curdling” section in this recipe for cauliflower au gratin.
Gluten free pasta recommendations
Check out our recipe for creamy tomato and garlic pasta to hear about our favorite gluten free pasta brands. Look for the section called “Let’s talk gluten free pasta brands”.
Butternut squash Alfredo pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz gluten free spaghetti (2/3 of a standard 12 oz box)
- 1 small butternut squash
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Alfredo sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (vegetarian parmesan style cheese)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tbsp gluten free flour (I like to use all purpose or tapioca)
Instructions
Butternut squash
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Poke holes in the butternut squash with a fork and microwave it for 3-4 minutes to soften the skin
- Peel the skin off the butternut squash with a large vegetable peeler, or cut it away with a large chef's knife. Cut the flesh of the squash into small cubes
- Toss the butternut squash cubes and the whole garlic cloves in olive oil and salt. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Keep the garlic cloves in the center of the baking sheet surrounded by squash so they do not overcook. You can make the spaghetti and alfredo sauce when the butternut squash cooks
Spaghetti with alfredo sauce
- Boil water in a medium sized pot and add your gluten free spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the box. Gluten free spaghetti generally needs to cook for 7-10 minutes
- Cook the butter and flour in a large pan over medium heat for 5 minutes
- Slowly incorporate the heavy cream into the butter and flour roux
- Add the cream cheese and rosemary into the pan and mix well
- Turn off the heat and let the pan cool for 1-2 minutes then add the parmesan cheese into the pot. Mix the alfredo sauce until the cheese fully melts
Completing the dish
- Mash the roasted garlic a little then add the cooked spaghetti, butternut squash, and garlic to the pan with the alfredo sauce. Mix well and top with fresh basil
Substitutions
- If you do not have any rosemary on you, sage is another spice that goes great with butternut squash! You can substitute sage for rosemary in equal parts.
- If you want to reduce the calories in this recipe a little, you can use whole milk instead of heavy cream. Just be careful as alfredo sauce is more likely to curdle when made with whole milk due to the lower fat content.
Other articles you might like
If you have any questions on how to cook butternut squash, you should check out our comprehensive guide on how to cook butternut squash! We answer all of your questions on how to prepare, cook, and serve butternut squash!
Are you sick of your pasta sticking together after you cook it? Check out this article on how to prevent pasta from sticking so that your pasta never sticks again.
Other recipes you will love
If you love this recipe for alfredo pasta with butternut squash, you will absolutely love our recipe for butternut squash gnocchi. This tasty homemade gnocchi is coated in a delicious sage butter sauce.
If you are looking for more of a stuffed pasta with butternut squash incorporated into the filling the you should check out our recipe for butternut squash manicotti with Alfredo sauce.
This is another great option if you are looking for a butternut squash filled pasta! These gluten free butternut squash ravioli are absolutely to die for!
If you can’t get enough of butternut squash, you should try our recipe for sweet mashed butternut squash! This recipe emphasizes the sweetness of the butternut squash, whereas the pasta is more of a savory dish. That means you can eat these dishes back-to-back and feel like you’re eating an entirely different vegetable!
If you are a fan of pasta with alfredo sauce, you might also like our recipe for creamy tomato and garlic pasta. This recipe also contains recommendations on our favorite gluten free pasta brands.
