If you love butternut squash as much as I do then you are going to want to try this recipe. The miso adds that delicious umami flavour and goes perfectly with the brown butter. You could eat this pasta sauce as a soup if you wanted to! If you’re looking for more ways to use up this popular Winter vegetable then you could also try this Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, Gluten Free Butternut Squash Fritters or this Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup.
What’s to Love About Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
- allergy friendly – this recipe is gluten-free, nut-free and egg-free. It can easily be made vegan and dairy-free by swapping the butter for a dairy-free butter.
- great to meal prep – this recipe makes a big batch with enough for 8 serves. The leftovers store really well in an airtight container in the freezer, perfect to pull out of the freezer and cook up for a quick meal on a busy night.
- stove-top recipe – there’s no need to turn the oven on for this one! It all comes together on the stovetop.
- family friendly – this sauce is so full of flavor and perfect for sneaking extra vegetables into the kids meal!
What You’ll Need to Make Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
I mentioned earlier that you only need 9 ingredients to make this super simple butternut squash sauce. All of the ingredients are healthy and easy to find at your local grocery store. I’ve listed the ingredients as well as any possible substitutions and ingredient notes. The ingredient quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- extra virgin olive oil – extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest cooking oils that you can use. It’s high in healthy fats, antioxidants and polyphenols and is much less processed then a lot of other cooking oils available.
- brown onion – you can swap brown onion for yellow onion or white onion.
- butternut squash
- butter – to make this dairy-free choose a dairy-free butter. I always choose a grass-fed butter as grass-fed dairy is higher in omega 3.
- garlic cloves – I suggest using 5 garlic cloves but really this is a measure with your heart situation. If you’re a garlic lover you could add more. If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves you can swap for jarred minced garlic.
- white miso paste – miso is a fermented food, which adds good bacteria to the meal as well as a really beautiful, moreish umami flavor.
- fresh thyme
- chicken broth – to make this vegetarian swap for vegetable broth.
- soy milk – I’ve used soy milk to reduce the amount of lactose in this dish. You can also use regular cow’s milk or unsweetened almond milk.
To serve
- pasta of choice – I serve this with my favourite gluten-free pasta but you could use whole wheat pasta, rigatoni, ravioli, fusilli or whatever your favourite pasta shape is!
- parmesan cheese – I love topping with finely grated parmesan before serving. For dairy free, top with some nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan.
I also love serving this topped with a little pesto, like my Lemon Pistachio Pesto or Almond Parsley Pesto. Top with some cracked black pepper and sea salt flakes. You could also top with chilli flakes before serving for a little spice.
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Let’s Make Brown Butter Miso Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Let’s get cooking! To start, heat a large shallow casserole pan to a medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the cubed butternut squash and sauté for around 5 minutes.
Next, push the squash to one side and add the butter. Stir the butter as it melts and continue cooking as it browns. You will need to toss the butternut squash and onion a few times to prevent them from burning but don’t worry about a few brown bits as they add flavour!
Once the butter is starting to brown, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Stir the butter and garlic through the butternut squash and onion. Add the miso paste, chicken broth and thyme and stir to dissolve the miso paste. Turn the heat to low, place the lid on and simmer for around 10 minutes or until the squash is tender and falls apart when pierced with a fork.
Once the butternut squash is tender, turn off the heat and remove the thyme sprigs. Carefully transfer the sauce to a high-speed blender or a heatproof jug if using an immersion blender. Blend until you have a silky smooth sauce.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and then add your chosen pasta. Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Reserve some pasta water and then strain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot and add around half of the sauce. Add a little pasta water and stir through.
Storage
This recipe makes around 1.2L/40oz, which is enough to coat around 1kg of pasta and make around 8 serves. The sauce freezes really well. Transfer any leftover sauce to a glass airtight container or jar and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost and warm before serving. Or refrigerate for up to 4 days and reheat before eating.
Miso Brown Butter Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Sharp knife
- Immersion blender or high speed blender
- Large Pot
- Colander
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 brown onion, peeled and diced
- 1.2 kg butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 1cm cubes
- 50 grams butter
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup soy milk
To serve
- 1 kg pasta of choice
- Finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large shallow casserole pan to a medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the diced onion. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the cubed butternut squash and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Push the butternut squash to one side of the pan and add the butter. Cook until the butter is melted and browning. Once the butter has small brown flecks in it, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the miso paste, chicken broth and thyme. Stir until the miso paste has dissolved into the broth. Turn the heat to low, place the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes or until the butternut squash is tender and falls apart when pierced with a fork. Turn off the heat.
- Remove the thyme sprig from the sauce. Transfer the sauce to a heatproof jug or blender. Add the soy milk and then use an immersion blender to blend to a smooth and creamy sauce. Season to taste with sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
- Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a few generous pinches of salt and then add the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente and then strain, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir through. Add a little pasta water to thin out the sauce as needed. Serve warm topped with a generous amount of finely grated parmesan.
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