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Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta With Sausage And Spinach

Creamy butternut squash pasta with sausage and spinach is a rich Italian-American skillet meal where rigatoni turns silky after a parmesan-smoothed squash cream sauce. You’ll brown the sausage, simmer the squash until thick, and toss in pasta water so every bite clings to the sauce.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 760
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

rigatoni or penne
  • 1 lb rigatoni or penne Use salted water to cook and reserve pasta cooking water.
Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed Brown until cooked through; drain fat and set aside.
baby spinach
  • 4 cups baby spinach Toss in at the end until just wilted.
onion, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
garlic, minced
  • 4 garlic, minced
butternut squash puree
  • 2 cups butternut squash puree
heavy cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
pasta cooking water
  • 0.5 cup pasta cooking water Reserve before draining so the sauce emulsifies.
parmesan, grated
  • 1 cup parmesan, grated Stir in after simmering for a smooth finish.
Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
red pepper flakes
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the pasta
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook rigatoni or penne until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
Brown sausage and build the sauce
  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown Italian sausage, casings removed until cooked through. Drain off excess fat and set the sausage aside.
  2. In the same skillet, sauté onion, diced for 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic, minced and Italian seasoning, then cook 2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
  3. Add butternut squash puree and heavy cream, then stir to combine and evenly coat. Stir in nutmeg and red pepper flakes.
Simmer and combine
  1. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Reduce heat as needed so it stays gently bubbling.
  2. Add parmesan, grated and stir until smooth and fully melted into the sauce. Keep the heat at medium-low to prevent separation.
  3. Toss in the cooked rigatoni or penne and add reserved pasta cooking water. Stir until the pasta is well coated and the sauce turns creamy.
  4. Add baby spinach and toss until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir just until the greens are tender.
  5. Return the cooked sausage to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again to distribute the sausage through the pasta.

Notes

Pro tip: Keep the sauce at medium-low when adding parmesan so it melts smoothly; if it thickens too much, loosen with a splash of reserved pasta cooking water. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days in an airtight container; freeze up to 2 months (texture may soften after thawing). For a lighter option, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream, keeping the simmer gentle.