Creamy Acorn Squash Pasta is a simple recipe that tastes like a dish from a fine dining restaurant! The recipe features basic ingredients found in most grocery stores and pantries, including bow-tie pasta (farfalle), spinach, sausage, and fresh herbs. Try this comforting pasta dish on a cold Fall or Winter night, and it might become your family's new favorite way to eat acorn squash!
Prepare the acorn squash. Slice acorn squash in half. Keep fingers away from the knife to avoid injury. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fleshy strands tangled with the seeds.
Place acorn squash cut sides up on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cut sides of acorn squashes with olive oil and rub the oil into the squash. Season generously with salt and pepper. Turn the squash over, and place it cut sides down on a baking sheet.
Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for 30 minutes. Once the squash is done and slightly cooled, scrape the cooked flesh out of the shells into a medium bowl and mash it with the fork to turn it into a puree.
While the squash is roasted, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Cook pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the package instructions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain. Proceed with the rest of the recipe while the water is boiling.
Cook sausage
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet (such as a cast-iron skillet or stainless steel) on medium heat.
Slice cooked sausage into coins and add to the skillet.
Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side, then flip over and cook for about 3 minutes on the other side. Drain extra grease from the skillet.
Assembly
To the same skillet with sausage, add 1 cup of acorn squash puree and 1 cup of heavy cream, and half of the fresh thyme (no sprigs, just leaves). Stir. Add spinach. Bring the sauce to a boil on medium heat, reduce to low-medium heat, and stir everything well. Cook for about 3 or more minutes, until spinach wilts.
Add cooked and drained pasta and stir it in. Top with the remaining fresh thyme and red pepper flakes.
Notes
If you want to make it ahead, I would suggest prepping the following steps a day or 2 in advance: Prep all the steps above the "Assembly" section in advance. This includes roasting the acorn squash and mashing it into a puree, cooking pasta (al dente in this case!), and cooking sausage.
Then, on the day when you are ready to serve, all you have to do is complete the recipe following the "Assembly" section of the recipe instructions - which should take you under 10 minutes!