Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Tahini Sauce

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!? Who ever 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 a 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 let’s 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, topped 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.

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 stove top. You may need to add a little water or broth so the pasta doesn’t dry out.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious dish:

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Salad with Tahini Sauce

4 from 7 votes

This cozy roasted butternut squash pasta is served with a zesty lemon tahini sauce and makes for a comforting fall/winter meal!

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

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

Serving: 1/4 of recipe Calories: 507kcal Carbohydrates: 59g Protein: 19g Fat: 27g Sodium: 241mg Fiber: 13g Sugar: 3g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butternut squash pasta

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