Butternut Squash Carbonara with Bacon and Sage
A fall twist on an Italian classic, Butternut Squash Carbonara with Bacon and Sage is made creamy and decadent with pureed, roasted squash.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 456kcal
Ingredients
- 12 ounces butternut squash, peeled and cubed unto 1" cubes (about 4 cups)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 8 ounces dried whole wheat linguini
- 1 1/2 cups reserved cooking
- 6 slices center cut bacon, sliced into thin strips.
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- fresh sage, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
ROAST THE SQUASH
- Preheat oven to 400F. Spritz a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Add squash to baking sheet, spritz with a bit more cooking spray, and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp dried sage. Toss to coat the squash evenly with the spices.
- Add peeled garlic cloves to the seasoned squash and roast for 10-20 minutes, or until the squash is soft and starting to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
PREPARE THE PASTA
- While the squash is roasting, bring a stock pot of water to a boil. Add some large pinches of salt to the water, then add in pasta and stir.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, but undercook by about a minute.
- IMPORTANT: Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water before you drain it. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to do this!
- Drain pasta and set aside.
MAKE THE SAUCE
- While the pasta boils, sprinkle bacon pieces evenly in a large skillet. Turn heat on to medium-high and cook until bacon is browned and most fat has rendered.
- Remove bacon to drain on a paper towel. Remove skillet from heat and drain bacon fat, keeping 1 tablespoon of fat in the skillet.
- In a food processor or high-speed blender, add the butternut squash, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of pasta water.
- Blend until sauce is smooth and creamy, scraping down sides and reblending until squash is pretty much pureed. Add in egg and pulse a few times until egg is integrated into the sauce.
- Return skillet with bacon grease to medium-low heat. Add in cooked pasta and about 1 tablespoon of remaining pasta water. Toss with tongs until pasta is heated through.
- Turn heat to lowest setting. Add in butternut squash sauce and toss with pasta for about a minute, until the pasta starts to soak up some of the sauce.
- Remove skillet from heat. Stir in parmesan and most of the bacon. Add in more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Garnish with the remaining bacon and lots of extra freshly cracked pepper. Add fresh sage, if desired.
Notes
Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically). Serving size is 1 heaping cup.
WW Green and Blue SmartPoints: 8 for 1 heaping cup
WW Purple SmartPoints: 3 for 1 heaping cup