This Caramelized Butternut Squash and Sage Pasta Bake is fall comfort food at its finest. Golden-roasted squash mingles with nutty brown butter, fragrant sage, creamy cheese, and perfectly baked pasta for a dish that feels like a hug in a casserole dish. It’s hearty, cozy, and surprisingly easy to make — perfect for weeknights or weekend gatherings.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

This recipe strikes the balance between comforting and elevated. Sweet, caramelized squash pairs with earthy sage and a luxuriously creamy sauce, making every bite rich yet balanced. It’s easy enough for a Tuesday night but impressive enough for a dinner party. Plus, it’s versatile — use your favorite pasta shape, swap cheeses, or even add protein if you’d like. It’s the kind of dish that disappears quickly at the table and earns instant requests for seconds.

Caramelized Butternut Squash and Sage Pasta Bake

Few dishes capture the essence of fall quite like roasted butternut squash. Its natural sweetness intensifies in the oven, caramelizing at the edges, turning golden, and delivering a depth of flavor that’s irresistible. Pair that with the nutty richness of brown butter and the earthy perfume of sage, and you have a trio of ingredients that practically define cozy autumn cooking.

In recent years, pasta bakes have taken over food blogs and social media — not just because they’re comforting, but because they’re endlessly adaptable. The magic lies in layering textures: creamy sauce clinging to al dente pasta, little pockets of roasted vegetables, melty cheese stretching as you pull a forkful away. It’s nostalgic and modern all at once.

This particular pasta bake leans into the viral appeal of cozy, seasonal flavors. It borrows the essence of the popular TikTok butternut squash recipes and elevates them with a restaurant-worthy touch: sage-infused brown butter. If you’ve ever tried crispy sage leaves, you know how transformative they are — adding depth, crunch, and a whisper of woodsy aroma.

Butternut squash isn’t just delicious; it’s also practical. It’s affordable, easy to find in any grocery store, and incredibly versatile. When roasted, it transforms into silky cubes that can serve as the “star protein” of a vegetarian dish, making this recipe hearty enough to stand on its own.

The flavor balance is what keeps this dish from being overly rich. The squash brings sweetness, the sage adds earthy bitterness, the browned butter contributes nuttiness, and a touch of Parmesan and mozzarella creates that gooey, cheesy pull that makes pasta bakes irresistible.

One of the key techniques here is roasting the squash until caramelized. Don’t rush this step. Allowing the edges to brown deeply is what infuses the pasta bake with complexity and prevents it from tasting flat.

The sauce is another highlight. Rather than drowning the pasta in heavy cream, this recipe uses a combination of cream and pasta water to achieve a silky, clinging sauce. It’s indulgent without being overwhelming, and the starch from the pasta water helps everything bind together.

For those who want a shortcut, pre-cut butternut squash from the store is a great time-saver. But if you’re starting with a whole squash, roasting the seeds with a little seasoning makes a crunchy snack or garnish, reducing food waste and adding extra texture.

Serving-wise, this pasta bake is endlessly versatile. Pair it with a crisp green salad with lemon vinaigrette to cut through the richness, or a warm loaf of crusty bread for scooping up every last cheesy strand. A glass of dry white wine — think Sauvignon Blanc — pairs beautifully, but a spiced cider feels just as seasonal.

For families, this dish is a winner. Kids love the creamy, cheesy pasta, while adults appreciate the depth of flavor. It’s also a great way to sneak in a vegetable in a way that feels indulgent rather than obligatory.

If you’re cooking ahead, this bake is incredibly forgiving. Assemble it the night before, refrigerate, and bake when ready. It also reheats well, making it a practical option for meal prep or leftovers.

To make it more festive, you can sprinkle toasted walnuts or pecans over the top before serving. The crunch adds dimension and ties beautifully into fall flavors.

For protein lovers, crumbled Italian sausage or shredded rotisserie chicken can easily be folded in without disrupting the balance of the dish. But trust me — it shines just as well vegetarian.

Texture plays a big role here. The top layer of cheese becomes bubbly and golden, with bits that crisp up like the edges of a good lasagna. Underneath, the pasta is tender but structured, coated in sauce and punctuated with soft bites of squash. Every forkful offers a different combination of creamy, chewy, and crispy.

At its heart, this pasta bake is comfort food reinvented — familiar, yet fresh. It embodies fall’s cozy spirit while being approachable enough for any home cook to pull off. Once you try it, it just might become your new seasonal tradition.

Servings & Time

• Servings: 6

• Prep Time: 20 minutes

• Cook Time: 40 minutes

• Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 ½ lbs), peeled, seeded, and cubed

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• 1 pound short pasta (rigatoni, penne, or shells work well)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 12 fresh sage leaves

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup reserved pasta water (more if needed)

• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)

Instructions

1. Roast the Squash: Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread cubed butternut squash on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring halfway, until golden brown and caramelized at the edges.

2. Cook the Pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.

3. Make the Sage Brown Butter: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sage leaves and cook until butter foams and turns golden brown, and sage leaves crisp (about 3–4 minutes). Remove sage with a slotted spoon and set aside for garnish.

4. Build the Sauce: Add garlic to the brown butter and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir in cream and reserved pasta water, whisking to combine into a silky sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes, then stir in half of the Parmesan.

5. Combine: Toss pasta with sauce, roasted squash, and half of the mozzarella. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes.

6. Bake: Transfer mixture to a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, until bubbly and golden.

7. Serve: Garnish with crispy sage leaves. Serve warm with salad or bread.

Tips

• Substitutions: Swap butternut squash with sweet potatoes or pumpkin. Use Gruyère or fontina for a richer cheese profile.

• Make-Ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours in advance, refrigerate, and bake just before serving.

• Storage: Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat covered in the oven at 350°F until warm.

• Protein Add-Ins: Fold in browned sausage or chicken for a heartier meal.

• Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t overcook pasta before baking — it should be slightly underdone when it goes into the oven.