Roasted Butternut Squash Alfredo with Candied Bacon.

Creamy Alfredo made with real butter, sage, cream, freshly grated parmesan, sweet gouda, and roasted butternut squash, then finished with pieces of candied bacon. It’s the warmest, creamiest pasta for chilly fall and winter nights. Simple and so satisfying.

The weather in New York shifted so fast this week. When I first arrived, it still felt like summer, with temperatures over eighty degrees. But over the weekend, everything changed, and today feels like the most perfect fall day. It’s pretty amazing.

The shift in weather immediately put me into planning mode for Thanksgiving, got me excited for Christmas, and made me even more excited to share this pasta.

It’s such a good fall pasta with sweet and spicy roasted butternut squash and almost candy-like bacon. It might sound a little funny for pasta, I know, but it’s really great!

Almost every fall, I end up creating some kind of butternut squash pasta. I love butternut squash and always think we don’t cook with it enough. Recently, my favorite way to use it has been roasting it and tossing it into a creamy pasta. Instead of blending the squash into the sauce, I leave the pieces whole so you get bites of sweet, spiced squash swirled throughout.

Then there’s the bacon. It gets crispy in the oven and is finished with a little maple so it becomes almost candied. The sweet, salty, spicy mix is so delicious with the creamy Alfredo sauce.

When I first made this last fall, it quickly became a favorite. So much so that I ended up serving it over Christmas when we had family here. It was A LOT of pasta to make for everyone, but it ended up being such a great Christmas dinner!

These are the details

Ingredients

• butternut squash
• smoked paprika
• chili powder
• cinnamon
• bacon
• fresh rosemary
• cayenne pepper
• maple syrup
• long or short-cut pasta, I like linguine
• salted butter
• fresh sage
• cream cheese – make sure this is very much at room temperature and not cold
• whole milk or heavy creamy – like to use half of each
• parmesan cheese
• gouda cheese

The Steps

Step 1: Start with the squash and bacon

First, get the butternut squash onto a sheet pan with smoked paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. I love this mix. It gives the squash a sweet, smoky, spicy flavor that is so good once roasted.

Scoot the squash to one side of the pan, then add the bacon to the other with rosemary and cayenne. Roast everything together until the squash is tender and the bacon is getting crispy.

Towards the end, toss the bacon with maple syrup, then put the pan back in the oven. This is what makes the bacon almost candy-like. Sweet, salty, spicy, and crispy.

Tip: Keep an eye on the bacon towards the end. Once the maple is added, it can go from perfectly caramelized to too dark pretty quickly.

Step 2: Cook the pasta

While everything is roasting, boil the pasta. I love linguine here, but long or short, honestly, use whatever pasta you love or have on hand.

Before draining, scoop out some of the pasta water. I always save more than I think I’ll need. It’s the easiest way to loosen the sauce at the end without watering down the flavor.

Step 3: Make the creamy Alfredo

In the same pot you cooked the pasta in, brown the butter with fresh sage. Let the butter get lightly golden and the sage crisp up a bit. Your kitchen will smell so good.

Turn the heat down, then stir in the cream cheese. Once melted, whisk in the cream, parmesan, and gouda. Let everything gently simmer together until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

My tip: Keep the heat low once the cheese goes in. You want everything to melt together slowly so the sauce stays really creamy.

And use freshly grated parmesan if you can. It melts so much nicer into the sauce.

Step 4: Toss everything together

Add the pasta straight into the sauce along with about half of the roasted squash and candied bacon. Toss everything together until the pasta is really coated and creamy.

If the sauce feels too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water. I usually end up adding a little. You want the sauce creamy enough to really cling to the pasta.

Step 5: Finish

Divide the pasta between bowls, then spoon the remaining roasted squash and candied bacon over top. Finish with extra parmesan and fresh sage.

I love leaving some of the squash and bacon for the top instead of mixing it all in. You get those delicious roasted pieces in every bowl, plus it makes the pasta look so pretty.

Eat this one right away while the sauce is warm and creamy. So delicious!