Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Tahini Sauce
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Published Nov 28, 2018, Updated Aug 24, 2023
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This cozy roasted butternut squash pasta is served with a zesty lemon tahini sauce and makes for a comforting fall/winter meal! This post is sponsored by Barilla®.
There’s no way around it, cooler temperatures have officially arrived here in Richmond… and I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that they will be here for the next six-ish months. The change in weather also has me thinking a lot about the different foods I crave and enjoy throughout the seasons. During the summer, I want fresh, light, cool foods and during the fall/winter I crave hearty warm meals.
Recently, I’ve started to challenge those thoughts and play with the foods I typically crave in certain seasons. Take pasta salads for example: in the past, I’ve only made these in the summertime but I thought why not make a warm pasta salad using seasonal produce!? Whoever said pasta salads have to be served cold?! And who said you can’t have pasta salad as a meal?! We’re challenging all. the. things.
Ever since I found the new legume pastas from Barilla, I’ve been trying to think outside of the box when it comes to pasta, and we’ve been serving pasta as a meal more frequently. I love using Barilla legume pasta as a base because it’s made with one ingredient (in this case, chickpeas), it’s a good source of plant-based protein and an awesome source of fiber. Anytime I can have one ingredient filling those two roles in a recipe, it’s a win in my book! All of the Barilla legume pastas are certified gluten-free and Non-GMO Project Verified. Basically, these pastas check all the boxes in my book – so you can’t go wrong! PS: you can find them on Amazon!
For this recipe, I was inspired by roasted butternut squash, chickpea and tahini salad from Orangette I made many moons ago. I knew I wanted to incorporate seasonal roasted veggies – focusing on butternut squash. I love the full flavor the roasted squash brings to this dish. It really compliments the pasta and lets the tahini sauce shine!
Tahini is super trendy right now and for good reason… it’s so dang delicious and sesame seeds are loaded with nutrients like fat, fiber, protein and calcium to name a few.
The lemon tahini dressing used for this butternut squash pasta dish is so easy to whip up and tastes delicious on everything. I highly recommend making a double batch when you make this recipe so you can have leftover sauce. It’s perfect for drizzling over salads, topping cooked veggies and even spread on toast.
If you’re like me and totally obsessed with tahini right now definitely check out some of my other tahini recipes or try making homemade tahini!
I highly recommend serving this roasted butternut squash pasta salad warm, but you can also eat the leftovers cold or at room temperature. To reheat, I recommend using low heat over the stovetop. You may need to add a little water or broth so the pasta doesn’t dry out.
Try These Other Vegan Pastas
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Walnut Pasta Sauce with Spaghetti Squash Noodles
- Vegan Bolognese Sauce
- Healthy Pasta Salad
- Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
- Zucchini Noodle Fettuccine Alfredo
Be sure to check out all of the butternut squash recipes and the full collection of dinner recipes on EBF!
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Salad with Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 box, 8 oz Barilla Chickpea Casarecce
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Tahini Sauce
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos, or low sodium tamari
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 2-4 tablespoons water, reserved from cooking pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, combine butternut squash, onion, garlic, allspice, sea salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss until veggies are coated and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes, toss and then roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until butternut squash is soft. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions and drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
- Make the tahini sauce by whisking together the lemon juice, liquid aminos, tahini, olive oil and garlic. Add in 2-4 tablespoons of pasta water to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
- To assemble the pasta salad, add the pasta, veggies and cilantro into a large bowl. Add tahini sauce to taste and toss carefully. Serve warm with additional salt and crushed red pepper, if using. The pasta is best served immediately, but you can also enjoy it at room temperature or reheat.
- To reheat, I recommend using low heat over the stove top. You may need to add a little water or broth, so the pasta doesn’t dry out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks delicious. Thanks for letting me know there is now chickpea pasta.
This is a super different yet delicious pasta dish. I have never had anything like this (probably because this is my first time trying tahini). The tahini has a super nutty flavor so I felt torn between Asian and Mexican with the cilantro. I recommend being super liberal with lemon to brighten it up a little more. I also added sautéed chicken for more protein. Really good will make again 🙂
I love the idea of tahini and butternut squash together! Sound delicious. And I just bought some chickpea pasta a few days ago! Perfect. 🙂
This looks really good and I plan to add it to our dinner menu this week. I was going to ask if you could substitute Tamari for the liquid aminos, but while they’re on the ingredient list, I don’t see them in the actual recipe. Let me know if you think you can just omit it all together. Can’t wait to try it!
Yes, you can totally sub tamari for the liquid aminos. I’m glad you mentioned the instructions. Just added it in. Sorry about that.
Can this tahini sauce be made without the added oil?
I haven’t tried it, but I think that would be just fine! I would maybe add in a tablespoon or two of water to replace the water to reach the consistency you are looking for.
I really like your recipes, but this one wasn’t a big hit at home. First time I was cooking with tahini and allspice and it made me realise I am not a big fan but I am happy I tried something new 🙂
So sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe, Mariane. I appreciate you giving it a try though.
This dish finally convinced me to try cooking with tahini outside of the world of hummus and my mind is blown! The sauce is super simple to mix up and was confusingly delicious. Seriously, I did a double take after tasting. I had no idea what I was missing, but I’m just glad I know now. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Ahh yay, that makes me so happy to hear!! I’m so pumped you loved this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I come back to this recipe time and time again, whenever I find butternut squash on sale. It wouldn’t have occured to me to combine these flavors, but they go together splendidly!
So glad you’re loving this recipe. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
This is the best pasta I’ve ever had! I used frozen squash to save time and added roasted peppers and spinach. So delicious!
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear. So glad you loved this pasta!! Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!