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Easy Skillet Butternut Squash Lasagna, an Italian-style fall favorite! This lasagna is so yummy. Broken lasagna noodles mixed into a butternut squash vodka cream sauce with spicy Italian chicken and cheese. Finish this one skillet lasagna in the oven until the sauce bubbles up and the prosciutto on top gets crispy. This is a great fall pasta to serve any night of the week, or for your next Saturday night dinner party!
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I told you I was leaning hard into fall dinners and I really did mean it. But doesn’t this look just delicious? I love to use butternut squash and pumpkin in ways you might not think of. Oftentimes we only think to bake with pumpkin, and to make soup out of most of the winter squashes. All delicious, but using squash in other ways can be so yummy and fun! I find the seasonal gourds to be especially great in pasta dishes, salads, and more.
With this skillet lasagna, I sauteed the squash until it caramelized. Then lightly mashed it and created a butternut vodka cream sauce.
It really did end up being simple, and turned out so delicious. I am so excited to share the recipe!
Ingredients
- Dry lasagna noodles
- Ground Italian chicken sausage
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salted butter
- Butternut squash
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh chopped sage
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Chili flakes
- Vodka
- Heavy cream or milk
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Italian cheese, shredded
- Prosciutto
When I had this idea come to mind, I knew that I really wanted to keep the recipe easy. A lot of times these winter squash recipes can be time-intensive and very hands-on. That’s not the case with this skillet lasagna.
Aside from boiling the noodles, the entire meal is made all in the same pan with very little stress or effort. And most importantly, it really is so yummy. My mom actually just texted me and said, “Tieg, the lasagna was soooo delish!”.
Here are the details
Step 1: boil off the noodles
You can use any shortcut pasta, broken lasagna noodles, shells, or whatever you love most.
Step 2: make the sauce
I wanted this to be spicier, so I started with a spicy ground Italian chicken sausage. Our local Whole Foods carries this at the meat counter. They hand-make it. You can also use pork sausage too, or even omit the meat entirely.
Brown the meat in a large oven-safe skillet. I prefer to use only about 1/2 a pound, just enough for added flavor, but use any amount you enjoy. Then pull the sausage out of the pan and set aside on a plate.
Next, add olive oil, butter, and the butternut squash to the skillet. Then season with shallots, garlic, fresh thyme, sage, a tiny pinch of cinnamon, and nutmeg. The cinnamon may sound odd, but you have to trust me, it’s the secret to balancing out this sauce.
Cook the squash slowly in the olive oil until it softens and caramelizes. Now use the back of your spoon or a potato masher to mash the squash down into a puree. I leave my squash chunky, don’t stress about making this into a thin sauce.
Now add the cream, parmesan, and a splash of vodka. Cook until the sauce is super creamy and you no longer smell the vodka. Finish the sauce with lots of parmesan cheese.
Step 3: assemble and bake
Now that our noodles are cooked and the sauce is made, simply mix everything together and bake.
Add the sausage back to the sauce, then the pasta. Toss everything up to coat and finish with cheese. Then add the prosciutto, it will get crispy and delicious in the oven.
When this comes out of the oven, the sauce will bubble up from the pan and the cheese will be very melty. It’s such a creamy delicious skillet pasta bake that has all the flavors we love most this time of year. And it’s cheesy – very cheesy, so it’s beyond good. Think roll your eye back, go for that second serving, good.
Great for the end of October and then into November when the nights begin to get cold and long. The perfect plate to cozy up to by the fire!
Looking for other butternut squash recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Brie and Cheddar Butternut Squash Beer Soup
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza
Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna
Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon
Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad
Hasselback Butternut Squash with Sage Butter and Prosciutto Breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make this Easy Skillet Butternut Squash Lasagna 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!
Easy Skillet Spicy Butternut Squash Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 box dry lasagna noodles, (broken into 2 inch pieces)
- 1/2 pound ground Italian chicken sausage , (optional)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 2-3 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 2 shallots chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- kosher salt and black pepper
- chili flakes
- 1/3 cup vodka
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups Italian cheese, shredded
- 8 slices prosciutto, (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 5-6 minutes. Just before draining, remove 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Drain. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.2. Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, if using, and brown all over, 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Reduce the heat a bit to medium low-ish.3. Add the olive oil, butter, butternut squash, shallots, garlic, thyme, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the squash softens. Use the back of your spatula or a potato masher to mash the squash down into a chunky puree.4. Stir in the milk and vodka, cook 5, until you no longer smell the vodka. Add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, and the parmesan. If needed, thin the sauce with additional pasta cooking water. Remove from the heat. 5. Mix in the pasta, sausage, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Scatter the remaining cheese on top, then drape the prosciutto over the cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling. Top with fresh herbs, 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.
Made this tonight – delicious!! How do you think it would freeze? Could freeze just the sauce maybe and assemble and bake later? Thanks!
Hey Pat,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! Totally, that would work well for you! xT
This was absolutely phenomenal!!!!!! I wilted a handful of baby spinach leaves in the bottom of my bowl and served the delicious lasagna on top of that. WOW!
Hi Monica,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! xT
I omitted the ground chicken. I will cut the prosciutto into smaller bites if I make it again. This is a rich and flavorful pasta. My family rated it 4 stars.
Thanks so much Candace! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you! xT
Made this for dinner tonight but substituted the chicken sausage for pork. It was so delicious! Will definitely make again!
Hi Jackie,
Happy Sunday!!🍂 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your review, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
Wow, wow, wow!!!!
This is sooooo yummy good!
I didn’t change a thing and did add the sausage and it was perfect!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
I would like to incorporate ricotta cheese into this. How would you suggest I do this? Thanks.
Hi Lindsay,
I would add dollops of ricotta in step 5:) Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xx
This dish turned out so good! I did add the ricotta and it was delicious. Definitely adding this to the fall dinner rotation. So yummy 😋
So glad to hear this! Thanks Lindsay!!
Very tasty! Used Gilbert’s Caprese chicken sausage (sliced) and no prosciutto, but the sausage gave it lots of great flavor. I cut the butter to 1 T. instead of 3. It doesn’t say to cover the squash on the stovetop, but I added a little water and covered it so that it would steam and soften. I can’t believe it would’ve been mashable in 15-20 min otherwise, but I didn’t see that mentioned in any other reviews I read. 🤷🏼♀️ Family loved it, though. If the squash didn’t take so long to peel and cube I’d make it more often. I suppose frozen is an option? Garden squash sure makes it tasty tho!
Thanks so much Sarah! I appreciate all the input! Glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 xT
I bought the squash already cubed and it made the recipe super simple!!!
Great idea Monica!!
Absolutely delicious, it’s now on the meal rotation!
*I used Mafalda pasta instead of lasagne noodles*
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT
What would I use for “Italian cheese”
I usually use a blend of shredded fontina, provolone, parmesan, and mozzarella! xT
Next time I’ll try it with rigatoni or a textured noodle, but really good overall! (As always, thanks Tieghan)
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Going to make this soon. You listed Italian cheese in the recipe. Do you mean Parmesan?
Hi there! I usually use a blend of parmesan, fontina, mozzarella, etc! xT
Outrageously easy and delish!
Would you please construct a traditional lasagna for us in the skillet? Love your cookbooks and website Thankyou
With all good wishes, Donna
Thanks so much Donna! Yes, love that idea! xT
Hi,
Looks amazing. Can you make this with oven ready lasagna!
Hi there! Yes, that should work just fine! xT
I’ve made this twice already, once with regular lasagna noodles and once with oven ready (it just happened to be what I had on hand). Both came out delicious!
Hi Jessica,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a hit! xT
This was an amazing recipe and you are an amazing chef! The ideas that you come up with are brilliant! I made this last for dinner and had our neighbors over and it was a hit! Thank you so much 😊
Thank you so much Rachel! xT
This was amazing! I had to make a few changes to meet our needs, which sometimes can end in disappointment, but not this time. Even my child that fights eating every veggie asked for seconds! Thank you for another great recipe!
Subs: Instead of prosciutto (didn’t have any), I made some crispy bacon and broke it up into the pasta. Brown rice pasta (some random shape I had). Lean ground beef with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper added while it cooked. I also added some chicken broth in place of the vodka.
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I appreciate you leaving a comment! 🙂 xT
Hi Teighan!
I would love to make this for a dinner party I’m having – do you think it would be okay to assemble and then store in fridge for a couple hours before baking?
Thanks!
Hi Isabel! Yep, that should work well! Let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂 xT