Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach
Pasta in a decadent creamy, homemade, butternut squash pasta sauce, with no cream! The spicy chicken sausage and sage is the perfect compliment, this pasta dish is filling and comforting on a chilly night.
This oldie is perfect for the change of seasons, I just added video to the recipe!
How To Make Pasta with Butternut Sauce
Butternut squash makes the creamiest sauce, which makes it a healthy, lighter alternative to cream sauces made with heavy cream and butter. It’s also easy to do! To make it quick, buy pre-cut or frozen butternut squash. You can double the sauce recipe and freeze it for another day!
More Pasta Recipe You May Enjoy:
- Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage
- Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Peppers and Escarole
- One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side
- Penne with Brussels Sprouts Ragu
Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach
Pasta in a decadent creamy, homemade, butternut squash pasta sauce, with no cream! The spicy chicken sausage and sage is the perfect compliment, this pasta dish is filling and comforting on a chilly night.
Ingredients:
- 11 oz (4 links) spicy chicken Italian sausage
- 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp whipped butter
- 10 oz pasta, wheat or gluten-free
- 1/4 cup shallots, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh shaved parmesan cheese
- 4 sage leaves, sliced thin
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add butternut squash and cook until soft.
- Remove squash with a slotted spoon and place in a blender, blend until smooth.
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente, reserving at least 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Meanwhile, in a large deep non-stick skillet, sauté sausage over medium heat until browned, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, set aside on a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and melt the butter, sauté the shallots and garlic until soft and golden, about 5 – 6 minutes.
- Add pureed butternut squash, season with with salt and fresh cracked pepper and add a little of the reserved pasta water (I used about 1 cup) to thin out the sauce to your liking.
- Add baby spinach and stir in parmesan cheese and sage. Toss in cooked pasta and sausage and mix until well coated.
- Serve with additional parmesan cheese on the side if desired.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 5 servings, Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups
- Amount Per Serving:
- Freestyle Points: 9
- Points +: 9
- Calories: 362 calories
- Total Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: g
- Cholesterol: mg
- Sodium: 419mg
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 1g
- Protein: 20g
Vegetarian Meals
Under 30 Minutes
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Slow Cooker Recipes
Low Carb
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Does this pasta dish reheat well? I am trying to make things that my husband can take for lunches as well as for dinner and want things that will be just as good the next day. Thanks!
I think it reheats great, I make it all the time for lunches!
Yes it does! Made it on Friday night for dinner and had the leftovers on Saturday and it was great
This looks great as do all your recipes! However, I am scared of butternut squash! I’ve only worked with it one other time but it was challenging to say the least. Any tips?
Take a look at this https://www.skinnytaste.com/easy-tip-for-cutting-and-peeling-winter/
I can usually find it already prepped…peeled and cubed at my grocery. Super convenient!
To keep things easy, I buy frozen pureed butternut squash. Heat it up in the microwave as directed and then add to whatever recipe. It worked perfectly for this dish!! And it means I don’t have to take out my blender or food processor. Made this recipe last night and have already added to my favorites!!
Very helpful advice. Thanks!
Where can you get the spicy chicken Italian sausage? I live in Minnesota and just recently couldn’t find chicken chorizo anywhere.
I couldn’t find it either so I just sub spicy Italian turkey sausage and that works great. I find it right alongside the packaged ground turkey at the store.
I am in St Cloud MN and we have a Fresh Thyme here that makes their own Chicken Sausage. They have spicy in different flavors like Spicy Parmesan (my favorite) and Spicy (Hot) Italian (great for spaghetti). It goes on sale pretty regular for $1.99/lb. They have it in bulk and in sausage casing.
Trader Joe’s has both.
Could I use canned pumpkin instead of blended butternut squash?
I haven’t tried, let me know if you do!
Any suggestions on how to make this without dairy?
Nutritional yeast instead of the Parmesan?
I need to do the same with my son – I would just use Earth Balance in place of the butter – and leave the parmesan out, but as a topping for those of us that can eat it 🙂
Could I use frozen butternut squash puree to make this instead?
Yes! I used it when I made this last night and dish was delicious!
If you don’t care for chicken sausage, could you substitute with either turkey or pork sausage instead?
Sure.
So delicious!!! I had to add water in order to get the squash to blend, but it turned out excellent! Thanks Gina for another keeper!
What brand of spicy chicken sausage do you get?
I like Premio or Al Fresco.
What kind of pasta do you use in that picture? Looks delish!
casarecce pasta
We eat lean and my husband does not like spicy So I replaced the sausage with chicken and added lactose free milk to thin down the sauce. Delicious. Thanks for idea.
Hi Gina, I discovered your blog quite awhile ago because my husband and I were both on WW. I have made a lot of your recipes, but today is the first day I’ve commented on any of them. I made this a couple days ago and to my surprise, I really liked it. I only say it like that because I don’t like squash! Or so I thought. I picked this recipe because I knew that my husband would like it, but we both enjoyed it. I cooked some extra butternut squash that I didn’t purée and tossed that in with the pasta. I couldn’t find the sausage so I used ground chicken and spiced it up.
Now I’m off to prep for eggplant rollatini…and I don’t like eggplant either! 😉
Another gem of a recipe. Thank you Gina for all your outstanding recipes!!! No-one make healthy eating taste better 🙂
My pleasure!
Can I use baby kale instead of spinach?
Sure.
Making this tonight for dinner – you remove the sausage from the casings, right?
yes
Could any part of this be made ahead? Looks delish!!!!
Can I sub the cheese for a soy alternative ?
I just bought an instant pot! Have you tried making the sauce with the instant pot or do you have any pointers for an instant pot newbe?
Lisa, I don’t think this whole meal can be made in the Instant Pot, given the way it’s prepared. However, I did the squash in my instant pot, then pureed it after cooking. I pre-cooked and pureed it so that it would be a quicker dish later in the week. You could also do the pasta in your instant pot if you prefer, but the dish as a whole really would work best stove top in my opinion. I hope you try it, it’s delish!
I loved this recipe, I will be making it regularly. I have had to cut all diary out of my diet due to a milk allergy, eating this made me feel like I was eating an gourmet mac and cheese! I loved the velvety texture that the butternut squash gave.
Thank you!!!
You’re welcome Darcy!
OK – made this yesterday – was really excited about it because it “healthifies” pasta. But, it was so pasty…I added a little more than a cup of water to make the squash a little more liquid-y, but it still didn’t work – the pasta was slightly al-dente, but it still soaked up any liquid which made the squash like glue. I wasn’t happy with this and probably wouldn’t make it again. It was tasty – the flavors combined really well – it was just to dry and pasty. Sorry – maybe next time 🙁
I wanted to substitute the squash, with the organic canned version. Do you think 1, 15 oz can, would be the same as 1 lb? Thanks!
My easy way to cook butternut squash is to cook whole in the slow cooker, here’s how…Place whole squash in slow cooker and cook until soft and easily pierced, about 4 – 5 hours on high or 6 – 8 hours on low.
When cool enough to handle, cut in half and scoop out seeds. So easy no more cutting hard squash.
I have made so many recipes from your site Gina and have not once been disappointed. I was a bit skeptical before putting it all together but it was delicious! My husband loved it too, much to my surprise. I made the sauce as the recipe says but doubled it hoping that it was as tasty as the reviews say (I thin you can tell that it was) but served it over Zoodles instead of pasta to make it more diabetic friendly. Awesome. This is a keeper for sure. I love your site Gina, especially the key.
Thanks Jess!
Do you mean 10 oz in weight or 10 oz in volume for the pasta. I hate that we use ounces for both. I’m guessing weight since it’s a dry good.
weight
This was a perfect winter pasta dish. It satisfied the need for comfort food without the guilt. The flavors blended well together and the recipe was easy to follow. I had some pureed butternut squash in the freezer, so I was able to make this a bit faster. Great recipe and thank you for sharing it!
This was outstanding. I’ve never been a fan of butternut squash so I was worried about the sauce tasting like squash but it just picked up the flavour of everything else. It was such a creamy sauce and reheated really well. This is now on permanent rotation in hour house. Hubby said that this meal was ‘restaurant quality’. Thanks Gina!
awesome!
Delicious! I roasted the squash rather than boiling it (roasted to soften, then split in half and roasted until it was soft. Removed the seeds and the skin and then pureed). Followed the rest of the recipe except used a sweet onion rather than shallot, cause that’s what I had on hand. Butternut squash was from the garden :^) This was yummy, will make again. Thanks Gina!
I see sage in the ingredients list, but not in the recipe? Is it just used as a topping? Thanks!
See #7 in the instructions – you add the spinach, Parmesan, and sage then toss in the cooked pasta and sausage. Hope this helps!
You add the sage the same time that you add the spinach and Parm. I saw it in the instructions.
See step no. 7 for use of sage.
Can I use frozen butternut squash in this dish??
Yes
awww Gina – I was trying to follow this weeks meal plan!!! This looks too YUMMY!!!! However, last night I made the baked broccoli mac and cheese and my son loved it soooo much – I only had enough left for lunch today. I may have to make this to get me through. 🙂
Can you freeze the butternut squash “sauce” and use it later with pasta or zoodles?
Sure!
As some one already commented, when do you use the sage? Also , the title mentions LEEk, but there is no leek in the recipe. There is shallot. But shallot is NOT leek. Could you clarify?
This recipe does not have leeks, however I have a similar recipe with added leeks mentioned in the post where you can click the link. As for the sage, it is mentioned in step 7, add with the parmesan cheese. Hope this helps.
Gina! The butternut squash sauce is brilliant! Perfect way to slip in more nutrition and less fat! Some of your comments referred to ways to avoid peeling and cutting the squash with its tough, hard peel. I cut it in half, remove the seeds, and roast it. When done I scoop out the tender flesh and proceed. Personally, I think it then tastes better than boiled or frozen squash. It was a little drier and I dribbled in broth (veggie or chicken) which I always have on hand. Just sayin’. :>)
Is there a reason you use whipped butter? Could I just use regular butter for me points value?
Sure, you would have to use less butter
This looks amazing! I’m putting it on next week’s menu. Thanks.
I’ve making a variation of this recipe for years after finding it on your blog! We love it in our house. This week we used cauliflower gnocchi and ground turkey this week, it was amazing!
What type of pasta did you use?
Yum, again.
This is one of my fall favorites. Thanks for reminding me… on next week’s menu!
I wasn’t a fan of this. I love the butternut squash lasagna roll ups so I thought this might be similar. The sage flavour got lost and I didn’t want to add too much water because the flavour was already a bit low, bit then it came out pasty. Not my fave. 🙁
Wondering why whipped butter as opposed to olive oil?
Oil would work too, use less
We loved this recipe. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the sauce, but it was delicious! It has made it into our regular rotation.
What a wonderful recipe! I had no idea you could make such a purposeful sauce with butternut squash. The dish also looks so lovely plated. Thanks Gina. 🙂
Made It for supper. It was good but next time I will add more seasoning, it seemed rather bland. even though the sausage had good flavor it didn’t transfer to sauce. But I will try it again, maybe I will use zoodles to cut the carbs.
What kind of pasta did you use in your photo? Is there a difference between wheat and whole grain pasta? Thanks!
Perfect for this first day of Autumn! Loved it.
I was really really excited about it but the flavors were just not there for me. I also needed a lot more water to thin out the butternut squash “sauce”. My son (6) liked it and ate his whole plate but my husband didn’t like it at all – I was in between. Gina – I really like a lot of your recipes. I especially love your zesty lime shrimp and avocado salad (YUM!) as well as your chickpea sweet potato stew.
I made this for dinner for my husband and I. Very delicious! Great fall recipe. I love using butternut squash this time of year. I didn’t end up adding the butter to cook the shallots and instead used the fat from the meat. Will make again 🙂 Highly recommend
Will it have enough flavor if I omit the sausage? I’m vegetarian. Thanks!
I would use my other recipe https://www.skinnytaste.com/spaghetti-with-creamy-butternut-leek/
Gina,This was so good that we intend to serve it to company in the near future. This is a keeper!
Just finished making this dish….and WOW! Love the flavor combination. If you prep everything in advance, it comes together very quickly. I used Banza (chickpea pasta) and added just a pinch of cinnamon. Thank you for the recipe!
I don’t have sage on hand. Is there another herb I could use in its place?
My grocery store ran out of sage, so I used some dried rosemary that I had. Added it a little earlier so it would cook a bit. I think I liked it better that way.
How could I prepare this as a make ahead casserole? Any tips?
I loved this recipe, however, sister and husband did not. Said to put it on the make every 6 weeks list. I loved the idea of butternut squash as a sauce. Husband didn’t like the spice and pasta, sister didn’t like the combo. Because I liked it I’m giving it a 5. Since it is my food plan and I made it.
about how much salt do you put in boiling water?
About a teaspoon.
Would using the pastas made with cauliflower and kale work for this?
Wonderful recipe. Do you think this would freeze well as a complete meal? I would like to send this with my daughter to college to keep in her freezer. Would you alter it in any way in order to freeze and reheat? Thanks!
I loved this! Sage and butternut squash go so well together. I used mild chicken sausage and thought it was awesome. It reheated very well for lunch the next day.
Can you make the sauce ahead and freeze it prior to assembling the dish?
This pasta dish is delicious. I used butternut squash that I had roasted in the oven. I was a hit!
Awesome way to get the family to eat butternut squash! Even I don’t enjoy the vegetable but always willing to try a Gina recipe. While family lived it, my supper picky 2 year old ate 3 plates full.
I made this last night and it was terrific – husband loved it – my local grocer makes their own chicken sausage – which is basically boneless, skinless chicken breasts with sausage spices. Husband devoured it
I made this last night and it was delicious! I made a couple of minor changes: I used mild Italian sausage and I added some radish greens I had on hand to the spinach. I also used a food processor to puree the squash; my blender wasn’t up to the task. The squash produced a really light and creamy sauce without using any cream which I loved. I would never have thought to use squash in place of cream but it really worked well. My husband and I are both looking forward to the leftovers tonight. Great recipe.
Thanks June!
This was so good! New family fav.
Great!
I liked it, but not approved by husband and toddler. I will try it again, but maybe add a little heavy cream to make the flavor richer. Also, maybe frying the sage with the shallots with the butter.
Can I use canned butternut squash puree? If yes, can I use the whole can (15oz)?
I want to try this, but I have a question about the sage leaves. Are they dried or fresh? If I can’t get fresh, what equivalent of dried sage should be used? Thanks!
fresh is best
Haven’t tried it yet, but plane to use acorn squash instead. Maple pecan banana muffins were a BIG hit with my husband. I’m not a real fan of bananas in bakery so I used acorn squash instead. A hit for me. I make a casserole with acorn squash, apple, brown sugar and butter for the holidays. Keep up the great recipes, Dieters on HealthyWage are fans of you too.
I want to sub the pasta for spag squash…..Do you know what the points would be without the pasta? BTW I LOVE ALL OF YOUR RECIPES!
This looked so good! I substituted Costco Hot Italian beef sausages, knowing that they would add to the points, but that was what I had in the freezer. Not a good idea! It was definitely not a keeper! Can’t describe the reason why, but the taste of the ingredients just didn’t blend together well. Will maybe try it again with the proper sausage meat next time.
This was easy to make, tasted delicious and all the family loved it. I added reduced fat mozzarella and melted under the grill.
O.M.G.!!!!!! This was totally amazing!!! I couldn’t stop eating it. I couldn’t find chicken sausage so I used turkey and it was awesome.
Has anyone made this and put in crock pot to serve during a game day?
A little bit of work but so worth it!
I made this for my hubby and my youngest who hates veggies tonight. OMG. This was awesome. I will so be making this again.
I’ve made this twice, the first time with butternut squash and the second with canned pumpkin (I couldn’t find squash the second time). It’s not bad with the pumpkin, but definitely much better with the squash! Definitely recommend this for a perfect fall meal. Love all your recipes!
This recipe was killer. If I didn’t have to feed my family, I would’ve eaten it all myself. DELICIOUS.