Creamy (vegan!) Butternut Squash Linguine with Fried Sage
Spiced and creamy (yet cream-less) butternut squash sauce tossed with whole grain linguine. Top with fried sage for a healthy, comforting meal.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
My dog, Cookie, and I have been visiting the vet three times a week lately. We don’t mind the excursion. The girls behind the desk are fun to be around and Cookie loves the attention. She has quickly become a staff favorite (of course!). It’s also a prime spot for people watching. I always feel like I’m experiencing that 101 Dalmations scene where all of the dogs match their owners, remember that one?
The manly men bring in their 80-pound manly-man breeds who shake their heads like lions. Eccentrically dressed older ladies wait with their dachshunds and shaggy little dogs. A beautiful, elegant blond woman picks up her equally elegant and blond mystery breed. The lady with a high-pitched voice and nervous laugh tells me about her rat terrier. I suppose Cookie and I match, too. I will shamelessly admit that we both have great hair, and it doesn’t hurt that I’m always dressed in black or gray.
During the more dull moments, I’ve spent a fair amount of time flipping through Instagram photos and glancing at the heart worm brochures on the side table. I grabbed the February issue of Bon Appetit before I left for our last appointment so I would have something to read while I waited. I’m glad I did, because I was reminded of the butternut squash carbonara that I had dog-eared earlier.
How to Make Vegan Butternut Squash Linguine
Bon Appetit’s recipe called for pancetta and chicken broth, but I knew I could easily make it vegetarian and amp up the flavor with spices. The cooking technique is what really caught my eye—basically, you make a butternut purée while you cook pasta, then marry the two together in a warm pan with the help of some starchy reserved pasta cooking water. Genius, right? It’s even easier to make than the béchamel that I made for my pumpkin fettuccine alfredo.
The best part is that the puréed squash is rich and luxuriously creamy without any cream at all. I also used whole grain pasta, which further prevented the steamroller after-effects of eating a giant bowl of creamy carbs. Make this before the weather warms up! If you’re in the market for more lightened-up, creamy pasta recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook.
Watch How to Make Creamy Butternut Squash Linguine
Creamy (vegan!) Butternut Squash Linguine with Fried Sage
Spiced and creamy (yet cream-less) butternut squash sauce tossed with whole grain linguine. Top with fried sage for a healthy, comforting main dish. Serve with salad or roasted vegetables to further lighten up the meal. Recipe yields 4 large servings.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
- 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
- Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
- Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing.
- In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and ¼ cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit’s Winter Squash Carbonara with Pancetta and Sage (February 2014).
Make it vegan: Skip the cheese garnish.
Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta. Commenter Jenn recommends corn and quinoa blended gluten-free pasta, which is firmer than brown rice pasta.
Change it up: The squash purée is a killer bisque, which you could thin with vegetable broth if you’d like. You could also stir it into risotto at the end of cooking.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Tried it today it was wonderful!!
I made this this evening, it was delicious! I roasted the squash before blitzing it xx
Thank you for your review, Sarah!
This is sooo good! Used Banza chickpea pasta and still turned out incredible. I did need to salt quite a bit to get it to my liking, but it was worth it. Definitely going to try someone else’s tip of adding fresh lemon juice!
SO EXCITED TO MAKE THIS AND EAT IT TYSM
This is one of our favorite pasta recipes ever! It’s so creamy and delicious. We usually bake the squash, onion, and spices instead of cooking them on the stove, and when we puree the sauce, add a handful of raw cashews for extra creaminess. We’re gluten-free (husband has Celiac and I have wheat, barley, and non-GF oat allergies), so we make it with Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti. At the end, we mix in 1 cup of crushed walnuts to add extra protein and like to serve it with garlicky steamed broccoli. It’s amazing every time! Thanks for all your fantastic recipes.
I love that this is a favorite, Hannah! Thank you for taking the time to comment and review.
I never comment on recipes I try. This one was stellar! So flavorful .
Soooooo good!! Also the instructions are detailed enough that it was super easy to make. The spice from the red pepper flakes really seals the deal for me!
I’m glad the instructions are helpful!
Hello Kate,
I’m transitioning to a vegan lifestyle and this recipe looks great; I will try it this weekend. I’m just wondering is the sweet butternut squash the protein source? I ask so that I can figure out what sources of protein I can access as I transition. Thank you.
Hi Shelly! You can use a nutrition calculator to determine exact specifics if you like. The pasta has some protein. Here is my nutritional disclaimer: https://sooka.info/nutrition-disclaimer/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks for replying, Kate. I look forward to trying out this recipe, and will share when I do!
So I tried this tonight, and I loved it! It was pretty simple to make an tasted better than I thought. I never thought I would find an option to replace the cream that I typically use when making fettucine, so I’m glad I came across this recipe.
So I tried this tonight, and I loved it! It was pretty simple to make and tasted better than I thought. I never thought I would find an option to replace the cream that I typically use when making fettucine, so I’m glad I came across this recipe.
Delicious! I made this tonight with chicken stock instead of vegetable since I didn’t have any on hand and onion powder instead of a medium onion. It came out so thick and creamy, reminded me of a healthy mac & cheese! :)
I tried making this dish using the same exact ingredients and my sauce was kind of dry and pasty. I added more than the recommended pasta water amount but I was afraid of diluting it too much. How did you get your dish to be so creamy/more liquidy?
Hi Kris! I’m sorry to hear it. The amount of pasta water you need to add could vary depending on the exact type/amount of squash used. Sounds like yours needed significantly more—you can always add another pinch of salt if you feel like the flavor has been diluted. Hope that helps!
This was SO good! Abslolutely delish. Definitely making it again. I used the 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes and I crisped a few whole sage leaves as well and added those as a garnish. The one thing I will do differently next time is to double the amount of chopped sage and crisp it in butter rather than oil. I love a browned butter/sage/butternut squash combo. YUMMY!
Made this for dinner tonight using Lentil/Brown Rice Spaghetti. So easy, quick to make, and tasty. Recently converted to the Vegan plan so was missing pasta and creamy cheese. Thank you for the recipe.
Can I use chicken broth instead of veggie broth?
I’m vegetarian so of course don’t use it, but it should work here too. I hope you love it!
I usually try to stick to the recipe exactly when it’s my first time making it AND when I’m working with unfamiliar flavors… and this one is pretty awesome! Only thing I did different was make some TVP bacon bits and sprinkle on top with the sage at the end. Delightful and will make again when I’m tired of tomato based pastas
very easy very tasty! I made some crispy basil rather than sage since I didn’t have any, which also worked veeery well. The sauce matches very well with gluten free pasta!
i can really reccomend serving it with oven-blistered cherry tomatoes : )
will make again!
I rarely leave comments because I rarely follow a recipe to a T. And what good is a review if you change all sorts of things. It’s no longer the recipe, right?!? Well, I made this tonight and it was so delicious that I have to leave a comment. I live in south Louisiana where our meals reign supreme in the flavor department. If a recipe calls for 1 garlic clove, that really means 3. If it calls for 1/8tsp pepper, I’m not even sure what that is ;) So I made this tonight and am mainly reviewing the sauce part of this recipe. I followed the recipe but used more garlic and red pepper than you called for. I didn’t have sage, but know that basil also pairs well with butternut squash and happen to have an abundance of fresh basil. So that’s what I used. I used Banza chickpea pasta, which is my go-to pasta. I also threw in some fresh baby spinach when I mixed the sauce with the pasta because…why not?? I had it in my fridge and needed to use it. It didn’t add any flavor; just some nutrition. Anyway…this recipe is definitely a keeper. The flavor of the butternut sauce mixture is so wonderful! I just love healthy, clean recipes that don’t have all the added junk. I eat whole food plant based so I omitted the parmesan. I could only imagine how that would add to the flavor, though. Thank you for the recipe. I can’t wait to explore your recipes more and try out some new things!
Hi Allison! Thank you for leaving a comment. I’m excited that you liked it and glad you were able to work with what you had! Thanks again for your review.
Hello! Can the butternut squash puree be made in advance without seizing up?
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tried it. For best results, I would suggest preparing as written.
This was great! I had my doubts, and my husband doesn’t like winter squash. But once I tasted the puree, I knew it was a winner. I’ll be making it many times over.
I think I could make a large batch of the sauce, freeze it, and have a quick meal ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
I haven’t made this yet, but plan to this week. I know from some other mac and cheese recipes that adding tapioca floor adds a wonderful creaminess. I’m wondering what your thoughts on this might be since some people here reviewing it thought is was a little dry or didn’t stay well for left overs.
Thanks so much for your recipes! Love them.
Hi Tami, I don’t have too much experience using it that way to speak to that specifically. You can always reserve a little pasta water to toss with as you warm. It can work well when pastas dry out in the refrigerator.
Our big family thanksgiving dinner (Canada) was cancelled. I decided to skip the turkey for our household and made this, served over gnocchi. Wow. So so so good, and so healthy. Aside from chopping the squash, the recipe didn’t take long at all. This is going to be added to my fall/winter rotation. So delicious!!
I wanted to try something with butternut squash but didn’t want something too ambitious. So I was pleasantly surprised with how easy this recipe was! (Oh and delicious!) would highly recommend and will definitely go into my fall/winter dinner rotations.
Hello, I’d love to try this recipe but am wondering if acorn squash would work? I have several to use. Thanks!
Hi Nicole, it’s hard to say for sure without trying it. If you have acorn squash, you should try Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash
Hi! I’d like to make this but don’t have access to fresh sage. Can I just top this with dried sage instead?
Hi! It may not give you the same taste as it can be much more potent. Be mindful of how much you use so it doesn’t overpower.
Could Rosemary be substituted for sage? If so, how much? Thanks!!:)
Hi! I like sage the best with this one. Not sure rosemary would be my preference. If you try it, I would be interested to hear what you think!
Love a guilt-free pasta dish!
The only change I would suggest… boil the pasta half the time, as it continues cooking later in the skillet.
Easy fix to avoid mushy pasta :)
This was good. I followed other reviewer’s advice to store the starchy water for leftovers, and that was a good cause. I doctored the sauce up with a little McCormick’s garlic powder, and that added a bit. The sage was a nice touch. I’ve never done much with sage. Thanks so much for this!
This was so delicious! I used a kuri squash and it was so good!
Thank you!
This was delicious- and surprisingly creamy, particularly for being vegan. I didn’t have sage so used rosemary.I also added some sautéed spinach, which was a nice compliment.
This was amazing! It’s going in my repertoire for sure. Worth the effort and I just loved every bite. Filling, substantial, delicious, and sophisticated. Thanks for a knock-out recipe!
Made this tonight. I sadly didn’t have sage but it was absolutely lovely! I scaled down for me and tossed the leftovers into some soup I made! Will make again!
This was so yummy!!!
I added more squash to it. I also used some red curry paste and smoked paprika and it had just the right amount of heat!!!! I also added some ground thyme and turmeric. Was so filling. I have some left over squash and I will thin it out with some coconut milk for a soup!!!!
I’m new to veganism and so glad I found your page!
This was absolutely delicious. Creamy and indulgent tasting, yet so healthy!
I wasn’t convinced it would work but wow!
Only additional thing I did was add a little nutritional yeast.
Loved it
Thank you, Nic! I’m happy to hear that.
This was ridiculously delicious. I used shallots but that’s the only modification. Can’t wait to make it again.
That’s great to hear, Lisa! Thank you for your review.
I made this last night for my vegan son-in- law. It was really good, especially with a little cheese on top and super filling. Portion size is accurate. I have enough left for dinner tonight!
Absolutely love this recipe. Even my husband, who does not like squash can’t wait for me to make it again!!
I made this tonight for my overweight, (typically meat loving) Italian husband that loves food. This recipe exceeded his expectations – he went back for seconds (wanted 3rds). LOVE THIS dish. Thanks!!
Bland! Bland!! BLAND!! I added pancetta, parmesan, extra black pepper and doubled the amount of cooking water to thin out the gloppy squash mess. It was palatable after my modifications.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe. I appreciate your feedback, Tru.
This was amazing! I don’t love squash so I was a little skeptical but it was so so good. I will for sure make this again.
That’s great, Erika! Thank you for your review.
Just wanted to pop in to say how much I love this recipe. I’ve used it a dozen times now, and it’s one of my favorite things to cook now that I’ve got a proper blender lol. It’s easy to make and super delicious, thanks!
You’re welcome, Josh! Thank you for your review.
Wow, this was so much better than I expected! (My expectations were based on previous sauces I’d made from butternut squash.) I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Holly.
Loved this … I have a CSA from a local, organic farm and received a beautiful butternut squash. This recipe was perfect and oh, so tasty! The only thing I did differently was that I used gluten free pasta, added some beautiful shallots and two extra cloves of garlic … because, you know, I love garlic! Thanks for so many inspirations, Kate!
This was delicious! I think it is improved with whole fried sage leaves and toasted pine nuts for crunch. Also, I had way more sauce than needed for that amount of pasta. So I made about 50% more pasta which was perfect.
That’s great to hear, Suzanne! Thank you for sharing.
Simple and delicious flavours. A comforting pasta on a cool fall night.
I’m glad you loved it, Kelly!
Absolutely delicious. Sage is a must. Adds so much flavor. Enough for 2 nights for 2 people
My husband and I liked this. Though I may follow some other’s advice and amp it up a bit next time — mushrooms or lemon juice. My add here is I used a large saucepan and my immersion blender instead. Easier cleanup!
Would it work using chicken broth instead of vegetable broth? It’s what I’ve got in hand and otherwise this recipe sounds great!
Hi Kate, that could work too. Let me know what you think!
This was easy to make and filling. I used basil instead of sage (it’s what I had on hand), and extra red pepper. Creamy and tasty! We will make it again!
Great to hear, Leah!
The recipe was amazing! I sautéed the onions and garlic first to carmelize them them before adding the squash. I also added sauteed mushrooms at the end and added Parmesan cheese to my bowl. I will definitely be making this again and serving to others! Thank you!
Thank you, Alison! I’m glad you enjoyed it.