This colourful pasta with butternut squash, cherry tomatoes and arugula (rocket leaves) is a quick and easy dish, perfect as a healthy vegetarian weeknight meal idea.
This vegetarian pasta with butternut squash is a good example of why home cooking using fresh (and seasonal) ingredients makes sense. This simple dish requires minimum effort, very few ingredients yet is bursting with flavour!
Butternut squash does not need a special recommendation – it is the quintessential autumn vegetable, delicious on its own or with other ingredients. It can be prepared in a number of ways, but roasting it is by far my favourite method.
Arugula is so much more than just a salad ingredient! You can add it to soups (see my Vegan Split Pea Soup with Arugula), stews, pizzas and many other dishes. It can also be stirred into pasta, along with a bit of good olive oil, as I have done in this recipe. It is a pesto of sorts, only simplified and super quick to make. But it adds so much flavour to the dish. Its nutty and slightly peppery flavour works really well in this sweet and sour tasting dish!
I’ve used a similar method in this Pumpkin Garlic Pasta with Arugula recipe.
How to prepare the butternut squash
Roasted squash is sweet, with a hint of caramel, and it doesn’t really need much more than a bit of seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil. Which is how I’ve prepared it in this easy pasta recipe. Roasting it alongside cherry tomatoes produces a delicious sauce which can be added to the pasta.
How to peel butternut squash
1.For me the easiest way of doing this is by first cutting both ends off (in this case only one, as your squash is already halved). Then place your squash on one end and using a sharp knife slice the skin off downwards all the way around. 2. Cube the squash and remove the seeds.
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Equipment you’ll need
- Kitchen scales
- Pot for boiling pasta and strainer
- Cutting board and knife
- Large oven tray and spatula
How to make pasta with roasted butternut squash: step-by-step
What I love about this easy vegetarian pasta recipe is that you can roast the squash alongside the cherry tomatoes and garlic. Which makes this recipe practically a one pot dish.
1.Place the vegetables on a large oven sheet, season and drizzle with a little oil and roast for approx. 35 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked. In the meantime you can boil the pasta. Once you’ve cooked and strained the pasta, combine it with the arugula and a bit of oil. (Start cooking the pasta half way through roasting the vegetables).
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3. Remove the vegetables from the oven, chop up the garlic, then put it back into the roasting tray.
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4. Pour the entire content of the roasting tray (veggies plus the juices) over the pasta, stir and serve!
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What pasta to use in pasta with roasted butternut squash recipe
I used farfalle pasta in this butternut squash pasta recipe because it’s so pretty. Though fusilli or penne are also good choices. As this is a pasta dish a sprinkle of parmesan for serving is an option, but is not essential. I enjoyed mine vegan:).
Top tips for making roasted butternut squash with pasta
- Use your favourite pasta shapes.
- To save time cook the pasta while the vegetables are in the oven.
- You could swap the arugula for baby spinach.
- Serve with a sprinkle of grated parmesan (optional).
- Not suitable for freezing.
More butternut squash recipes
Check out also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
KEEP IN TOUCH!
How has you roasted butternut squash with pasta turned out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Tomatoes & Arugula
Ingredients
- About 250 g your favourite pasta
- 1 bay leaf for cooking the pasta
- 1/2 butternut squash peeled, cubed
- 360 g cherry tomatoes scored
- 50 g arugula finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves peeled, whole
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/gas mark 6.
- Place the squash, tomatoes and garlic in a baking tray, season, drizzle with oil and roast for about 35- 40 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven, slice or chop the garlic and then put it back in the tray mixing with the vegetables.
- While the vegetables are in the oven cook the pasta (al dente) in salted water (with the bay leaf). Strain and set aside.
- Combine the arugula with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add to the pasta. Season and stir well.
- Serve the roasted vegetables with the pasta mixture (with or without the parmesan) with a little drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
- Use your favourite pasta shapes.
- To save time cook the pasta while the vegetables are in the oven.
- You could swap the arugula for baby spinach.
- Serve with a sprinkle of grated parmesan (optional).
- Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition
RECIPE LINK PARTIES
I am bringing this easy butternut squash cherry tomato pasta to The Food Calendar and Pasta Please.
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
This looks so perfect… so much so, it’s going to be happening tonight for dinner! Thank you!
Pinned, Stumbled, Yummed, and scheduled for Tweeting!
Thank you so much! Hope you like it:)
This looks wonderful – The natural colours are just fabulous aren’t they? So refreshing to see a vegetarian pasta dish that is not covered in cheese too.
Thank you! For me this dish is all about vegetables and cheese is optional:)
This looks and sounds perfect for this time of year. I love the addition of rocket. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thank you Kirsty! Always happy to share my recipes with #CookBlogShare!
This is a beautiful dish! I’ve never heard of rocket leaves. I’ll have to look them up!
Thank you! Rocket leaves are also called rucola or arugula and if you live in North America you are likely to know these:)
I love roasted butternut squash, I could do with a bowl of this right now!
I love it too, in any dish really, or even on its own! Thanks for visiting my blog:)
I love butternut squash, and do a pasta recipe with it too! This version sounds delicious, and I love how vibrant it looks with the pop of colour from the orange, red and green of the ingredients! x #cookblogshare
Thanks! I do love colour in my food:)
I also love roasted butternut squash and it must be so lovely with the sauce from those roasted tomatoes too! Lovely vegan pasta dish!
Thank you Corina!I love creating vegan dishes especially when it’s accidental like this one was:)
This is just my kind of dinner – I love butternut squash with anything to be honest but it does go particularly well with pasta! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare
Thanks Mandy! I also love butternut squash (almost as much as I love beetroot) with anything:)
Looks delicious! I didn’t realize how much I loved butternut squash until recently when I roasted it:)
Thank you! Roasting it releases so much flavour doesn’t it?
That looks such a tasty colourful pasta dish
Thanks Jacqui!