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This creamy Roasted Butternut and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta is the perfect fall pasta dinner. Rosemary and garlic roasted butternut squash pureed into a creamy parmesan cheese sauce, then tossed with pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook this together with rigatoni pasta for a warming dinner made quickly. Truly one of those all-in-one dinners that everyone at the table will love. You can’t go wrong with this Tuscan-style butternut squash pasta.
Weeknights are better with a cozy bowl of pasta. With Labor Day now behind us, I’m leaning into my cozy autumn recipes, which I kind of feel is what HBH is known for. Over the next few months, I have so many recipes to share!
In the coming weeks, we’ll have zero pumpkin recipes, we’ll save those for a little later. Instead, we have plenty of game day recipes – perfect for tailgating or watching the game from the comfort of your couch. We’ve also got simple family dinners for cozy nights at home. And of course, yummy baked goods, including a few new apple dishes. And so much more!
Eek, I am so excited! We’re starting things off with a great transitional pasta. Butternut squash is currently in season, so I used this favorite fall vegetable and pureed it in a creamy pasta sauce. This is delicious!
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cubed butternut squash
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Chopped fresh sage
- Chopped fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Heavy cream
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Italian seasoning
- Chili flakes
- Salted butter
- Short cut pasta
Here are the details
Step 1: roast the butternut squash
I kept this as simple as can be, so don’t let the steps and time throw you off. Promise this recipe is easy, you just need some time to roast that squash.
The heart of the pasta is really all in the butternut squash, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs. Everything together is what makes this such a special delish. The secret? Roasting the squash, garlic, and shallots together on the same sheet pan. As the squash roasts, the garlic caramelizes and gets a little crispy too.
First, toss the squash with garlic cloves, shallot fresh sage, and rosemary. Then, a little salt, and pepper. Bake until tender, the kitchen will smell delicious.
Step 2: puree the squash into a sauce
Once the squash has finished roasting, puree it with the garlic, shallots, parmesan, and cream, or use milk. You can do this in a food processor or blender.
Step 3: cook the chicken
I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
While I’m cooking the chicken, I season it with homemade Italian seasonings. I use a blend of dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage with some paprika and chili flakes too. It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Get the chicken seared up in the pot, then pull it out before adding the water.
Step 4: cook the pasta and toss it
Add water to the pot and then boil the pasta. Once al dente, you can mix in the squash purée, the remaining cream or milk, parmesan, and the sun-dried tomatoes too.
Toss everything together until the squash is very creamy. Add the chicken back to the pot with the pasta and toss everything until creamy.
I serve each bowl with extra parmesan and fresh basil. DELICIOUS!
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for dinners with friends and family.
Looking for more pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Basil Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Chicken, Prosciutto, and Arugula
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Lastly, if you make this Roasted Butternut Squash and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta, 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!
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 492 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 6-10 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot, quartered
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 jar (8 ounce) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning (see note)
- chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 pound short cut pasta
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 400° F.2. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, garlic, shallot, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.3. Add the butternut squash, garlic, and shallot to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add 1/3 cup cream/milk and 1/3 cup parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until creamy. 4. Meanwhile, drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a large pot or skillet with sides. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.5. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.6.To the same pot, add the butter and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes. Stir in the butternut puree, 2/3 cup cream, 2/3 cup parmesan, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Slide the chicken and any juices left on the plate.7. Serve topped with parmesan and basil. EAT and ENJOY.
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons chili flakes, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Store in a sealed container.
This post was originally published on September 5, 2023
I served this to my husband, daughter, and two preschoolers. It was wonderful. I prepped everything early in the day and put it together after my daughter arrived. I also roasted the squash seeds to garnish the pasta. My kitchen smells Devine. The seasonings are perfect. I will make this again.
Hi Nancy! Thank you for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
Delicious! It took only about 40 min to make and everyone loved it. I only used a combination of 1/2 cup milk/half and half and it was perfect.
Thank you for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
Really yummy! Breaded the chicken and it made it even more delicious.
Thank you so so much! Hope you’re having a great fall season! 🙂 xT
This dish just made us happy… the whole family, and boy is that a feat! Thanks, already planning to use this as a holiday meal for the gathered family. Thanks as always, this is a real keeper.
Only comments are I drained some of the water out because I wanted a thicker sauce but still al dente. Either way, so good!
Aw thank you so so much! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! xT
This was great. Definitely involved to cook, but worth it.
It’s just me so it’ll be leftovers all week. Do you think it would freeze well? I’ve never frozen pasta before
Hi there! I haven’t ever frozen this before, but let me know if you give it a try! xT
Is the pasta supposed to be drained?
Not clear.
No, you do not drain the pasta! xT
Thank you for the recipe but we did not like this. Loved the ingredients, but it tasted like boxed Thanksgiving stuffing. Or a can of Campbell’s soup on noodles. Experienced cook here, so the recipe is not good. Skip this one.
Hey Shan, I’m really sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
A family favorite all-around. Delicious. I tend to use a bit more water with the large rigatoni that are often on hand (they require at least 13min), but otherwise made as is. It is a bit more involved, so will likely leave it off the menu for random weeknights with a hungry toddler and dad 😉 That being said, even the little one was more than happy with the results and it’ll be a weekend repeat.
Hey Kate! Sooo glad you loved this recipe! xT
This dish turned out to be the perfect creamy, savory fall dinner. It wasn’t soupy at all, only creamy, cheesy goodness. It was the best dish to use my Trader Jo’s Pumpkin shaped pumpkin pasta. I made a few changes. Instead of Italian seasoning I used Herbs de Provence. Instead of chicken I used Italian sausage. Lastly, coconut milk instead of cream. Yummmmmy! Thank you so much for a delicious recipe.
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
I’m making this now and am confused as the the amount of Italian seasoning. The ingredient list says 4TBS but I only see 3 TBS in the directions.
We made this as a weeknight meal and while it was time consuming- the whole family loved it! Had to sub olive oil as we didn’t have the sun-dried tomatoes, can’t wait to try it when we do!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
This receipe was good, however, it took more like 40 min of prep, was very heavy and the directions are a bit confusing. I would look for a different receipe for butternut squash pasta next time.
Thanks for letting me know Ricki! xT
I made your recipe Roasted Butternut Squash and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta and noticed that it did not say to drain the pasta water after cooking. If I had left the pasta water in with the pasta it would have become soup. I drained the pasta water out and then added approximately one cup back in. It was quite delicious, but not sure I would make it again.
Hey Karen! Thanks for the feedback! xT
I made this the other night and is absolutely delicious! My whole family who is anti-squash anything enjoyed this and ate it without complaints!! I decided to use italian sausage instead of chicken because I needed something to defrost quickly. It was so good and will probably use that from now on. I found this to be easy and quick for a weeknight meal. You can do other things while the squash is cooking (which is incredible all on its own!). This is going in my recipe binder for sure!
Thank you for taking the time to try out this recipe! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! xT
Delicious but too time-consuming for a weeknight meal. I might buy precut squash next time.
Thanks for the feedback Liz! xT