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CHEESY SMOKY BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA RECIPE FROM THE VEGITERRANEAN DIET
Nothing feels more like comfort food than pasta smothered in a warm, creamy, cheesy sauce and tossed with some sweet, hearty, lightly cooked broccoli.
This vegan cheesy smoky butternut squash recipe from my new book The Vegiterranean Diet, is easy to make and will quickly become a favorite in your home.Â
Thankfully, frozen butternut squash is available year round so this delicious high fiber and high protein recipe can be enjoyed throughout the seasons.
A high speed blender, like a Blendtec or Vitamix will easily puree the butternut squash pasta sauce ingredients!
Be sure to join our community for more nutritious blender recipes from Blender Babes and  and if you try this, please let everyone know by rating it in the comments! 🙂
Cheesy Smoky Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients
- 1½ cups chopped butternut squash raw
- 1 12-ounce package dry pasta (e.g., rigatoni, penne, macaroni, and spirals)
- 1½ cups raw broccoli florets
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond soy, or other plant milk
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked and drained, or hempseeds
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice with zest
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground chipotle powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- On a baking pan, roast the squash until dark brown and bubbling, 20 (may need to roast longer if not chopped ahead of time, around 45 minutes, depending on size).
- Fill a large pot ¾ full of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add pasta and return to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer over medium heat until pasta is soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Before draining, add fresh broccoli florets and allow to wilt, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, add squash, almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and zest, tamari, and chipotle powder to your blender, secure lid and puree until smooth.
- For Blendtec: Blend on HIGH Speed for 30 seconds.
- For Vitamix: Start on VARIABLE Speed 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase to VARIABLE Speed 10/HIGH. Blend for about 20 seconds.
- Pour the squash sauce over the pasta and the broccoli, and stir to combine. Serve warm.
- Enjoy!! Now take a photo, rate it, and share your accomplishments to enter our weekly photo contest! 🙂 Tag @BlenderBabes & #BlenderBabes
Nutrition
BLENDER BABES RECIPE TESTER NOTES
“This vegan cheesy butternut squash pasta was very easy to make.
It was perfect, I wouldn’t make any changes.
I was skeptical about it at first, but my family loved it as well.
The cheesy sauce was perfection.
Smelled cheesy delicious.
Hubster gave it a 9, son gave 8, I gave 10…avg 9″ and “Next time I will add garlic, onion and mustard powder, still use chipotle but maybe half.”
HEALTH BENEFITS AND FUN FACTS OF BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Butternut squash is the most popular vegetable among winter squash varieties, growing year round on vines.
This squash is usually cultivated in warmer climates like South and Central America regions for their edible fruits, flowers, and even their seeds.
Butternut squash is a great source of Vitamin A, a powerful natural anti-oxidant required by the body to maintain the integrity of skin and mucus membranes.
Vitamin A is also an essential vitamin for optimum eye-sight.
Butternut squash has more vitamin A than pumpkins.
The seeds of this vegetable are a good source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids that benefit for heart health.
In addition, they are rich in protein, minerals, and numerous health-benefiting vitamins.
Image and excerpt with permission from The Vegiterranean Diet by Julieanna Hever. Published by Lifelong Press.
I have made this many times, it is a slightly sweet taste, but not overpowering. The squash goes very well with cheddar. It’s very good!
Hi Maria!
I am so glad you enjoyed!
~Warm Hugs
Blenderbabes