Creamy Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage

Creamy Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes are the ultimate Autumn/Winter comfort food. This Italian-inspired pasta dish is bursting with colors and Fall flavors! It's packed with protein, veggies, and fiber. Simple enough to make on a busy weeknight - fancy enough to entertain guests!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword butternut squash stuffed pasta shells

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 608kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

10 oz jumbo pasta shells
15 oz spicy Italian sausage crumbled
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 oz fresh spinach
8 oz cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1.5 cups butternut squash puree or use pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
fresh thyme
⅓ cup pepper jack cheese shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Butternut squash puree

Note: This recipe assumes that you have already premade butternut squash puree in advance. If you didn't, here are the step-by-step recipe and photos for making butternut squash puree from scratch. Or, if you are in a time crunch, just use store-bought canned pumpkin puree instead - it would work great here!

Cook pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package instructions (usually 10 or 15 minutes). Drain. In the meantime, proceed with the recipe below.

Make sausage filling

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large oven-safe, heavy-bottomed, high-sided skillet. Add crumbled sausage and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked. Drain excess fat.
To the same skillet with cooked sausage, add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, fresh spinach, and chopped fresh tomatoes (reserve some tomatoes for later use). Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for 4 or 5 minutes until the spinach wilts to your liking.
Remove the sausage and veggie mixture to a large bowl.

Make creamy butternut squash sauce

To the same, now empty, skillet, add 1.5 cups of butternut squash puree, 1 cup of heavy cream, and a small amount of fresh thyme over medium heat and stir to combine until the sauce reaches an even consistency. Remove from heat.

Stuff pasta shells and assembly

Preheat oven to 400 F.
After the pasta shells are cooked and drained, start stuffing each shell with a spoonful of sausage, spinach, and tomato mixture.
If you have remaining stuffing - mix it with the creamy butternut squash sauce in the skillet.
Place each stuffed shell in a circular pattern on top of the creamy butternut squash sauce in a skillet.
Top the shells with shredded Pepper Jack cheese and the remaining chopped cherry tomatoes.
Place the skillet in the oven, uncovered, and bake in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 10 or 15 minutes to warm up the stuffed shells and melt the cheese.

Notes

The total cooking time does not include the time required for roasting the butternut squash and making the butternut squash puree. I recommend that you do that in advance.
Because you will be roasting whole butternut squash, you will have more than you need (1 cup) for this recipe. Refrigerate or freeze the leftover butternut squash puree in an airtight container.
If using dried thyme instead of fresh thyme, use ½ teaspoon of dried thyme (not powdered) or ¼ teaspoon of powdered dried thyme.

Nutrition