Roasted Butternut Baked Penne.
There are two important things I must say…
…that stem from my viewing of the CMA’s.
Yes. I’m educated.
Most importantly, I would like to figure out how to transport Carrie Underwood’s legs onto my body. Like… yesterday. While we’re at it I’ll take her entire wardrobe too.
By the way, I know the above looks disgusting. Get over it for now. Seriously.
So… second, I’d like to say hello to my secret boyfriend Blake Shelton. He’s my boyfriend and he knows it. Seriously Blake… stoppppp denying it.
My only saving grace is that I’m equally in love with Miranda Lambert. Can they just adopt me? And that’s saying a lot coming from someone who has relentlessly tortured her husband for his fierce dedication to country music. What is wronnnng with me?! Ugh.
Maybe someone [with a strong bass voice, for sure] can just sing me to sleep in a sexy, low country twang? That would work too. [And no Mr. How Sweet, I’m not talking about any of that ‘old bosephus’ crap or whoever you try to tell me about every single day that makes my ears bleed. Stop.]
But. Want to talk about pasta?
I gotta come clean and tell you that this is totally a cheaters meal. After I made that butternut squash lasagna, so many of you suggested just making a pasta version, minus all the lasagna junk. Uh, why didn’t I think of that? I swear… I can never come up with anything creatively simple. This is easier to throw together and tastes equally as amazing. It’s pretty much the exact same thing, just mashed to high heavens and piled on top of penne in a pie plate.
Because someone needs to do dishes.
And someone is lazy.
Too lazy to turn on the dishwasher.
I wish I was joking.
And for those of you who like to get fah-reaky with bacon? At the last minute I crumbled some on top and all I have to say is OHMYGOSHITWASTHEBESTTHINGEVER. !!!!! Get this in your life, stat.
Roasted Butternut Baked Penne
Ingredients
- 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 pound whole wheat penne
- 1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- sage leaves
- crumbed bacon, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and chop squash, then lay on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Roast for 20 minutes, flip once, then roast for 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and add squash to a bowl, then mash with a potato masher or fork.
- Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add butter and shallots. Whisk continuously until the butter browns and small brown bits appear in the pan. Immediately whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk, mascarpone and mashed squash, then mix until until combined. I chose to keep my “sauce” in a thicker state (see the second picture), but if you’d like it thinned out a bit more, add additional milk. At this point, taste and see if you’d like any additional salt or spices – this will most likely depend on how seasoned your squash was. I added another small pinch of salt.
- Add pasta to an 8 or 9-inch baking dish. Pour sauce over top, then use a spoon to fold the sauce into the penne, coating it completely. Top with shredded cheeses and fresh sage leaves. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Garnish with crumbled bacon if desired.
- Note: this is a very “thick” pasta, and it is not swimming in sauce. If you would prefer it to be “saucy,” I’d advise adding more milk to the sauce while cooking. It is great reheated, and adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk when reheating helps it come together nicely.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
This tastes 80 cazillion times better than it looks. I swear.
222 Comments on “Roasted Butternut Baked Penne.”
I think it looks awesome ~ so what’s 80 cazillion times that??? I’ve can’t wait to make this!!!
I made this tonight, substituting ricotta for the mascarpone. It was delicious! My husband and 2 young kids devoured it. This is a real keeper!
Thank you!
We made this last night & it was delicious! The boyfriend even commented after dinner that we’d “have to put that one in the keeper file”. He also repeated those same words this morning, so I know we’ll be making it again soon at our place. Thanks!
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Just made this…. Used heavy cream instead of milk, and fontina cheese instead of mozzarella. Also, added part of the fontina to the squash, butter, shallots, and cream mix while on the stove. It was WONDERFUL! My whole family loved it, definitely one of my new favorite pasta dishes :)
Finaly got to make this, love love love it!!! I mixed half of the suace through the paste en spread the rest on top.
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Hey I’m making this dish tonight, it looks amazing! But I don’t have sage. I have a bunch of other herbs and stuff though, is there anything else I could use instead of sage? :)
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This was a fantastic dinner! Thank you so much for the recipe. I actually crumbled feta on top in lieu of bacon and that was great! I also used dried thyme instead of sage and that worked just fine flavor-wise. A perfect fall dinner!
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I made this tonight….SO yummy! Best recipe I’ve tried in awhile (and I try new recipes ALL the time). I was a little naughty and sauteed the shallot in bacon grease and also added butter. Oops. :) Also, I don’t care for the flavor of sage, so I tossed the squash in fresh rosemary instead before roasting (plus a little cayenne for heat). If anyone is wondering, this works great with gluten-free pasta and rice flour instead of AP. Thanks for a fantastic recipe! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!
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Made this dish about two weeks ago and it was so yummy! We are spending Thanksgiving with family and I’m bringing this as a side dish. I already know it’s going to be a hit. Thanks for sharing!
Can butternut sauce be frozen ?
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I love butternut squash! I’m still a little grumpy about wasting one in a MAJOR FAIL curry the other day. Mmmmm pasta
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Sounds interesting, the fearmrs market thing I mean. One SUPER easy way to make and eat the butternuts is to cutnthem in half, scoop out the seeds, turn them face down on a plate with a few cm of water in it. Put the whole thing in the microwave and microwave it on high for anywhere between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on the size. When it’s done you can push on the skin and it should be soft underneath. If you didn’t cook it long enough the first time, put it in for longer. Scoop out the soft pulp and mix in a dash of salt, a pat or two of butter and a tsp- Tblsp of either brown sugar or maple syrup (the amount depends on taste and how naturally sweet the squash is). Mix it all in, it should be about the consistency of mashed potatoes, only orange. It can also be done in the oven; it just takes a bit longer but the method is the same, face down in a little water, cook until soft. YUMMY! I love butternut squash!
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I pinned this on pinterest a while ago and have been eyeing it ever since. I’m proud to say I just made with acorn squash instead of butternut squash and tasted as amazing as this one looked! Thank’s for the idea of making an amazing squash casserole!
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oh yum– I just made this! thanks for the recipe…I’m looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I made this last night for several people and we were all a bit disappointed as the flavour was quite bland. Everyone was really excited to try it but it fell short for us. Definitely needs something more to elevate it (and we included the bacon which helped but still wasn’t quite enough).
I made this tonight after finding the recipe on Pinterest, and it was delicious! I don’t often make vegetarian meals, but this was so satisfying, comforting and yummy that I’ll be making it regularly. Thank you for a wonderful, easy recipe.
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OMG. I need thia in my life!
Suggest thinning sauce with pasta water instead of milk. Equally flavorful as it will have already been salted and will be less calories.
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very healthy and delicious, thnx for sharing hun
I made this for dinner tonight. I didn’t have store bought mascarpone cheese, so I made my own. This was delicious! The favor from the roasted butternut squash was fantastic. My husband really enjoyed this as well. I will definitely make this again!
Does anyone know whether you can prep it the day before you bake it? Thinking of taking it to holiday stuff…It’s a GREAT recipe.
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This is delicious and has become one of my favorite recipes. I add dried sage and a few garlic cloves to the sauce, then use probably double the amount of milk to make it a little creamier. Thank you for sharing.
Oh, and I don’t use bacon….