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By Citizen Reporter

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Recipe of the day: Cheesy butternut squash pasta bake

This cheesy butternut squash pasta bake is loaded with cheese and an entire butternut, making it so creamy and flavourful. Perfect for autumn.


Some people love cheese so much that they will eat most dishes, as long as they see cheese in the dish. The following meal can also be a great idea for families with children who aren’t too fond of vegetables. 

According to the author, “This dish is loaded with the flavours of soft cheese, crispy bacon, creamy butternut squash and a hint of sage. And it’s ooey gooey and cheesy. Winner winner cheesy dinner”.

The recipe’s author also advises sprinkling on some dried sage as a garnish but warns those looking to try put this recipe to sprinkle the sage sparingly as the flavour is quite powerful.

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Cheesy butternut squash pasta bake

stuffed butternut squash

This cheesy butternut squash pasta bake is loaded with cheese and an entire butternut, making it so creamy and flavourful. Perfect for autumn.

  • Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Category: Lunch, Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups dried penne pasta
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/4 cups cream
  • 1 tsp ground sage (more if you like)
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked and crumbled bacon

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, then chop the squash into chunks like in the picture above
  3. Then lay the squash out on a baking sheet, brush with the olive oil and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the squash is soft.
  4. After the squash is done baking, use a spoon to scoop out the cooked squash, and add it to a food processor.
  5. To the squash in the food processor, also add the cream and ground sage, and puree until smooth. Set aside.
  6. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions.
  7. Once the pasta is cooked, toss it with the butternut squash mixture.
  8.  Add half of the pasta mix to a 9 x 13 lasagna dish.
  9. Sprinkle on half of the shredded mozzarella cheese, then add the remaining pasta mix.
  10.  Sprinkle on the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese as well as the shredded parmesan cheese.
  11. Sprinkle on the cooked and crumbled bacon.
  12.  Bake for 25 – 35 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling.

Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • Squash:  You can use canned fresh pumpkin or leftover squash from dinner the night before to make this recipe even easier! Just use about 2 cups of ready-to-go pureed squash or pumpkin.
  • Make Ahead Tip!  Roast the squash the day before you want to make this pasta.
  • If it’s too thick:  If you find the butternut squash sauce too thick, just puree in more cream! You might need to add a touch more sage so not to dilute its flavour with the extra cream.

This recipe was found on aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com.

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