The Best Autumn Sausage and Butternut Squash Pasta: A Perfect Fall Meal

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Get ready to embrace the cozy, comforting flavors of the season with this incredible Autumn Sausage and Butternut Squash Pasta. This is the ultimate one-pan meal, a beautiful medley of savory Italian sausage, sweet caramelized butternut squash, and hearty pasta, all brought together in a light and flavorful sauce. It’s a rustic, satisfying, and surprisingly easy dish that is perfect for a crisp fall evening.

Why This is the Ultimate Fall Pasta Dish

This recipe is a celebration of all the best flavors of the season.

• Incredibly Flavorful: The savory, spicy Italian sausage is the perfect counterpoint to the sweet, tender butternut squash, creating a wonderfully balanced and complex flavor profile.
• A Simple One-Pan Meal: The entire dish comes together in a single skillet, which means all the flavors meld together beautifully and cleanup is an absolute breeze.
• Hearty and Satisfying: This is a truly substantial and filling pasta dish that eats like a complete meal.
• A Versatile Favorite: This is a great base recipe that can be easily adapted. Don’t have sausage? Try it with chicken. Want to add more greens? Toss in some spinach or kale at the end.

Your Simple Ingredient Checklist

This recipe uses a handful of fresh, seasonal ingredients for a spectacular result.

The Ingredient Lineup:

• 1 lb of spicy Italian chicken or pork sausage, casings removed
• 1 (2 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into small ½-inch cubes
• ¾ lb of orecchiette or other short pasta
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of red chard or spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 4 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 (15-ounce) can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

Get ready for the easiest, most delicious fall pasta you’ve ever made.

Part 1: Prepare the Sausage and Squash

1. Brown the Sausage: In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until it is browned and cooked through. Transfer the cooked sausage to a plate and set it aside.
2. Caramelize the Squash: In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil. Add the diced butternut squash and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and has a nice caramelization on the edges. Remove from the skillet and set aside with the sausage.

Part 2: Cook the Pasta and Assemble

1. Cook the Pasta: While the squash is cooking, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Before draining, be sure to reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
2. Sauté the Greens: In your skillet, add a little more olive oil and the thinly sliced shallot. Cook for a minute or two until softened. Add the chopped chard (or spinach) and the sliced sage, and season with salt. Continue to cook until the greens have wilted.
3. Create the Sauce: Pour the reserved cup of pasta water into the skillet with the wilted greens and bring it to a simmer.
4. Combine Everything: Drain the cooked pasta and immediately add it to the skillet. Stir well to combine. Add the cooked sausage and butternut squash back to the pan and toss everything together to heat through.
5. Finish and Serve: Stir in the cannellini beans and the grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Serve immediately, with an extra drizzle of olive oil, a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper, and more cheese on top.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Can I roast the butternut squash instead of pan-searing it? Yes, absolutely! Roasting the butternut squash is a fantastic alternative that will bring out even more of its natural sweetness. To do this, toss the cubed squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast it on a baking sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes, until tender and caramelized. Then, simply add it to the pasta at the end as directed.

2. What are some good substitutions for the orecchiette pasta? Orecchiette, which means “little ears,” is great for this dish because the little cups are perfect for catching the sauce and the small pieces of sausage and squash. However, any short pasta with a good texture and shape for holding sauce would be a great substitute. Try using medium shells, fusilli, or penne.

3. Can I make this dish vegetarian? Yes, this is very easy to make vegetarian! Simply omit the sausage and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (if the recipe variation you are using calls for it). To make the dish heartier, you could add some sautéed mushrooms or an extra can of cannellini beans.

4. How do I store and reheat leftovers? Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can use the microwave. For a better texture, you can also reheat it in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat. You may need to add a splash of water or olive oil to loosen up the pasta and sauce.