I’m really into pasta bakes at the moment for a few reasons. One, they’re completely delicious. And two, they can easily be frozen for an easy meal on a busy night when you can’t be bothered cooking. Oh, and three, you can load them up with nutritious vegetables disguised in a creamy sauce and melted cheese. What’s not to love? Of course I had to create a pasta bake recipe with everyones favorite fall vegetable in it!
If you also love a pasta bake then you’re going to want to try my Hidden Veggie Beef Mince Pasta Bake, Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake or my Healthy Gluten Free Tuna Casserole.
What’s to Love About Butternut Squash Sausage Pasta Bake
- allergy friendly – this recipe is gluten free (or gluten optional if you aren’t gluten free), nut free and egg free. You can also make it dairy-free by swapping the butter for dairy free butter and substituting the cheese for a vegan parmesan or your preferred dairy free cheese. This is a creamy butternut squash pasta bake but without heavy cream, making it lower in lactose.
- flavor-filled – comfort food but make it delicious and veggie filled! This is a recipe that the whole family will love.
- freezer friendly – to make this one for the freezer, assemble in a baking dish, top with the shredded cheese and then place a lid on or cover with foil and plastic wrap. You can freeze this pasta bake for up to 3 months. Defrost and then bake until heated through and the cheese is golden brown!
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
The ingredients for this recipe are simple and easy to find from your local grocery store. I’ve listed everything that you will need below along with any ingredient notes and possible substitutions. You can find the ingredient quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- pasta – I’ve used my favourite gluten free pasta for this recipe to keep it gluten free. But you can use whichever pasta you prefer. Rigatoni, penne, fusilli or farfalle work really well.
- butternut squash – the butternut squash is peeled, seeds removed and cubed before being steamed until just tender. You really could use other squash or pumpkin varieties for this recipe – kent pumpkin would work well.
- kale – I finely chop the kale and stir it through the sauce to wilt it before adding in the cubed butternut squash, pasta and chicken sausage. You could swap for another green leafy vegetable like baby spinach or swiss chard.
- chicken sausages – for this pasta dish, you squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and break it up as it browns, creating small chunks of cooked sausage meat that is stirred through the pasta sauce. The sausage adds so much flavour! You can swap chicken sausages for a pork sausage, spicy Italian sausage or for your favourite sausage.
- leek – feel free to swap leek for brown onions if leek isn’t in season or available.
- fresh garlic cloves – this is a measure with the heart situation, the recipe calls for 4 garlic cloves but feel free to use more if your garlic cloves are tiny or you really love garlic!
- sun-dried tomatoes – sun-dried tomatoes add so much flavour to this dish!
- buckwheat flour – I’ve used buckwheat flour to keep this recipe gluten free, however if you are not gluten intolerant then you can use regular wheat flour.
- chicken broth – you can use either chicken broth or chicken stock.
- milk of choice – I have used soy milk to reduce the amount of lactose in this dish. You can use your preferred milk.
- extra virgin olive oil – extra virgin olive oil is always my go-to oil for cooking as it is filled with nutrients and antioxidants.
- butter – I always opt for a grass fed butter to increase the omega 3 content of my food.
- sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper
- dried thyme – other dried herbs that would work well in this include rosemary and sage.
- shredded cheese – for this recipe you need a combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella, the cheddar adds flavour while the mozzarella creates that delicious cheese pull.
Optional Extras
- to add spice add some red pepper flakes to the sauce or top with red pepper flakes before serving.
How to Make Butternut Squash and Sausage Pasta Bake
To make this butternut squash and sausage pasta bake, start by preheating the oven to 180°C/356°F (fan forced).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and then add the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente and then strain and set aside.
Would you like to save this?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Meanwhile, half fill a saucepan with water and top with a steamer basket. Add the cubed butternut squash to the steamer basket, place the lid on and turn the heat to high. Steam until the butternut squash is tender.
While the pasta and butternut squash are cooking, make the sauce. Bring an oven proof large shallow casserole pan (braiser) to a medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil and then squeeze the sausage meat out of their casings and into the pan. Use a spatula to break the sausage meat up as it cooks. Once browned, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Next, add the butter and the leek to the pan and sauté until the leek is tender. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté until fragrant. Now add the buckwheat flour and whisk to combine. Continue whisking while pouring in the chicken broth.
As the sauce thickens, continue whisking while pouring in the soy milk. Keep whisking until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn the heat to low and add the chopped kale, salt, pepper and thyme and stir through. Once the kale is wilted, turn off the heat.
Tip the cooked pasta, cooked sausage and steamed butternut squash into the pan and stir through until everything is well coated in the sauce. Mix the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese together and then sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
Serve hot.
Storage
Store the leftovers in the pan with the lid on or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat before eating. To freeze, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Butternut Squash Sausage Pasta Bake
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping Board
- Garlic mincer or microplane
- Whisk
- Large Casserole Pan or large saucepan
Ingredients
- 500 grams gluten free pasta
- 500 grams butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cubed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 500 grams chicken sausages
- 50 grams butter
- 1 leek, washed and finely sliced
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomato strips, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- ¼ cup buckwheat flour
- 1 ½ cups soy milk
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 cups kale, roughly chopped
- ½ cup mozzarella grated
- ½ cup cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F fan forced.
- Fill a large pot with water ⅔ of the way up. Add a few big pinches of salt and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling add the pasta and stir. Boil the pasta until soft and al dente. Once cooked, carefully strain into a colander and return to the pan.
- Half fill a large pot with water and top with a steamer basket. Add the butternut squash cubes to the steamer basket, place the lid on and bring to a boil. Cook until the butternut squash is tender. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, bring a large shallow casserole pan to a medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil and then snip the end of each sausage and push the sausage meat out of its casing and into the pan. Use a spatula to break the sausage meat up as it cooks into small chunks. Once all the sausage meat is cooked, transfer to a plate.
- Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the sliced leeks and sauté until tender. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the flour to the pan and stir to combine with the melted butter, leek, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour in a third of the milk and whisk straight away. Add another third and whisk and then the final third and whisk until there are no lumps. As the sauce starts to thicken, add the chicken stock and continue stirring until smooth and creamy with no lumps. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the dried thyme, salt and pepper to the sauce and stir to combine. Add the kale and stir through to wilt. Once the kale is wilted, turn off the heat.
- Add the pasta, cooked sausage and steamed butternut squash to the pan and toss through the sauce until well combined.
- Spread out into an even layer and top with grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the top is turning golden brown. Serve hot.
Like this recipe? Leave a comment!