Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce is a delicious quick and easy weeknight meal! It's made with simple ingredients that are naturally vegan and dairy-free! Serve this comforting dish with your favorite gluten-free pasta.

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Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe!
• 🍴Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
• 🍴Step by Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe Variations
• How to store leftover sauce
• Recipe Card
• Want more recipes?
• 💬 Reviews

Why you'll love this recipe!

I love cooking with squash during the fall and winter months. It's my favorite time of the year to enjoy healthy comfort food! I promise your family and friends will love this creamy pasta sauce recipe.

Easy - This recipe is ridiculously easy to make! Great for busy weeknights! Just roast the vegetables and add all ingredients into a blender. That's it!

Healthy - With less than 10 ingredients, this delicious sauce is healthy and packed with flavor! A great option for anyone who is vegan, dairy-free, or nut-free!

Versatile - This sauce can be used in a variety of recipes! Serve with pasta, spaghetti squash, roasted cauliflower, or add your favorite meat for some extra protein!

If you're in the mood for squash recipes, you'll also love my Butternut Squash Risotto, Butternut Squash Soup with Apples, and Stuffed Acorn Squash!

🍴Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• Cubed Butternut Squash - Make sure you peel and deseed the butternut squash before cutting into it! You can also buy it pre-cut to save time.
• Full Fat Coconut Milk - I love using full fat coconut milk because it takes the place of butter and heavy cream. It's rich, flavorful, and makes the sauce very creamy.
• Garlic - This is one of the main flavors for this dish, I would highly recommend using fresh roasted garlic instead of garlic powder. You'll need an entire head of garlic for this recipe.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - You can substitute with avocado oil or coconut oil.
• Salt - Feel free to add more salt to this dish! It gives it a cheesier taste.
• Paprika - I love adding a little kick of spice. It's very subtle, but you could always add a bit more to kick up the flavor!

Gluten-Free Pasta

• Jovial Brown Rice Pasta - Any pasta shape will work with this recipe! Jovial makes a variety of shapes like Fusilli, Fettucine, and Penne. For a Paleo or Whole30 option, serve with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.

🍴Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Preparing Butternut Squash

Start by peeling and de-seeding butternut squash. Chop into large cubes and add to a baking dish.

Next, cut the top off of a head of garlic. Place cut side up in the middle of the baking dish. Drizzle over olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45-60 minutes.

Step 2: Remove Baked Vegetables from Oven

When the butternut squash is tender and the garlic is golden brown, remove the pan from the oven.

Step 3: Add sauce ingredients into blender

Carefully add the cubed butternut squash, full fat coconut milk, salt, paprika, and roasted garlic into a high-speed blender. (The garlic should squeeze right out!)

Step 4: Blend Sauce

Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add more salt & paprika to taste!

Step 5: Serving

Pour the Butternut Squash Sauce over gluten-free pasta and stir until evenly coated. Serve hot!

Expert Tips

• If you roast the garlic until it's golden brown, it should easily pop right out of the peel! Just squeeze and add into the blender.
• Use a high-speed blender or food processor to make the sauce.
• You could also use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper instead of a large baking pan.
• If you like a thinner sauce, add dairy-free milk or broth until you reach your desired consistency.

Serving Suggestions

• I highly recommend serving this dish with my gluten-free Focaccia Bread, Cassava Flour Bread, or a toasted slice of my Paleo Garlic Herb Bread! (Great for dipping in sauce!)
• For a delicious Paleo & Whole30 option, you can use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash! If you're new to making spaghetti squash, check out my How to Cook Spaghetti Squash Post!
• I love adding fresh cracked pepper and a few sprigs of thyme for color!
• Serve with a side salad for some extra greens! My Healthy Fall Salad would be a great option!

Recipe Variations

Protein - This is a simple vegetarian style dish, but you could serve with grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover Thanksgiving turkey, or steak.

Vegetables - For extra veggies, this dish would go well with steamed broccoli, caramelized onions, or even roasted cauliflower! You could also stir in spinach which would quickly steam with the heat of the sauce.

Sauce - To make this more of a Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese, stir in your favorite vegan or dairy-free cheese! (I love Miyoko's.) You could also blend in a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast while making the sauce.

If you're in the mood for something a little different, use this sauce to make lasagna!

How to store leftover sauce

Refrigerate

Store the leftover sauce in an airtight container. (I prefer glass containers.) The sauce will stay fresh for about 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

Freeze

You can also freeze leftover sauce for later! It will stay fresh for about 2-3 months.

Re-heat

To reheat, just add it to the stovetop in a pan on medium/low heat. Stir until it's warm. 

How to store cooked gluten-free pasta

If you're using gluten-free pasta, I recommend not storing it with the sauce because it tends to get soggy. Store the pasta with a generous amount of olive oil in a separate container.

More pasta recipes!

After you make this Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, make sure to leave a comment & rate the recipe!

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