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Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta With Sausage And Spinach

Creamy butternut squash pasta with sausage and spinach—rigatoni coated in a smooth orange cream sauce made with butternut squash puree. Quick stovetop cooking creates tender pasta, wilted spinach, and a parmesan-sage style finish.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 760
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta
  • 1 lb rigatoni or penne
  • 0.5 cup pasta cooking water Reserved before draining
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste
Sausage base
  • 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
Squash cream sauce
  • 4 cup butternut squash puree
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup parmesan, grated
Finish
  • 4 cup baby spinach

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook pasta
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook rigatoni or penne until al dente, about 9–11 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water before draining, and set pasta aside.
Brown sausage and build sauce
  1. Brown Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crumbled and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat and set sausage aside.
  2. Sauté onion in the same skillet for 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring until softened. Add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
  3. Add butternut squash puree and heavy cream to the skillet, stirring to combine. Stir in nutmeg and red pepper flakes and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
  4. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Add parmesan and stir until smooth and fully melted.
Combine and finish
  1. Toss the cooked pasta into the skillet with the reserved pasta cooking water, coating everything evenly. Add baby spinach and toss until wilted, about 1–2 minutes.
  2. Return the browned sausage to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until everything is hot and the sauce clings to the pasta.

Notes

For the silkiest sauce, add parmesan off direct high heat and stir until smooth before adding pasta water. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of water or cream, and freeze only the sauce base (up to 2 months) if you want best texture—then cook fresh pasta and spinach when reheating. Dietary swap: use low-fat cream or half-and-half for a lighter sauce, though it may be slightly thinner.