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The simplest, coziest bowl of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon. Best for nights when you’re craving Italian, but also craving cozy fall flavors. Seasonal autumn butternut squash, roasted with fresh herbs, and garlic, all pureed into a creamy carbonara sauce that’s vibrant and so delicious! Finish off this pasta with crispy, spicy rosemary bacon for an autumn dinner that’s mouth-wateringly delicious. This is a great fall pasta to serve any night of the week, or for your next Saturday night dinner with friends.

overhead photo of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon

And here we go. The first butternut squash recipe of the season. I’m thinking from today on it’s all things fall here on HBH. Ok, I know I’ve already been heavy on the fall recipes for about the last week (see these cinnamon spiced apple fritters and cheesy cauliflower). But this dish feels very fall with the roasted squash and crispy rosemary bacon.

Officially we still have 5 more days of summer. But I’m ready to jump ahead now, and this pasta needs to be shared sooner rather than later. It’s just really darn good, oh so creamy, and infused with autumn flavors. The perfect bowl to welcome in the upcoming crisp fall days.

Did I sell you yet? Did I mention the creaminess? The cheesiness? That crispy, spicy, almost “candied” rosemary bacon?

Yummmm, this pasta is a bowl full of all the good things in life…cheesy, but true.

overhead photo of Butternut Squash and bacon before roasting

Moving on to the details.

I kept this as simple as can be. While making sure to keep all the flavor in this bowl of creamy autumn carbonara.

The heart of the pasta is really all in the butternut squash and bacon. The secret? Roasting both the squash and bacon together on the same sheet pan. As the squash roasts, the bacon cooks down overtop. The squash adds just adds that much more flavor to the already delicious butternut squash.

First, toss the squash with lots of fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. You could also add sage, but I didn’t want any of the flavors to be too overpowering, so I stuck with thyme.

overhead photo of Butternut Squash and Rosemary Bacon after bacon on sheet pan

For the bacon, you’ll want to rub it with fresh chopped rosemary, then a little cayenne pepper, and finish it off with honey. The honey helps to balance the heat from the cayenne and makes this more of a herby, spicy, “candied” bacon. LOVE the sweet and spicy combination with the savory autumn squash.

As the bacon cooks, the flavor from the bacon drips down over the squash infusing everything with incredible flavor. A little spiciness, a little sweetness, and a touch of smokiness.

So delicious.

Of course, if you don’t eat meat, you can easily omit the bacon to make this a vegetarian pasta. Just add the rosemary and cayenne to the squash instead.

Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara in pot after tossing

While the squash and bacon are roasting, whisk the eggs with parmesan. If you’ve never made a carbonara pasta, it’s a classic Italian pasta dish. It’s unique in that it uses raw eggs. Tossing the raw eggs with hot pasta and plenty of parmesan cheese creates a delicious sauce. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs and produces the silkiest, smoothest, and creamiest pasta sauce. It’s melt in your mouth good.

Once the squash has finished roasting, puree it into a smooth puree. You can do this in a food processor or blender. Now, bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the pasta. I like to use linguine, but any pasta cut works well, so use your personal favorite.

As soon as the pasta has finished cooking, immediately toss it with the eggs. This step is really important, but don’t worry it’s also really easy. Just be sure to toss, toss, toss for a good minute until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, toss in the squash puree.

Then serve topped with that extra crispy rosemary bacon.

side angled close up photo of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon

To sum things up…

This is such a warming fall pasta that’s hearty too. It’s made just a little healthier with the butternut squash replacing extra cream and butter. Every twirl of pasta is creamy, silky, and laced with rich, warming fall flavors. The sauce is herby, savory, and just the creamiest. And the bacon adds a spicy, sweet crunch…like topping on a cake.

All together this dish is beyond good…think roll your eye back, go for that second serving…good.

And lastly, this is such a nice switch up from the classic carbonara pasta. Great for any upcoming dinner at home with family or friends. Or just a really good Thursday night meal that we can all look forward to.

overhead close up photo of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon

Looking for other butternut squash recipes? Here are a few ideas: 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Creamy Broccoli and Butternut Squash Soup with Cheddar Brie Pastries

Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad

Hasselback Butternut Squash with Sage Butter and Prosciutto Breadcrumbs

Lastly, if you make these Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon 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!

Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 493 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, garlic, thyme, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. On a plate, rub the bacon with rosemary and cayenne, drizzle with honey. Lay the bacon over top.
    2. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes, flip the bacon and bake another 5-8 minutes, until the bacon is crisp, watch closely. Remove the bacon. If squash needs more time, return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
    3. Transfer the squash and garlic to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Roughly chop the bacon, reserve for topping.
    4. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and parmesan.
    5. Boil the pasta until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and add the pasta back to the hot pot. Immediately add the egg/cheese mixture, tossing quickly (to ensure the eggs do not scramble) until the eggs thicken and create a sauce. Add the butternut squash puree, and the butter, tossing to combine. Thin the sauce with the reserved pasta water until it reaches your desired consistency.
    6. Divide the pasta between plates. Top with bacon. Twirl the pasta up…EAT and ENJOY.
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overhead horizontal photo of Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon

This post was originally published on September 17, 2020
4.31 from 1005 votes (821 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  2. 5 stars
    I LOVE the flavor profiles. Yum! Next time I’ll save more pasta water (more than 1 cup) as I found the squash purée quite thick. The only change I made to this was to microwave the bacon for a couple of minutes to crisp up. This is an awesome welcome-to-fall dinner!

    Reply

  3. I am Italian and I think butternut squash is an amazing addition to the classic Italian dish. This Italian is not offend and in fact will make it thus week! I always appreciate the inventive way you fuse different cultures and ingredients. Thank you

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe really was incredibly tasty. Made easier by already having some leftover roasted butternut & happy bacon, defrosted and ready to go. I’m originally from Yorkshire UK, so if you ever decide to do a twist on Yorkshire Pudding, I promise I won’t get upset if you keep “Yorkshire Pudding” in the title. Offence is taken and not given. Anonymous comments on the internet have made it very easy to be rude to someone and not get punched in the face. Keep up the great work, Miss T (:

    Reply

    1. Hi Katie! I am really happy this recipe turned out so well for you! Also, thank you so much for your kind words! xTieghan

      Reply

  6. 5 stars
    Amazing! What a nice change up. For any of the haters saying it’s not carbonara they need to realize there can be variations of food and need to calm down.

    One thing…
    My sauce was a little thick and I can’t figure out why, maybe the squash wasn’t puréed enough? Any thoughts? Followed everything to a T, maybe I needed to add a bit more pasta water, the taste was absolute perfection..

    Reply

    1. Hey Kelly,
      Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I am thinking maybe you needed to add a touch more water:) I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan

      Reply

  7. 5 stars
    This was amazing! The flavors are wonderful. The spice with the sweet squash was perfect. The only issue I had was the bacon didn’t get crispy enough. I ended up putting it in a frying pan at the end. This is a new fall favorite!

    Reply

  8. I messed up all over the place (used weird pasta, unripe squash, and burnt the bacon despite clear instruction) and it was STILL delicious! Not as picturesque but yuuuum. I topped it with some goat cheese too, so good. Can’t wait to have it again!

    Reply

    1. Hey there! I consider this is carbonara due to the use of raw eggs and no cream in the sauce. If you don’t like the recipe, you certainly don’t need to make it. Hoping that clears things right up fo you! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great week! Thank you!! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Emma,
      Yes pumpkin would work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. Can you remove the parmesan without needing to make other changes to the recipe? I don’t eat cheese but this looks delicious!

    Reply

    1. Hey Lizzie,
      Yes that would be okay to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  12. This sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it on top of spaghetti squash! How do you cube butternut squash without damaging your knives though? Do you have to cook it ahead of time first to soften it up?

    Reply

    1. Hey Kendall,
      You will want to remove the skin first, but your knives should be okay. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  14. This is so good! I used sage instead of thyme because I couldn’t get it out of my head when reading. Amazing! I think it doubled the fall feel of the dish.

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    The butternut squash is a perfect addition to make this the epitome of fall comfort on our first chilly night of the year. I had to force myself not to eat way too much of it – and I used the parmesan sage butter for my garlic bread and it was the perfect compliment. Can’t wait to make it again!! <3

    Reply