This butternut squash pasta is an easy pasta primavera featuring butternut squash, kale, and sun-dried tomatoes. Sautéed butternut squash and kale come together with other savory flavors and lots of garlic for an easy stove-top pasta that is ready in 30 minutes or less. It is flavorful, colorful, filling and easy to make, even on weeknights.
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What You’ll Need For The Butternut Squash Pasta
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How To Make Butternut Squash Pasta With Kale
Prep the vegetables:
1. Peel and diced the butternut squash into 3/4″/2cm or smaller cubes. Smaller pieces will cook faster and distribute more evenly with the pasta.
2. Wash and dried the kale, removing the tough central stems and chopping into rough pieces.
3. Slice the onion lengthwise, with the veins, leaving most of the root end intact so that the pieces hold together in 1/4″ thick fans.
4. Peel the garlic without crushing and slice thinly into small coins.
5. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp/30ml olive oil over medium. Add in the butternut when hot and cook for about 10 minutes until soft enough to poke with a fork, stirring occasionally to flip the pieces and brown on multiple sides.
6. Remove the cooked butternut to a bowl.
Cook the pasta:
7. Cook the pasta to al dente in a pot of salted water. Drain immediately.
8. Add the remaining 1 tbsp/15ml olive oil and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until just beginning to go brown on the edges, 3-5 minutes.
9. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
10. Add the kale and cook until wilted but still vibrant, 2-3 minutes.
11. Add in the cooked butternut, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until everything is hot, stirring frequently.
12. Toss cooked pasta with vegetables. Serve immediately. Garnish with nutritional yeast, parmesan, or a drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil.
Important Recipe Notes
Cut small, even pieces. Cutting the butternut squash into smaller even pieces allow it to cook faster and more uniformly.
Don’t cook the kale long. Only cook the kale until it begins to wilt, but is still vibrant. Don’t blacken or char it as it will affect the flavor.
Serve immediately. Serving the pasta as soon as it is ready is best. It can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Butternut and Kale Pasta
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Ingredients
- 3 tbsp/45ml olive oil divided
- 1 lb/450g butternut squash peeled and diced (3 cups)
- 1 large/200g red onion peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 bunch/225g kale washed and chopped (6 cups)
- 5 cloves/25g garlic sliced
- ½ cup/50g sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 12 oz/325g short pasta fusilli, penne, etc.
- 1/2 tsp/3g salt more as needed
- 1/2 tsp/1g ground black pepper
- ¼ cup/30g pine nuts
Method
- Peel and diced the butternut squash into 3/4″/2cm or smaller cubes. Smaller pieces will cook faster and distribute more evenly with the pasta.
- Wash and dried the kale, removing the tough central stems and chopping into rough pieces.
- Slice the onion lengthwise, with the veins, leaving most of the root end intact so that the pieces hold together in 1/4″ thick fans.
- Peel the garlic without crushing and slice thinly into small coins.
- In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp/30ml olive oil over medium. Add in the butternut when hot and cook for about 10 minutes until soft enough to poke with a fork, stirring occasionally to flip the pieces and brown on multiple sides.
- Remove the cooked butternut to a bowl.
- Cook the pasta to al dente in a pot of salted water. Drain immediately.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp/15ml olive oil and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until just beginning to go brown on the edges, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the kale and cook until wilted but still vibrant, 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the cooked butternut, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until everything is hot, stirring frequently.
- Toss cooked pasta with vegetables. Serve immediately. Garnish with nutritional yeast, parmesan, or a drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil.
