Butternut Squash Pasta with Gorgonzola and Cranberries
This spiralized bowl of butternut squash pasta is creamy, cheesy, and so mouth-watering! With a gorgonzola cream sauce, dried cranberries, and toasted pine nuts, this is a simple yet dreamy bowl of noodles that you’ll be making all winter!
Have you gotten into the amazing world of spiralizing yet? If not, you’re missing out. You can basically transform any vegetable into noodles, which saves you a ton of calories and actually has a lot more flavor.
The tried and true spiralizing veggie is, of course, zucchini (which goes great in avocado pesto sauce), but did you know you can also spiralize butternut squash? It’s slightly sweet, ultra-filling, and is bound to be your newest food obsession.
Here’s what you’ll need
This dish has some seriously tasty components…let’s talk about them. First there are the butternut squash noodles, which take your love of butternut squash to a whole new level (I use the Inspiralizer to cut through that tough butternut).
There’s the decadent gorgonzola cream sauce, which is made even better by the fact that it contains just two ingredients.
There are toasted pine nuts and dried cranberries, little flavor/texture bombs.
And finally, the fried sage, the herb of the season. Bring it all together and you have a quick (i’m talking less than 30 minutes) meal that’s loaded with plant-power.
How to make spiralized butternut noodles
Making noodles with butternut squash is easy! You’ll just need a good quality spiralizer (I use the Inspiralizer).
Step 1: Halve and Peel
Cut the butternut in half, hamburger style. We’re only going to be using the top portion of the butternut, so try to cut it as large as possible without including the seedy bottom portion. Then you’ll peel off the tough skin with a vegetable peeler.
Step 2: Spiralize
Switch your spiralizer to the largest noodle setting. Center the butternut squash on your spiralizer, then apply steady, strong pressure and spiralize it!
Step 3: Cook
You have two options for cooking your butternut squash noodles: baked or sautéed. We won’t boil these like traditional noodles, which would cause them to become mushy.
Baking preserves the pretty look of the noodles, but takes a little longer. To bake, toss your noodles in oil and bake for 10 minutes at 425°F.
Sautéing is faster, but can cause the noodles to break while cooking. To saute, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your noodles and cook until slightly soft, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Step 4: Assemble
Then just toss your cooked noodles with our other ingredients: toasted pine nuts, cranberries, and our quick gorgonzola cream sauce!
More veggie noodle recipes you’ll love
- Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Pesto
- Shaved Asparagus Noodles
- Asian Carrot Noodles
- Sweet Potato Fettuccine
Butternut Squash Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts 7 g
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided, 30 mL
- 8 sage leaves
- 4 oz gorgonzola cheese 113 g
- ¼ cup heavy cream 60 mL
- ½ cup dried cranberries 60 g
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep: Cut the butternut in half, hamburger style. We'll only be using the top half. Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler.
- Spiralize: Switch your spiralizer to the largest noodle setting. Center the butternut squash on your spiralizer, then apply steady, strong pressure and spiralize it!
- Pine Nuts: In a large sauté pan, toast pine nuts over medium/high heat until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Sage: Add 1 Tbsp oil to the large sauté pan (still over medium/high heat). Heat oil then add sage leaves (they should immediately start bubbling, if not, heat oil more). Fry sage until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oil and set on a paper towel.
- Sauce: In a small saucepan, heat gorgonzola and cream until warm, whisking to evenly combine.
- Cook Butternut: Add remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add butternut noodles and cook until they’re tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, toss them with oil and roast in the oven at 425°F for 10 minutes. (Roasting keeps them nicer looking, sautéing is faster)
- Assemble: Add cream sauce, pine nuts, and cranberries to the saucepan with the noodles and gently toss to combine. Serve warm, topped with crushed sage leaves. Season with fresh ground black pepper.
