Creamy Butternut Squash Elbow Pasta! This pasta has finely grated butternut squash in a creamy cashew-squash sauce. It’s great for the whole family!
My kids are lukewarm on squash, which means I’m always looking for recipe ideas that feature it! Nutritionally, we’re huge fans of squash, as it’s an excellent source of vitamin A.
Combined with pasta and it’s a kid-friendly dinner that works for the entire family. Enjoy on it’s own, or served with a side salad and sauteed pizza cubes.
What to Know Before Making This
This pasta can be made in many different ways depending on your kids’ liking for squash. To get a creamy sauce that still has some texture, I grated the squash on a box grater (the large hole side) and then cooked it down until very soft, about 45 minutes.
You can stop here and toss with pasta if you want. In this way, it’s a simple squash pasta! As my kids don’t like that much squash texture, I blend about half of the cooked squash with cashews, nutritional yeast for more umami flavor, and a little lemon, as I strongly believe that any rich sauce should have some acid for balance.
Tips for Success
I recommend only cooking the pasta in a set amount of water to maximize the starch content of the reserved pasta water. You’ll then use this to make a creamy sauce with cashews, nooch, some of the cooked squash and lemon.
You’ll get a little arm workout if you use a box grater! Or, you can use a food processor fitted with a shredding blade.
The squash should be very soft before adding to the pasta. You can add a little nutmeg if you want a hint of warmth to the dish. I do this sometimes with creamy sauces, and it’s so subtle but adds a nice flavor.
More Squash Recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Fudge
- Pumpkin Waffles
- Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
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Creamy Butternut Squash Elbows
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 10 cups water
- 1 pound elbow or shell noodles
- 1/3 cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Peel the butternut squash, halve and remove the seeds. Using a box grater or food processor fitted with a shredding blade, shred the butternut squash until finely grated. You should have ~ 4 cups. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and butternut squash along with a pinch of salt and cook until water starts to release from the squash and the onion, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and vegetable broth and cook, stirring occassionally until the squash is very soft and almost creamy.
- While the squash is cooking, add the 10 cups of water in a large saucepan along with 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until noodles are al dente according to package directions, drain, reserving the pasta water.
- In a small blender or mini food processor, add the cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and 1-2 cups of the cooked, shredded squash. How much you add depends on how much texture you want in the final dish. Add ~1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and blend until very creamy and smooth, with no grainess of the cashews.
- To the cooked squash, add the cooked pasta and the creamy cashew-butternut squash. Toss together and taste, adding salt as needed. If the mixture is too thick, add in a splash of pasta water until the desired texture is reached. Serve immedietly.
