"Cheesy" Butternut Squash Pasta

This creamy butternut squash pasta will have you thinking its loaded with cheese, when in reality, it’s mostly squash! Make it completely dairy free by using only olive oil and omit the parmesan cheese (you can use nutritional yeast if you’d like). This pasta is so cozy and the flavor from the sage really gives you a nice fall flavor. I love cozying up with a warm pasta dish when its chilly out - but who am I kidding, I will eat pasta no matter the temp. Super simple to make and it can be ready in minutes. Give it a try! 

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon of butter 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 sprigs of sage
1 onion finely chopped 
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 small butternut squash cut into small cubes (or 16oz box already cubed) 
1 box of your favorite pasta 
1/4 cup of grated parmesan or 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast 
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: 
Heat the butter and oil in a pan on medium heat. 

Add the onion, garlic, sage, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until everything is golden and the sage is slightly crisp.

Add the butternut squash and season with salt and pepper once more. Cook the squash for about 5 minutes until slightly seared and then add 1/4 cup of water and cover. Cook until the squash is soft enough to mash - another 5-10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the packaging instructions. 

While the pasta is cooking, remove the sage and whisk the squash together - it should mash pretty easily. Alternatively you can blend the sauce with an immersion blender or transfer it to a high speed blender.  

Add the parmesan or nutritional yeast and mix together once more with salt and pepper. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and toss it together with the sauce. Add a splash or two of pasta water to the mixture and mix everything together. 

Serve with more parmesan or nutritional yeast and finish with more black pepper.

Enjoy!