Baked 4 Cheese Butternut Squash Rigatoni.
Hey, hi! I have Monday food at its very best today!
Extra cheesy pasta with ingredients like butternut squash (my favorite fall fruit), sun-dried tomatoes and um, roasted garlic! Yum, yum!
Honestly, I am way too excited about this pasta. I’ve already made this twice in the last week, and well, I am still obsessed! It’s simple, easy and relatively quick. Whenever autumn squash is involved there’s going to be added oven time, so it’s not technically fast, but I promise it’s easy! AND did I mention it’s delicious, because it’s one of the best pastas I have ever made. Yes, ever!
I know that Mondays are supposed to be all about salads and such, but let’s be real, it’s fall, and all I’m really craving is PASTA, slow cooked chili’s/soups and hearty grain salads.
Anyone with me?
Plus, I’m all about balance, so it’s not like I majorly over indulge on the weekends. Actually, my weekend eating habits are pretty similar to my everyday life, so Monday is kind of just another day for me – well food wise anyway!
Speaking of the weekend, how was yours? I spent some of mine visiting with my great-aunt and my first cousin once removed (I had to look that one up!). They were in town visiting my other cousin (once removed) who used to live with my parents when he first moved out here, but now lives in Denver. Their relation to me makes them sound much older. My cousins aren’t much older than me, and my great-aunt is like 8 years older than my mom. They loved Colorado, and it was nice to catch up.
I also FaceTimed with my brother, cousin Abby and cousin Matt… whose birthday was on Sunday. Matt and I are exactly a month apart, so it’s fun to celebrate together in some sort of way. They all live in California, so it was a day of drinks and beach time for them!
Speaking of birthdays, my brother Kai turns twenty-one on Thanksgiving day. His girlfriend Cait is trying to brainstorm what to do other than go to Vegas (she’s only nineteen, so that’s a no go). Do you guys have any suggestions? We’d both love to hear them!
Okok and since we’re on the topic of random life things, I’ve been meaning to chat with you guys about Facebook LIVE! I’m plotting my first FB Live post and wondering what you guys would like to see first. Recipe video? Q&A? Tour of all my props? My messy shooting area? The goats?! Tell me, tell me…please and thank you! 🙂
Alright, so on to this baked 4 cheese butternut squash rigatoni!
I’ve been working on this recipe for a couple of weeks now, and well… I think I’ve kind of perfected it. I mean, what could be bad about four cheeses, pasta and butternut squash? That’s got to be one of the best fall combos…plus it’s simple to make and perfect for feeding a crowd…or OK, maybe just yourself!
Here’s how this recipe breaks down. Start off by roasting your butternut squash and garlic. To make things really simple, we’re just going to roast our squash whole and then scoop out the flesh once the squash all soft. Trust me, this is so much easier than peeling, dicing and then roasting. While the squash is roasting, boil up some pasta. Then puree that roasted squash into a nice, yummy sauce. Pour the sauce all over your pasta and add your cheese!!! Then toss…add a little more cheese, throw on a few pepperoni (these are my secret ingredient, they make the dish so good, and add a nice spicy bite!). Then bake until the cheese is melty and gooey.
EAT!
Pretty simple right? And I mean, come on, do you see all that cheese? It is SO so good, especially when paired with the slightly sweet butternut squash.
My four cheese combo is as follows…
…ricotta
…parmesan
…fontina
…mozzarella
So basically the Holy Grail of Italian cheese. YES.
Not going to lie, this is probably my ideal fall dinner right here, and you know what… I even got the picky eaters to dive right into this! It’s all that delicious the cheese and butternut squash, you just cannot turn away from that combo!
Again, my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Baked 4 Cheese Butternut Squash Rigatoni.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta
An extra cheesy pasta dish, that's simple, east and relatively quick
Ingredients
- 1/2 a medium butternut squash seeded
- 1 head garlic outer skins removed
- 2 tablespoons oil
- kosher salt + pepper
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8-10 pepperoni optional
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet. Chop the top 1/3 of the garlic off to reveal the cloves and place on the baking sheet with the squash. Drizzle the squash and garlic with olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Turn the oven to 450 degrees F.
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Next, bring a large oven safe pot of water to a boil and boil the pasta until al dente. You want the pasta to still have a bite to it. Just before draining, reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Drain and add the pasta back to the pot.
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Use a spoon to remove the seeds from the roasted squash. Discard the seeds. Now scoop the flesh from the squash and add it to a blender or food processor, discard the squash skin. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and add to the blender. Now add the 1 1/2 cups of reserved pasta water, the milk, oregano and thyme. Season with salt + pepper. Pulse until completely smooth. Add the ricotta and pulse until just combined.
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Pour the butternut squash sauce over the pasta and set the pot over medium heat. Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and 1/4 cup oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Toss to combine. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the sauce is hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and fontina cheese. Spread the pasta in even layer, or if needed, transfer to a baking dish. Top with mozzarella and pepperoni. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey. Eat!
Monday, you have nothing on that cheese pull. ?
Facebook Live = Goats
^definitely the goats 😉
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Will have to do that! thanks Rebecca!
This looks awesome, love the combination of ingredients! Looking forward to your Facebook Live
Thanks Rhian!
Yaaaay facebook live, sounds amazing!!! Uhm, I sooo want to see all your amazing props 😀 good luck!!
Thank you Eva!!
I saw an article on Food52 about repurposing leftover soup into a sauce. I’m going to try this with leftover kabocha squash soup and add the cheeses. Hope it works! Love winter squashes!!
Ooo sounds great! Thanks Lori!
This looks incredible, that last photo with the cheese is so good 🙂
Thank you Amy!!
I looks gooood ! Plus I just did yesterday my own oven-dried tomatoes (that I had a hard time resisting eating them all after they were done cooking), and it would be absolutely delicious in this meal !!!
This week-end I had my first Fondue of the autumn, and you know the summer and hot weather are a thing of the past when you start having fondue ! But that’s all right, fondue is so good ! Have you ever done a blog post for fondue? Broth and/or sauces? If not you should !!!
As for you brother, if budget allow, they should go to Canada party a bit 🙂 There, even his girlfriend will be able to enjoy a drink !
Love that idea, but it’s probably a bit pricy! haha! Thank you! 🙂
Definitely making this tonight!
I hope you love it Jenna, thanks!
I just finished breakfast and I’m drooling all over my keyboard. I am making this ASAP and your cheese pull is fantastic! Great shot. Have a beautiful day.
Thank you Marisa, so happy you are enjoying that cheese pull haha! I hope you have a beautiful day as well?
what a beautiful, beautiful pasta dish! The butternut squash is such a wonderful addition!
https://www.searedandshameless.com
Thank you Jessica!
yup, yup, right upa my alley, this one is!! Squash and sundried tomato? I’m in, baby, I’m SO in!!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Yes!! So happy you are loving this Ruth!
This looks amazing–as all your dishes do.
FB live subject? I would love to see your “messy” work area as you do a photo shoot.
Thanks Natalie!
I can see why this would be your ideal fall dinner Tieghan! LOVE all that cheese! So comforting and just perfect for fall with the addition of the squash! Hope your week is off to a great start!
Thank you Mary Ann, so happy you are loving this!
This sounds soo delish! I love butternut squash, and garlic, and sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. In other words, this dish definitely has my name on it.
Perfect! I hope you love it Andrea, thanks!
Perfect for National Pasta Day! Definitely would love to see the goats and more of the barn.
Awesome! Thanks Penny!
Today is such a dark, gloomy and yes even kind of depressing day here and this pasta looks so delicious and comforting, it would be perfect if you could send me some now! 😀
Perfect! Thanks Lili!
I want to see the goats! 😛
Will have to show them haha!
Oh yes, my Monday so needs this fall comfort meal! Love!!
Right?! I loved this one!! Thanks Laura!
This looks soooo good, I can’t wait to try it out. I love new pasta recipes 🙂
Awesome! I hope you love this one as well, thanks Brooklyn!
I don’t keep up with the times.
I don’t belong to any of those sites.
But you sound excited so I say–go Facebook.
And of course I’ll be pinning your pasta dish.
Thank you Nancy!
Thanks Nancy!
i love that you topped this bad boy with pepperoni! looks amazing!
Thanks so much Jess!
Oh what a beautiful pasta dish! Love love all that cheese! I have to make this. I’m always looking for a new pasta dish because my little one loves pasta! And this is a great way to add the butternut squash which I didn’t know that you can roast them whole! That sure sounds a lot easier than peeling and chopping! It’s one thing I am not fond of is peeling and chopping the winter squash as they’re so hard! Anyways, I’d love to first see a tour of your props on FB Live! I know you’ve got a houseful of treasures! 😉
Haha I agree, it can get kind of difficult to chop. Anyway, I hope you and your little ones love this Sheila, thank you!!
Well hello deliciousness!! Tieghan, I can’t wait to try this. I was thinking of making pasta tonight, so I may just have to give this recipe a whirl. Thanks for sharing!x
I hope you love it Sarah! Thank you!
Yummy
Lucero Love XX
http://lucerolove.blogspot.com.es
Thank you Lucero!
OH MY GOD save that crispy bit on top for me. CHEESE FOR LIFE!
Yes!! Thank you!
I loooove all things butternut squash for fall– SO darn yummy! And I mean, come on, all that cheese?! How could one resist!?
Exactly!! Haha thank you so much Karly!!
Oh my!!!! I have frozen roasted butternut squash in my freezer. PERFECT. Sunday Supper coming up. Love your site.
Ah yes!! You need to make this one!! Let me know what you think!
I’m right there with you! A salad might be more sensible but really who doesn’t just want to hunker down with a hearty bowl of pasta? Love sun dried tomato and garlic so this sounds perfect for me.
– John Munro
http://foodvacuumsealers.com.au
Awesome! I hope you love this recipe John, thank you!!
Hi Tieghan, I made this twice over the weekend: Friday night for 6 people and Saturday night for 8 people, as it was so nice Friday and I was in the groove. Everyone loved it. I added some chilli flakes on Saturday night. Living on the edge! Thank you for a lovely recipe!
PS I would like to see your goats
Wow I am so glad this turned out so great for you and your guests Liz! Thank you so much!
I made this tonight and used cheddar instead of fontina (as I couldn’t get any). It was absolutely delicious and there’s plenty of leftovers for work tomorrow as well. I’ve been making loads of your recipes lately and they’ve all been fantastic.
Perfect! I am so happy you’ve been loving my recipes Sophie! Thank you!
This looks just like something I would see at a glamorous restaurant! I’ve always loved cheesy pasta as a kid, but now, not so much! I guess I was on the health train for such a long time to not crave it anymore! I do admit that I love eating with my eyes, though! Your pasta dish looks gorgeous–butternut squash is the best too!
Made this with with Butterkaas instead of fontina because my store didn’t have it. Topped it with crispy bacon & prosciutto instead of pepperoni. Served with a loaf of rosemary sourdough. Pretty good! Maybe a little sugar in the butternut cheese sauce would bring up the squash & roasted garlic flavor a little bit more?
HI! Sure if you feel the squash needs a bit more flavor. I would add a teaspoon of honey personally. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
This looks incredible! Quick question – could I make the day before, put it in the fridge and then bake the next day?
HI! Yes, that will be just great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
How can I make this ahead of time for someone?
Hi Amanda! Just prepare this through the final step, add the mozzarella, but do not bake. Instead cover, and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pasta hot. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi! Is there a variation to do this as a bake without boiling the pasta? I love some of your other pasta bakes that omit that step! Thanks, can’t wait to try this – butternut squash is so yummy.
Hey Kendall,
Sorry I have not tested that with this recipe, I would follow the instructions as is:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan