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The simplest, coziest bowl of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon. Best for nights when you’re craving Italian, but also craving cozy fall flavors. Seasonal autumn butternut squash, roasted with fresh herbs, and garlic, all pureed into a creamy carbonara sauce that’s vibrant and so delicious! Finish off this pasta with crispy, spicy rosemary bacon for an autumn dinner that’s mouth-wateringly delicious. This is a great fall pasta to serve any night of the week, or for your next Saturday night dinner with friends.
And here we go. The first butternut squash recipe of the season. I’m thinking from today on it’s all things fall here on HBH. Ok, I know I’ve already been heavy on the fall recipes for about the last week (see these cinnamon spiced apple fritters and cheesy cauliflower). But this dish feels very fall with the roasted squash and crispy rosemary bacon.
Officially we still have 5 more days of summer. But I’m ready to jump ahead now, and this pasta needs to be shared sooner rather than later. It’s just really darn good, oh so creamy, and infused with autumn flavors. The perfect bowl to welcome in the upcoming crisp fall days.
Did I sell you yet? Did I mention the creaminess? The cheesiness? That crispy, spicy, almost “candied” rosemary bacon?
Yummmm, this pasta is a bowl full of all the good things in life…cheesy, but true.
I kept this as simple as can be. While making sure to keep all the flavor in this bowl of creamy autumn carbonara.
The heart of the pasta is really all in the butternut squash and bacon. The secret? Roasting both the squash and bacon together on the same sheet pan. As the squash roasts, the bacon cooks down overtop. The squash adds just adds that much more flavor to the already delicious butternut squash.
First, toss the squash with lots of fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. You could also add sage, but I didn’t want any of the flavors to be too overpowering, so I stuck with thyme.
For the bacon, you’ll want to rub it with fresh chopped rosemary, then a little cayenne pepper, and finish it off with honey. The honey helps to balance the heat from the cayenne and makes this more of a herby, spicy, “candied” bacon. LOVE the sweet and spicy combination with the savory autumn squash.
As the bacon cooks, the flavor from the bacon drips down over the squash infusing everything with incredible flavor. A little spiciness, a little sweetness, and a touch of smokiness.
So delicious.
Of course, if you don’t eat meat, you can easily omit the bacon to make this a vegetarian pasta. Just add the rosemary and cayenne to the squash instead.
While the squash and bacon are roasting, whisk the eggs with parmesan. If you’ve never made a carbonara pasta, it’s a classic Italian pasta dish. It’s unique in that it uses raw eggs. Tossing the raw eggs with hot pasta and plenty of parmesan cheese creates a delicious sauce. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs and produces the silkiest, smoothest, and creamiest pasta sauce. It’s melt in your mouth good.
Once the squash has finished roasting, puree it into a smooth puree. You can do this in a food processor or blender. Now, bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the pasta. I like to use linguine, but any pasta cut works well, so use your personal favorite.
As soon as the pasta has finished cooking, immediately toss it with the eggs. This step is really important, but don’t worry it’s also really easy. Just be sure to toss, toss, toss for a good minute until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, toss in the squash puree.
Then serve topped with that extra crispy rosemary bacon.
This is such a warming fall pasta that’s hearty too. It’s made just a little healthier with the butternut squash replacing extra cream and butter. Every twirl of pasta is creamy, silky, and laced with rich, warming fall flavors. The sauce is herby, savory, and just the creamiest. And the bacon adds a spicy, sweet crunch…like topping on a cake.
All together this dish is beyond good…think roll your eye back, go for that second serving…good.
And lastly, this is such a nice switch up from the classic carbonara pasta. Great for any upcoming dinner at home with family or friends. Or just a really good Thursday night meal that we can all look forward to.
Looking for other butternut squash recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna
Creamy Broccoli and Butternut Squash Soup with Cheddar Brie Pastries
Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad
Hasselback Butternut Squash with Sage Butter and Prosciutto Breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make these Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This is one of my all time favorites! My boyfriend can’t eat eggs so I subbed nutpods to reach the creamy consistency. Im curious if you’ve thought about adding a meat to this? What do you think would go well? Blackened chicken? What about some sort of beef? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, I think some blackened chicken would be delicious! xxTieghan
I made this recipe tonight and my spouse and I absolutely loved it! It is hearty, flavorful, and delicious – perfect for autumn. I was a bit worried about accidentally scrambling the eggs as I have never made a carbonara before, but the sauce came out beautifully. Be sure to read the author’s tips/method to achieve a successful finished product!
Hi there! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I really appreciate it! Happy Thursday 🙂 xTieghan
SO GOOD. Warm and comforting with the perfect amount of heat, but also not too heavy. I couldn’t find fresh thyme so I switched it out with sage and it worked great!
Hey Sasha! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ? xTieghan
Another amazing recipe! I have had loads of winter squash on hand, and this was a fun way to mix it up.
Hey Sara! This is awesome, I’m so happy to hear this recipe turned out the way you’d hoped! 🙂 xTieghan
This was hands down the best pizza I’ve ever made and ate. The chemistry of all the flavors is spot on, and the blue cheese really brings it all together. My husband and I made it together for an ‘at home date night’ — it was a lot of fun!
Oops this was meant for the butternut squash pizza recipe!
Made this tonight with my 2 teenage stepsons. The 14 year old sat down and said: “this looks good”. Mission accomplished. Those comments from teens are rare, from a teen stepchild… even more.
Seriously, this is a keeper! It was delicious!
I loooooove this recipe, thank you!
We loved this! We got thick bacon-mistake but it was so good. All the flavors were great together.
This recipe was great! We passed on the bacon, and I was surprised at how much heat came through. Definitely a big hit in our house.
This was a huge hit in our house for the littles and the grown ups alike. I couldn’t stop talking about good it was, and I cooked it lol. It will definitely go into the rotation – also love the hidden veggies in the sauce!
SO good
Excellent! Perfect for a cozy fall evening. My husband had three servings.
OMG this was soooo good!!
Hey Susan,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
This was amazing!!! Made this last weekend and will make it again this weekend. So comforting without being too heavy – THE perfect fall dish.
Hey Heather,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for making it! xTieghan
I was so excited for this recipe and it did NOT disappoint. The butternut squash makes for a delicious, creamy, fall-forward sauce. The bacon with the honey/cayenne combo is outstanding. I did follow the advice of others and saved more pasta water than the recipe called for. I was glad I did, because we needed about 1.5 cups to get the sauce to the right consistency. We also added a splash of heavy cream for a little extra yum. ? Amazing recipe, can’t wait to make again!
Hi Tara,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I truly appreciate you giving it a try!!? xTieghan