Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta (Super Easy Make-Ahead Recipe)
This make-ahead and crowd-pleasing Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe is ideal for Thanksgiving, and features the perfect fall flavors that everyone will love!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword Butternut Squash Pasta Salad Recipe, Christmas side dish, pasta and veggie salad, Thanksgiving side dish
Prep Time 25 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 10
Author Valya's Taste of Home
Ingredients
Butternut Squash Pasta Salad Ingredients
1lb.- organic Fusilli pasta
2cups- organic cauliflower florets
2cups- organic broccoli florets
2cups- organic butternut squash (cubed and baked, see THIS recipe )
First thing first let's roast our butternut squash! To do this, wash and peel your butternut squash, then use a knife to cut it into cubes, and then roast Butternut Squash. Let it cool completely before adding it to the salad.
Next, while the butternut squash is cooling, let's cook the pasta! In a large pot or large skillet of boiling water, boil the pasta according to package instructions. Make sure to cook it till it's al dente.
Drain the water and allow the pasta to cool as well. You can reserve some pasta water to adjust for the consistency later if you'd like.
In the meantime, rinse and cut broccoli and cauliflower into small pieces. Place all the ingredients into a large glass bowl. Add mayonnaise, sea salt, and ground pepper to it.
Finally, add poppy seeds and mix everything well. Be very careful not to mash the roasted butternut squash. At this point, you can add more salt and pepper if necessary to adjust it according to your taste.
You can also adjust the consistency of the sauce and how well it has coated the pasta by adding a tablespoon or less of reserved pasta water to the bowl and mixing it well.
Your delicious Butternut Squash Pasta is ready to be served!
Notes
I used Homemade Ranch Dressing. Also, you can add cranberries and any toasted nuts of your choice (my kids don't like any of it, so I did not include them in the recipe).