This roasted butternut squash pasta is the ultimate cozy-meets-fresh fall dinner: hearty, colorful, and so good it wins over even the squash skeptics. Everyone I've served it wanted seconds. (Yes, even the skeptics.) Such a simple fall dish that feels fancy. It works as a cozy warm dinner but is just as good slightly cooled, almost like a fall pasta salad.
Quick Recipe Summary
Ready in: 40 minutes
Type: warm pasta or room-temperature pasta salad
Flavor: savory, slightly sweet, fresh
Perfect for: squash season as a quick, filling main
Vegan & easily gluten-free
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In This Post:
Squash season is this close to being over, and honestly, I'm a little sad. But lucky me - my favorite organic store still has butternut and ambercup squashes stacked high. So I'm grabbing them while I can and turning them into cozy dinners on repeat.
Like this: roasted butternut squash pasta.
This one came from my friend Anja, and it's been living in my brain rent-free ever since. Think pasta salad, but fall edition. Colorful, roasted, fresh, warm. We're talking caramelized squash, juicy cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, nutty pine nuts, and a sprinkle of vegan parm to seal the deal.
Ingredients for This Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
I tweaked my friend's recipe a little, but the base is perfect: your favorite short pasta (penne, fusilli, rotini, etc.), arugula, roasted squash, toasted pine nuts, onion & garlic, juicy tomatoes, and a generous sprinkle of vegan parmesan (store-bought or homemade both work).
Minimal ingredients.
Minimal effort.
You roast the squash in the oven, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil, toast the pine nuts (or use Tamari almonds), slice a few cherry tomatoes, wash up that arugula. Then just mix all those glorious things together and call it dinner.
Which Squash Works Best?
Versatility check: this squash pasta salad can handle it.
Pretty much any squash that isn't overly sweet will work here. I love ambercup (aka Hokkaido here in Germany) because it's peel-free and super easy. But butternut is just as good - just make sure to peel that beauty first.
Similar Squash Recipes You Might Like
- Roasted Butternut With Vegan Feta
- Easy Squash Pasta Sauce
- Fairytale Pumpkin Soup
- Middle Eastern Squash Chickpea Soup
- Squash Curry With Quinoa
Enjoy! If you make this roasted butternut squash pasta, please leave a comment below! Thanks so much!
🍽 Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta With Arugula
Ingredients
Pasta
- 70 g pine nuts (or use Tamari almonds)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 big yellow onion
- 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 mid sized squash or small butternut squash (peel it before roasting)
- 500 g vegan short-form pasta* (I like brown rice penne or fusilli)
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 100 g arugula
- Salt
- Pepper
Topping
- 100 g vegan parmesan** (either store-bought or home-made, see my easy recipe here)
Instructions
- In a dry pan, toast the pine nuts until golden and fragrant. Set aside.
- Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, sauté the onion until translucent, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Clean the ambercup squash, remove seeds, and cut into cubes. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast at 250°C (482°F) for about 20 minutes, until soft with golden edges. (If using butternut squash, peel before roasting.)Roasting at a high temperature helps the squash caramelize quickly without turning mushy.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes. Wash and tear the arugula into bite-sized pieces, setting aside a small handful for garnish.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, roasted squash, sautéed onion and garlic, tomatoes, arugula, and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm, topped with extra arugula and vegan parmesan.
Notes
FAQ
Totally. It tastes great the next day and is perfect for lunchboxes. It'll keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Sure, it's delicious on warm days as a cold salad.
Yes, use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Absolutely. Skip the pine nuts and use sunflower seeds instead.
Optional pairings & ideas
For additional inspiration, you can explore pairing ideas with these AI tools.
I'm always curious. Tried this vegan squash pasta recipe? How did it go? I wanna hear all about it. How did you serve it?
Drop the details below because we all love a fun twist or a lesson learned.
Wishing you planty of squash delights,
Ramona
♥
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