I have made this 3 times this week. Ha. Once for work and then again because it was so tasty and easy to make. 

The first dish I started with was a butternut squash lasagna and then ended up as just a simple baked pasta. I'm definitely tired of the same old tomato sauce pasta that I make almost every week. It's really really good but I wanted something more festive for the Fall. 

The sauce is creamy and naturally sweet. Best of all it's so easy to make. The most difficult part of this recipe is the homemade cheese and even that is a) not hard to make and b) you don't even need it. Instead you can buy some vegan ricotta or you can use real ricotta if you're not vegan. 

The amount of vegetables in this dish makes it really healthy. It's not just a bowl of cheese and noodles. You can play around with the veggies in the dish as well. I subbed the zucchini one time for frozen cauliflower. And it turned out awesome. 

Onion

Butternut squash 

Zucchini

Spinach

Corn 

Brown rice 

Cashews

That's a lot of produce and plants right there. 

I'm excited to share with you this video I created - demonstrating how to make this dish from start to finish. If you like it, subscribe to my channel and stay tuned for more of these tutorials. I am going to do a few a month.  

Butternut Squash Baked Pasta Recipe

Serves 4 main dishes or 6 side dishes

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups butternut squashed (skinned, seeded and cut into cubes)
• 2 cups yellow onion (skin removed and cut into large chunks)
• 2 Tbls vegan butter
• ½-3/4 cup (8 oz) vegetable broth
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup vegan sour cream 
• 2 cloves raw garlic

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut open the butternut squash, cut off the thick skin and remove all the seeds. Cut remaining squash into large cubes. 
3. Cut the onion in half. Remove the thin skin. Cut up into large chunks. 
4. On a cookie sheet spread the butter around evenly. Place the raw chopped veggies on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt. 
5. Cook for 25 minutes. Check on the veggies from time to time because the onion can burn if you slice it to thin. Remember to keep the chunks large. 
6. Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to a high speed blender. Add then add the cooked veggies. 
7. Blend on high until completely smooth and looks like a thick creamy sauce. You might need to add a tad more liquid (veg broth) depending on the desired thickness of the sauce. Remove and set aside.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BAKED PASTA INGREDIENTS

• ½ bag (8oz) of your favorite gluten-free pasta. I used Tinkyada shells. 
• 1 cup frozen corn or fresh 
• 1 zucchini thinly sliced or cut with a mandolin or peeler
• 2 cups spinach
• Butternut squash pasta sauce (recipe above)
• 2 cups Vegan Queso sauce or fresh vegan ricotta (or even real ricotta cheese if you're not vegan)
• fresh sage or thyme
• pinch of sea salt and pepper for 
• ½ cup veggie broth 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (if you just made the butternut squash sauce, keep the oven on after you bake the squash and onion).
2. In a baking dish of choice, layer about ¾ cup of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Add pasta shells. 
3. Top the shells with veggies. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. 
4. Add your cheese or cheese sauce on top of that. And add more of your veggies. Keep repeating steps 2-4 until you're out of noodles and out of sauce.
5. Pour ½ cup water or veggie broth on the top of the baking dish before you cook it. 
6. The only important rule here is that you cover the noodles completely in sauce. Don't leave dry noodles exposed.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. The sides of the dish will start to brown when it is done baking. Test to be sure noodles are fully cooked before you let it cool and serve.