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This creamy Roasted Butternut and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta is the perfect fall pasta dinner. Rosemary and garlic roasted butternut squash pureed into a creamy parmesan cheese sauce, then tossed with pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook this together with rigatoni pasta for a warming dinner made quickly. Truly one of those all-in-one dinners that everyone at the table will love. You can’t go wrong with this Tuscan-style butternut squash pasta.
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Weeknights are better with a cozy bowl of pasta. With Labor Day now behind us, I’m leaning into my cozy autumn recipes, which I kind of feel is what HBH is known for. Over the next few months, I have so many recipes to share!
In the coming weeks, we’ll have zero pumpkin recipes, we’ll save those for a little later. Instead, we have plenty of game day recipes – perfect for tailgating or watching the game from the comfort of your couch. We’ve also got simple family dinners for cozy nights at home. And of course, yummy baked goods, including a few new apple dishes. And so much more!
Eek, I am so excited! We’re starting things off with a great transitional pasta. Butternut squash is currently in season, so I used this favorite fall vegetable and pureed it in a creamy pasta sauce. This is delicious!
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cubed butternut squash
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Chopped fresh sage
- Chopped fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Heavy cream
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Italian seasoning
- Chili flakes
- Salted butter
- Short cut pasta
Here are the details
Step 1: roast the butternut squash
I kept this as simple as can be, so don’t let the steps and time throw you off. Promise this recipe is easy, you just need some time to roast that squash.
The heart of the pasta is really all in the butternut squash, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs. Everything together is what makes this such a special delish. The secret? Roasting the squash, garlic, and shallots together on the same sheet pan. As the squash roasts, the garlic caramelizes and gets a little crispy too.
First, toss the squash with garlic cloves, shallot fresh sage, and rosemary. Then, a little salt, and pepper. Bake until tender, the kitchen will smell delicious.
Step 2: puree the squash into a sauce
Once the squash has finished roasting, puree it with the garlic, shallots, parmesan, and cream, or use milk. You can do this in a food processor or blender.
Step 3: cook the chicken
I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
While I’m cooking the chicken, I season it with homemade Italian seasonings. I use a blend of dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage with some paprika and chili flakes too. It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Get the chicken seared up in the pot, then pull it out before adding the water.
Step 4: cook the pasta and toss it
Add water to the pot and then boil the pasta. Once al dente, you can mix in the squash purée, the remaining cream or milk, parmesan, and the sun-dried tomatoes too.
Toss everything together until the squash is very creamy. Add the chicken back to the pot with the pasta and toss everything until creamy.
I serve each bowl with extra parmesan and fresh basil. DELICIOUS!
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for dinners with friends and family.
Looking for more pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Basil Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Chicken, Prosciutto, and Arugula
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Lastly, if you make this Roasted Butternut Squash and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta, 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!
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 6-10 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot, quartered
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 jar (8 ounce) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning (see note)
- chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 pound short cut pasta
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 400° F.2. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, garlic, shallot, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.3. Add the butternut squash, garlic, and shallot to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add 1/3 cup cream/milk and 1/3 cup parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until creamy. 4. Meanwhile, drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a large pot or skillet with sides. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.5. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.6.To the same pot, add the butter and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes. Stir in the butternut puree, 2/3 cup cream, 2/3 cup parmesan, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Slide the chicken and any juices left on the plate.7. Serve topped with parmesan and basil. EAT and ENJOY.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Question – with that little water and a pound of pasta, what size pot did you use?
I personally used my 5qt braiser to make this dish in. I think I did about 4 cups of water and it came out great. Not all the pasta was covered so I continued to stir every minute or so.
Hi there! I usually use a large dutch oven! xT
Made this for me and my husband and we both loved it. He thought the sauce was a bit thick so next time I will try to leave more boiled water or just add some chicken broth. I was worried about adding the pureed squash combo to all the water so may have cooked pasta a tad too long and did not have enough of the pasta water. I would add more sundried tomatoes just because I love them. definitely will be in our rotation.
Yummy! I’ve never had butternut squash before, so I was surprised how sweet it made the pasta. Overall a great fall dish though. Side note… the recipe calls for 4T Italian seasoning in the ingredient list, but in the actual recipe you use 2T for the chicken, and 1T for the sauce, for a total of 3 not 4T. Not sure if I missed something or if it was a mistype.
I usually love her recipes but this one just kind of tasted like soup on noodles. It was fine, but most likely won’t make again.
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
I made this for my family tonight and it was a HUGE hit. The salty tang of the sundried tomatoes were a perfect juxtaposition for the creamy butternut sauce. There were a small amount of leftovers for tomorrow, but I had a hankering for another small taste at 9pm tonight (it was that good). I ate a forkful cold and it was nothing short of amazing. I did find that my pasta initially soaked up so much of the water that I had to use a small bit more to loosen up the sauce but it was still SO GOOD>
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
Very tasty fall recipe that was fairly easy to make. I will definitely be making it again.
Thank you so so much Nikki! xT
This was delicious and my kids (6&4) loved it! Definitely going into rotation! I used broth in place of the water to cook the pasta and cut the cream with milk. Next time I plan to use all milk. I also used my blender for the squash so it was super creamy. I may even use it as a future soup. It was so good! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Denette! xT
Another fantastic recipe. Great way to use butternut squash. Husband did not let the leftovers go to waste which is a sign of a great tasting recipe. Definitely on the make again list.
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
I am pretty slow, I guess, but it did take a long time to put all together ! However it is a delicious dish that somehow company can never fully appreciate the time spent.
Not a complaint; I have just found that very good things take extra effort.
Love your recipes. I pass the word along.
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
This was amazing!!! Great recipe if you want to impress your guests. I kept my chicken whole then sliced and laid it on top of pasta. I also added fresh spinach in at the end. This recipe is the perfect combo of ingredients – loved every bite!
Hi there! Thank you so so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have an amazing weekend 🙂 xT
I feel silly asking but you are suppose to drain the pasta first before adding the puréed sauce?
No! Add the purée to the cooked pasta and whatever water is left in the pot- don’t drain.
Nope, you don’t drain the pasta! xT
Do you use shake bottle Parmesan cheese or freshly shredded Parmesan?
I use fresh parmesan! xT
This was a really delicious recipe! I did need more water to finish cooking the pasta as Renee suggested. Also the butternut squash purée was very thick. Next time I plan to use milk instead of heavy cream. The roasted butternut squash with shallots, garlic and herbs tray bake would be delicious as a side on its own too! Great hearty fall cooking!
Could you use frozen squash in this recipe instead of fresh? Thank you
Just made the recipe and it was a huge hit! I already have the family asking when I can make it again. I followed the steps exactly as written and yes, you do leave the water in after the pasta is cooked. I added 4 cups of water and once boiled a whole box of pasta. I kept the temp on high and covered but stirred often. Once the pasta was Al dente some of the water was gone but what was left you do need it for the sauce. With the water and pasta still in the pot I added in my squash purée which was thickkkk. Stirred it in with the water/pasta and it was still thick but after adjusting with the milk and the cheese it came together in the end.
Thank you so much Reneé! xT
So delicious! It’s very filling. Chicken might not be necessary. Regardless, very tasty.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you’re having a lovely weekend! 🙂 xT
Can you bake the squash with minced garlic instead of cloves, or will minced garlic burn?