Butternut Squash Pasta + Bacon
Total cost: $2.15/serving
Restaurant price of comparable dish: $10 – $20
Fast-food pasta price (Pizza Hut pasta alfredo) avg. price/serving: $5
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,Autumn is my favorite season.
I love the crisp days that get surprisingly warm underneath an October sun. The nights are cool and smell like burning wood stoves and campfires.
Nature does her thang and makes the trees turn gold, red, and yellow here in New England.
Kind of like the colors of butternut squash, pasta, bacon, and kale.
This is my first official year living back in Connecticut since I left nearly 20 years ago. It’s sort of bittersweet returning to the area where you grew up. I moved to the West Coast the year after college and never thought in a million years I’d move back.
But when the world is thrust into a pandemic and the state where you grew up is seeing low, low contamination numbers, returning doesn’t seem so bad all the sudden.
So here we are.
The good news? There are TONS of local farm stands, dairies, and butchers to buy local products. And I had no problems whatsoever finding all the local, fresh ingredients I needed for this butternut squash, pasta, bacon, and kale dish.
Butternut Squash Pasta + Bacon: You Can’t Mess It Up
This kale butternut squash pasta dish has become my new favorite weeknight dinner.
It’s so easy to make (just boil the pasta and toss it with olive oil and parm and top with roasted veggies).
Plus, it’s easy to customize. You can make it however you like with whatever veggies and/or meat combos you like.
I love autumn’s crisp days that get surprisingly warm underneath an October sun. The nights are cool and smell like burning wood stoves and campfires.
Make-Ahead Kale and Butternut Squash
I make this dish a true weeknight recipe by using leftovers from my Sunday night Easy Sheet Pan Dinner.
Just roast whatever veggies you like over the weekend and use them in your recipes throughout the week.
I often ‘forget’ to eat veggies throughout the week, so having a bunch already roasted and on deck makes it easier for me to nosh responsibly.
You can sautee up some greens when you make this dish, but I use leftover garlicky greens that I make at the beginning of the week, too. I add some of this kale to breakfast sammies, pasta, and rice. Or, I use it as a side dish.
Easy Sunday Morning Bacon
The bacon in this recipe is also pre-made. At the beginning of each week, I usually bake a package of bacon in the oven (you can cook a bunch up at once and super crispy) and pop it in the fridge.
To cook your bacon in the oven, simply arrange raw bacon slices on a sheet pan. I use a wire baking rack to keep the bacon off the pan and allow the grease to drip down.
Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes. I check the bacon every 10 minutes or so to ensure it’s not burning.
While I like to eat veggie-forward, I do indulge in some bacon here and there. It adds texture and a little salty, fatty flavor to recipes.
Of course, you can omit altogether or substitute with vegan or veggie bacon.
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To Dairy or Not to Dairy
I used two kinds of cheese because I’m a fiend for dairy. If you don’t do dairy, you can omit the cheese or use a vegan substitute. Cashew cheese or vegan ricotta would work well in place of the dairy version I used.
There you have it! This kale butternut squash pasta is an easy weeknight recipe that takes only five minutes to prep (enough time to boil the water and toss pasta with oil, cheese, and veggies).
Use whatever veggies and fats you like.
Kale Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe
Prep Time: 5 min.
Ingredients
- Pasta
- Olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlicky kale
- Roasted butternut squash (leftover from Sheet Pan Dinner)
- Ricotta cheese
- Bacon bits (optional)
Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to instructions; drain (reserve 1 tbl of pasta water).
2. Plate pasta; add olive oil, parmesan cheese, and reserved pasta water; mix.
3. Top cheesy pasta with garlicky kale, roasted butternut squash, and a dollop of ricotta.
4. Sprinkle bacon bits or meat-free bacon bits over the top (optional) and more parmesan cheese.
Optional Add-Ons
I love the combination of the garlicky kale, sweet butternut squash, and salty cheeses. But you can top your pasta with whatever roasted or steamed veggies you like!
This pasta dish tastes amazing with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over the top too.
Disclaimer
Hey, hay! Guess what, guys? I’m not a nutritionist, nor am I a doctor. Even worse, I’ve never even played one on TV. Please check with your doctor or nutritionist before switching up any diet. Most of my recipes/recommendations include known allergens. If you have an allergy or food insensitivity, please don’t use those ingredients in your cooking.