This creamy butternut squash alfredo sauce is a great way to add an extra vegetable to your meal. The butternut squash make it a little bit lighter while adding great color, a touch of sweetness, and earthy undertones that makes it extra delicious.
Give traditional fettuccine alfredo and autumnal twist with the addition of butternut squash. Add your favorite pasta and serve it as an entrée or as a side dish for almost any main dish.
After seeing recipes like acorn squash mac and cheese, I am sure you know that we love the combination of squash, pasta and cheese. So seeing butternut squash in a creamy sauce shouldn’t be a huge surprise.
This time of year we always stock up on local winter squash before the farm stands close. So then we are on a mission for to work a little bit into every dish for a few months.
Our favorite alfredo sauce recipe was my birthday request for probably a solid decade. So you know it is sacred around here.
So messing with such a good thing is a hard sell at our table. But we have so much butternut squash, we had to give it a go.
This butternut squash pasta sauce is still every bit as smooth and creamy as you would want it to be. Plus it coats the pasta nicely, it is a fabulous way to sneak an extra vegetable onto your dinner plate.
The squash adds nutrition and body to the sauce while reducing the calories of the all dairy versions. The butternut squash adds potassium and fiber to the dish which your blood pressure and digestive system will thank you for.
Substitutions and Additions for Butternut Squash Sauce
Nutmeg is a traditional addition to cream sauces. Of course it goes well with squash as well.
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So it is a natural addition to this sauce. However, if you want a more traditional alfredo flavor feel free to leave it out and highlight the garlic instead.
If you are using fresh garlic cloves, cook it in the butter until the garlic is fragrant. Then cook the rest of the recipe as written.
Fresh rosemary would be another fabulous flavor addition. Steep a small sprig while cooking the squash and remove it before blending for a big flavor punch. Or try adding a couple of small sage leaves.
Feel free to use whatever cooked pasta you like. Fettuccine is a classic with alfredo but we also like rotini or penne.
This pasta dish is great on its own. But it is also great with traditional Alfredo additions.
Throw some cooked chicken in to make it a meal. Shrimp would be fabulous as well.
When I made the penne version for the video, I stirred in bits of Italian sausage and that was delicious. The possibilities are endless.
Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound butternut squash cubed (approximately 4 cups)
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Add the 1 pound butternut squash, ¾ cup heavy cream, 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter and ¾ cup of water to a large saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook until the squash is tender enough to be broken with a fork.
- Add to blender or use an immersion blender to puree until creamy and smooth. Add the ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper and a pinch or two of salt.
- In the meantime, cook the 1 pound fettuccine in a large pot of salted water to al dente according to the package instructions. Before straining, reserve about ¾ cup of the pasta water.
- Add the strained pasta and 1 cup freshly grated parmesan to the pureed squash mixture and stir until well coated. If you need to thin the sauce, add the reserved pasta water a little bit at a time.
- Sprinkle nutmeg and parmesan on pasta before serving if desired.
Video
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I love anything with butternut squash!. Add in Alfredo and this is a big-time winner my friend!
The flavors work really well together 😋