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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.
Omg. This was so good. Perfect for a cold, rainy December day. I used the butternut squash ravioli from Costco, heavy cream, and doubled the Italian sausage. It was so good! Thank you!
Hey Rachel,
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! Happy December:) xT
Hi! Excited to make this meal soon! What Italian cheese do you recommend using?
Hi Carly,
Tillamook makes an Italian blend, so that’s what I used. You can use whatever your fave is:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
Hi! I love all the flavors here but I wanted to make this into a 9×13 lasagna for Thanksgiving. Would you use the same amounts and just arrange it differently?
Hey Nicole,
You bet! Don’t break the noodles into pieces, just keep them whole for the lasagna, but this will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Thanks! Would you bake at 350? How long?
Easy peasy!!! And packed with flavor. Will be a repeat.
Hey Carol,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great weekend! xT
I love butternut squash and I love vodka sauce! Do you think plain almond milk could be substituted for the heavy cream or milk?
Hi Amie,
Yes, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I just made this and it was amazing. I forgot to pick up vodka, so just used water. After my husband and I finished eating, I realized I also forgot to put the garlic in. However, it was still amazing and so full of flavor!
Hey Dawn,
Happy Friday!! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! Xx
So delicious. I modified this by making it more like a traditional lasagna and it was still fantastic.
Hey Rachel,
Wonderful! I am so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Sunday! xT
I do t have vodka so I would probably use white wine or just omit it. Is the vodka really necessary for this recipe as far as flavour etc?
Hi Anne,
You could totally use white wine or chicken broth in place of the vodka:) I hope you love this dish, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Would you have any suggestions for making this in the oven? I’d like to prepare this for new parents to deliver to their home but I’m not sure how I could convert the recipe from skillet. Thanks!
Hi Rachel,
You could make the recipe as is and then transfer to a disposable pan for the new parents and just give them baking instructions:) I hope this helps! xT
I can’t tell you how much I loved this recipe! I love the fun flavors that I would never think to use. It’s the first time in my life I have used fresh herbs and that makes it such an aromatic experience from start to finish. If I can make this and wow my family with it anyone can! It is incredible and I’ll be making this again very soon!
I made this including both the ground italian chicken sausage and prosciutto only omitting the vodka. It was excellent. My husband said it was his favorite thing I’ve made all year and I try a lot of different recipes. We fought over the leftovers! I’ll be making this again soon. It is comfort food at it’s best and the flavor is exceptional. All of the HBH recipes I’ve tried are fabulous but this is the first one I’ve left a review for.
It was that good!
Wow! Thank you so much Terri! Love to hear that! xT
Another winner from HBH! I made this for vegetarian guests so I swapped in Impossible Savory Sausage, omitted the prosciutto, and used white wine. I also made it a day ahead and more as a traditional lasagne in a casserole dish. It was a huge hit! Delicious fall flavors and declared “cozy” by my Gen Z daughter (lol).
Hey Kerry,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
So delicious, and easy to make! I swapped out the prosciutto for pancetta, adding it in when cooking up the squash. I also did 1/4 sweet and 1/4 spicy Italian sausage for spicy and sweet flavors. This will become a regular, for sure!
Hi Hailey,
Wonderful!! I am so glad that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a go! xx
This was so delicious! Quick question – do you recommend freezing it?
Hi Lorraine,
Happy Friday!🍂 I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it and your comment! Sure, you could totally freeze this! xx
As easy as I had hoped for 🙂 substituted white wine for vodka in a pinch and it was so tasty! Loved this one.
Thanks so much Jane!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xT