Butternut Squash Carbonara Pasta
This cozy butternut squash carbonara turns simple fall ingredients into pure comfort food magic. Crispy bacon, fresh sage, and silky butternut squash sauce coat every noodle perfectly for the ultimate autumn dinner that'll warm you right up.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bacon chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 14.5 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 14 ounces linguine pasta
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook bacon base: Heat your big skillet over medium-high heat, cook chopped bacon until crispy, add sage, and toss in the bacon fat for thirty seconds until it smells amazing.
- Make aromatics: Take out bacon and sage, but leave two tablespoons bacon fat in your pan, add diced onion, and cook for two minutes until soft and golden.
- Cook butternut squash: Add cubed squash to your onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook seven minutes, stirring now and then, until squash caramelizes and onions brown lightly.
- Add garlic mix: Stir minced garlic into your squash mixture, cook two minutes until it smells incredible, pour in chicken broth and nutmeg, bubble it up then simmer fifteen minutes.
- Make pasta: Cook linguine in a big pot of salted boiling water just like the box says until al dente, save one cup pasta water before draining everything.
- Make smooth sauce: Let squash mixture cool a bit, put it in your blender with heavy cream, blend until completely smooth and silky, work in batches if needed.
- Put it together: Put your smooth sauce back in the pan with drained pasta and quarter cup pasta water, toss over medium heat for two minutes, adding water as needed.
- Finish and serve: Remove from heat, mix in grated Parmesan until melted. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve topped with bacon, sage, and extra cheese immediately.
Notes
- Pre-cut butternut squash from the store saves you tons of time and your fingers from all that peeling and chopping work.
- Save extra pasta water beyond what I said because you might need more to get that perfect creamy sauce that coats your noodles.
- Only fill your blender halfway with hot stuff, or you'll have a dangerous mess when the lid pops off from pressure buildup.
- Turn off your heat before adding Parmesan cheese so it melts smoothly instead of getting stringy and weird-looking.
- This recipe doubles perfectly for big groups, but cook your bacon in batches so each piece gets crispy and golden brown.