This healthy Butternut Squash Fettuccine is so creamy yet made vegan-friendly when omitting the cheese. A delicious pasta dish great for Meatless Monday!
2-poundbutternutpeeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1medium yellow onionchopped
2garlic clovespressed or chopped
red pepper flakesto taste
¼teaspoondried sage
¼teaspoonnutmegfreshly ground
Kosher saltto taste
black pepperfresh cracked
2cupsvegetable broth
12ouncesfettuccine
½cupRomano or Parmesan cheeseshredded, for serving (optional)
fresh basilchopped, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash, onion, garlic and pepper flakes to the hot oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender and translucent; about 7 to 10 minutes.
Pour in the broth and bring the skillet to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid reduces by half; about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the fettuccine per package instructions. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water before draining the fettuccine.
When the squash is tender, turn off the heat and let it cool slightly. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Alternatively, if you do not have an immersion blender, add the squash mixture in batches to a blender and puree until smooth. Season with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste.
Combine the pasta and squash puree with ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Cook in the skillet over medium heat. Toss the pasta and add more of the pasta water as needed (see notes); about 2 minutes. You want the sauce to coat the pasta well.
Divide the pasta into serving plates or bowls and serve with shredded Romano or Parmesan Cheese, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Facts: Calories are based on the addition of Romano cheese. If ommitting cheese, one serving is about 510 calories. For more information about nutrition, [READ MORE].You may not need all of the reserved 2 cups of pasta water. I had a hard time getting it thinned down and added about 1 ½ cups of pasta water before all was said and done. Make the sauce as thin as you want, but it should be thick enough to coat the noodles.Use and type of cheese you desire. Romano was my favorite, but parmesan was a close second.You can make this recipe ahead of time. It reheats well, although you may need to add a little water to the pasta to loosen it up a bit.Recipe Adapted from Cookie and Kate
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