Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta With Spinach

By Yasmin Fahr

Updated October 15, 2020

  • Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(8,338)
Comments
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Here’s a vegetable-filled pasta bake that comes together in under an hour. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is prepping the squash. You can buy precut squash, or cut it yourself: Trim the ends so that it can stand up flat. Use a sturdy vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Cut off the bulbous part from the neck. Scoop the seeds out of the bulbous part. Half the squash lengthwise, then cube it. If you’re sensitive to heat, leave out the jalapeños, or remove the seeds before slicing into rounds and placing on top.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Kosher salt

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

  • 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 ½ pounds), peeled, seeds removed and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin (see Tip)

  • ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more as needed

  • 1 pound penne or other tubular pasta

  • 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)

  • ¾ cup grated Parmesan

  • 3 packed cups baby spinach

  • 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-size chunks

  • 1 jalapeño, sliced into rounds

  • ⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley and tender stems, roughly chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

122 grams carbs; 64 milligrams cholesterol; 928 calories; 14 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 32 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 1318 milligrams sodium; 41 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large covered pot of heavily salted water to a boil.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet with high sides and a tight-fitting lid (or a Dutch oven), heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering. Add the squash and season with salt, cumin and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring every minute, until squash becomes browned in spots and feels just tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, uncovered, until not quite al dente, 3 to 4 minutes less than the package instructions. (It should be a little too firm to the bite.) Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain. If the pasta is done before the squash, then stir in a drizzle of olive oil so that it doesn’t stick together.

  4. Step 4

    When the squash is just tender, add the broth. Bring to an active simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft and easily mashable, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, then use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to crush about half of the butternut squash and leave the rest chunky. Season the squash to taste, keeping in mind that salty Parmesan will be added soon.

  5. Step 5

    Add the cooked pasta to the skillet along with 1 cup reserved pasta water and ½ cup grated Parmesan, stirring vigorously to combine. Stir in the spinach one handful at a time until it shrinks down a little.

  6. Step 6

    Sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan, the mozzarella and jalapeño, then place in the oven, on a sheet pan if you are worried about dripping. Cook until the top is melted and browned in spots, 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil, top with parsley and serve.

Tip

  • If you have a preferred curry powder, then you can use 1 to 3 teaspoons of that (according to taste) in place of the cumin and red-pepper flakes.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
8,338 user ratings
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Comments

Ginny W

I also love butternut squash but hate to peel it. I find that making a few slits in the skin and then putting it in the microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes makes the job much easier.

jckdm

I added a carrot to the squash for more color and I wish I had a family to which I could serve this.

talia

This was a big hit with the fam! A bit of sage with the squash. Salt at every step, and salt, pepper and red pepper flakes at the end, with a drizzle of good olive oil. Next time would make a quick pickle of jalapeños instead of using them raw, to take the edge off and add some acid.

G

Flavor profile and texture is all wrong here— sort of bland, mushy, and sickly sweet. Will not be making this again.

Mary B

Skip cooking the pasta separately and add it to the squash when the broth is added with extra broth or water. The pasta will cook as the squash continues to cook. As you store some of the squash breaks down to make a thick sauce all over the pasta. Browning the squash first adds a nutty flavor but not completely cooking it allows it to break down to form the sauce. I also add less mozzarella cheese - while I like cheese I felt like the prescribed amount overwhelmed the other flavors.

Zachary

This makes much closer to 8 servings! Very tasty but I would recommend doing the baking portion in a very shallow casserole dish so the cheese top layer is closer to a 3rd or 4th of the total depth of the dish, or mixing in the mozzarella more. It kind of just sits on the top.

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