Shhh…don’t tell! Healthy veggies snuck their way into this creamy and comforting pasta bake. It’s a healthy spin on this classic dish that the whole family is sure to enjoy!

Does anyone else have an email inbox full of promotional emails – like Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, and World Market? Though my husband gives me grief for the state of my inbox, sometimes it has its benefits. 

When scanning my daily flood of promotional emails, I stumbled across one from World Market that featured a delicious looking recipe featuring butternut squash, kale, pasta….and LOTS of butter and cheese. Yeah, sometimes I open the emails, Drew.

I’ve been gathering ideas for something special that I can make for my mom for her upcoming birthday and I thought this one could make the list if I could figure out how to make it healthier, as I want to promote and support the longevity of my amazing mother. 

Also, this blog is about healthy recipes – well, healthy-ish. 

Though I am not the biggest squash fan, I have to say that I truly appreciate the versatility of the butternut squash. Use it in savory OR sweet dishes, cube it, puree it, make it a pizza sauce, a pasta sauce, use it in a curry – the possibilities seem endless.

Why Should my Family Eat Butternut Squash?

What I love the most about butternut squash is that I can sneak nutrients into my son’s diet (and my own since I don’t really like squash by itself). Speaking of nutrients, let’s talk about why butternut squash is good for you and your family:

  • It has a ton of beta carotene (an antioxidant) which our bodies convert into Vitamin A.
  • Vitamin A is good for healthy skin, our immune system (super important right now!), and our eyes.
  • A serving (1 cup) contains more potassium than a banana! Say, wuut??
  • It has lots of fiber, which, uughhh, you know, keeps ya regular.
  • A serving contains 30% of the daily amount of Vitamin C that we need. 

How Can This Butternut Squash Baked Pasta Help Me?

Well, other than the health reasons I just stated, it can help your family in an emotional way, too. I’m all about the food-heart-soul connection…stick with me here. 

I don’t know about you, but to me, baked pasta exudes warmth. 

Well, it does get cooked in an oven, so yeah, it comes out pretty hot. 

Oh wow, you’re clever. 

Yes, literally it is warm when you eat it, but it is the experience and emotion behind a baked pasta dish that I am referring to. It’s a ‘Let’s all come together and get out of a funk’ meal, an ‘Aww, I love my family’ meal, a “Thank goodness, we’re all distracted by this delicious pasta and getting along right now’ meal. 

This Butternut Squash Baked Pasta will give you that homey, comforting, and togetherness feeling. 

Aww, how nice. 

Here are the other ways it will help you and your family:

  • You get to sneak in some healthy veggies – butternut squash, spinach, and tomatoes.
  • White beans deliver protein and fiber to all those hungry mouths you’re feeding, keeping your family’s stomach’s satisfied until morning.
  • Holy cow, it feeds a lot of people!
  • Make it ahead of time and freeze it for an easy weeknight meal during stressful, time-crunched weeks. 
  • It’s soul food. 

Busy Mom Tip: Cook the rigatoni over the weekend, so it is ready to go! This saves you time and gives you more time with your little ones! Even better, assemble the whole thing in advance and alls ya gotta do is pop it in the oven when you get home from work. Oh, sweet relief! Now you can just focus on spending time with or playing with your kids!

Help a New Mama Out and Hop on That Meal Train!

Remember the blur, the stress, the “Ohhh, so this is what it feels like to not get any sleep” feelings of being a new mom? Well, this recipe is perfect to make for your mom friends who just had a baby! It’s simple for you to make and most importantly, it’s filling, healthy, and comforting for the mama you’re making it for! 

I just made it for one of my amazing mama friends who just had her first baby. What’s great about this recipe is that after your new mama friend and her partner have their helpings for the evening, they can package it in individual portions in freezer bags. This way, they can have something to eat whenever they need it since time is warped during the newborn stage. Starving at 2:00 am from breastfeeding every two hours? There’s a yummy pasta bake you can pop in the microwave for that.

*Just to note: If freezing, you may want to freeze some of the sauce separately to add to your pasta when you heat it to ensure your pasta remains creamy enough. If you are reheating your pasta in the oven, you can cover it with foil and heat at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
Recipe Type: Extra Long Nap Recipe/Dinner
Author: Kaileigh ~ Supermom Eats
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 servings
Shhh…don’t tell! Healthy veggies snuck their way into this creamy and comforting pasta bake. It’s a healthy spin on this classic dish that the whole family is sure to enjoy!
Ingredients
  • 16 oz. rigatoni
  • 1-15oz. can white kidney beans
  • 3 handfuls spinach chopped
  • 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes[br][br][b]Pasta Sauce[/b]
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 12 oz. cubed butternut squash (I use the pre-bagged cubes from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1/2 white onion diced
  • 1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
  • 1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Black pepper to taste[br][br][b]Topping[/b]
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 4 sprigs of thyme
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
  3. While pasta is cooking, place cubed butternut squash in microwave safe dish and cook in the microwave for 6 minutes. If using the Trader Joe’s bag, cut the corner off of the bag and keep it in the bag to cook. If not, cover the cubed squash and add a little water to the dish and then heat in the microwave.
  4. While squash is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan and dice the onion.
  5. Add onion to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent.
  6. Blend all pasta sauce ingredients together until smooth and set aside.
  7. Heat the pan with coconut oil and add minced garlic, thyme, and panko bread crumbs, stirring frequently until slightly golden brown.
  8. While the topping is cooking, chop spinach and tomatoes and place into 9×13 inch baking dish.
  9. Add rinsed beans, cooked pasta, and the pasta sauce to the baking dish and mix well.
  10. Sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly over pasta.
  11. Sprinkle breadcrumb topping evenly over pasta.
  12. Cook in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until top is golden brown and pasta is heated through.
Notes
DREW RECOMMENDS: Adding sausage!