Roasted Butternut Squash, Sausage and Orecchiette Pasta in a Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Roasted Butternut Squash, Sausage and Orecchiette Pasta in a Brown Butter Sage Sauce is deliciously savory and easy to whip up!

There are only a handful of recipes that make me close my eyes and moan while I eat them. Right off the top of my head there’s these Lemongrass Squares and then there was this bbq pheasant recipe (which may have freaked some of you out but I totally love it). Now I can add this ditty to the stack. I may even put it on the very top!

This recipe really should be called Autumn-in-a-bowl. It is warm, toasty and smothered in butter with a hint of sage. Today, dinner just sort of happened. I had the pasta for a while now… then a week ago, I spied these chicken sausages at the grocery store, so I threw them in the cart {best $6 I ever spent}… then stumbled on the butternut squash at the farmers market down the road two days later. The whole brown butter sage sauce and walnuts thing was all I could think about for weeks, and needed to pour it over something, and quick. So I made pasta. And I sprinkled it with walnuts. Then I died… and went to heaven.

Excited yet? I am!

To get it done and out of the way, quickly toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant. Snack on a few and set aside.

Peel and cube up enough butternut squash to equal two cups or so. Because my squash was so HUGE I just used the top portion and saved the rest for something else.

Toss the cubed squash in a bowl with salt, pepper and the tablespoon of dark brown sugar.

Now the trick I have for you here is to stick your pan in your oven while it’s preheating to 375 degrees. Spread out the squash on to the hot pan, you should hear a little sizzle-sizzle.

Stick it back in the oven for 20 minutes or so until the squash is tender. By doing this you shouldn’t have a problem with the squash sticking to the pan. Genius. I know. Just remember to put your oven mitts back on when you place them into the oven to cook. Ouch!

Meanwhile sear up the chicken sausages on all sides.

Remove…

Slice them up…

Then add them back into the same pan to brown and get all crispy again.

Next measure out 3 cups of the orecchiette pasta.

Then pour the pasta into the salted boiling water and cook, as the package directs, to al dente. Drain. Easy.

Next in a large mixing bowl; add the cooked pasta, chicken sausage and roasted butternut squash.

Next get out a stick of cold butter, I cut mine in half but you don’t have to.

Then I had a 10-inch pan heating on medium-high for a few minutes, and when I knew it was smoking hot I dropped in the butter, lifted and swirled the pan around… then added the sage. I used 8 or 9 small sage leaves. The butter should instantly melt down and turn a brownish golden color and bubble up.

When the butter is all browned, pour it over the ingredients in the bowl. Probably the easiest sauce I’ve ever made.

Then add in the toasted walnuts.

Next, toss to combine.

And then serve! I found that I liked mine with a little black pepper. I didn’t need any extra salt because of the salted butter, however taste and season to your liking.

During dinner my youngest showed me… this “worker” guy. 🙂

Enjoy! And if you give this Roasted Butternut Squash Sausage and Orecchiette recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance! 

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Yield: 6 servings

Roasted Butternut Squash, Sausage and Orecchiette Pasta in a Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Roasted Butternut Squash, Sausage and Orecchiette Pasta in a Brown Butter Sage Sauce is deliciously savory and easy to whip up!

Prep Time: 35 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 package, of 4 chicken sausages [I used sun-dried tomato and basil]
• 3 cups orecchiette pasta
• 1 butternut squash, cubed (about 2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 4 ounces walnuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 8 small sage leaves
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Instructions 

• Slide a small baking sheet into your oven and preheat it to 375 degrees.
• In a small dry pan, toast walnuts over medium heat until fragrant. Remove and set aside.
• Peel and cube up two cups of butternut squash. In a bowl, toss the squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and dark brown sugar. {With oven mitts} remove pan, add the squash to the hot pan and place back into the oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring once during the cooking time. Remove once the squash is tender.
• In a skillet; add a little olive oil and sear the chicken sausages over medium heat on all sides. Remove, slice and add back into the pan to crisp on all sides.
• To a pot of {salted} boiling water; add in the three cups of orecchiette pasta. Cook as directed on package to al dente. Drain.
• In a large bowl; combine the sausage, pasta and butternut squash.
• Heat a 10 inch skillet on medium/ medium-high heat. Place the stick of cold butter into the hot pan, lift and swirl the butter. Add in the sage leaves and keep swirling until the butter has completely melted, should be a deep brown color.
• Pour the brown butter sage sauce over pasta, toss and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle toasted walnuts over top and serve immediately!

Serving: 1g, Calories: 480kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 144mg, Potassium: 625mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 13764IU, Vitamin C: 26mg, Calcium: 94mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees, Side Dishes

Cuisine: American