Brown Butter Butternut Squash & Crispy Sage Pasta

This cozy pasta wraps you in all the best flavors of autumn, with velvety roasted butternut squash melting into a nutty brown butter sauce. Crispy fried sage leaves add a savory, almost floral crunch that makes every bite feel a little fancy without any fuss. It's the kind of weeknight dinner that tastes like you spent hours on it but comes together in under an hour.

✨ An original recipe written by AI — not kitchen-tested, so trust your taste on seasoning & timing.

Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni or penne pasta
• 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 16 fresh sage leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss butternut squash cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a baking sheet. Roast at 425°F for 22 to 25 minutes, flipping once, until golden and tender.
2. Cook pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
3. While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it turns golden and smells nutty, about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add sage leaves to the brown butter and fry for 30 to 45 seconds until crisp. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel.
5. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the same skillet and cook for 30 seconds. Add the roasted squash and roughly mash about half of it with the back of a spoon to create a chunky sauce.
6. Add the drained pasta and splash in the reserved pasta water a little at a time, tossing until everything is coated in a silky sauce.
7. Stir in half the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve topped with crispy sage leaves and the remaining Parmesan.

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