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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
Super yummy and filling! Thank you!
Hi Maddi,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Hi! Big fan here. 🧡 I’m making this for my book club Thursday and wondered if I could make the purée a day early. Thank you!
Yes, you definitely can! xT
You don’t drain the water feom the pasta?
Nope, you don’t drain the water! xT
This was an out of the park home run! Hubby and teenage son declared on first bite that this dish needs to be in regular rotation. Hearty and nourishing both of body and spirit on a cold night.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
Hello! I’m planning on making this dish this evening and I wanted to inquire about one detail. Do we discard the butternut squash seeds before we purée it or do we just toss it all in to the food processor?
Hi Caryn! Yes, I remove the seeds before pureeing! xT
My husband and I love this recipe! Super simple and delicious. I am loving the roasted butternut for a creamy sauce!
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Very good! Very filling. A delicious fall recipe. Surprising more savory and spiced than sweet, which I LOVE.
I accidentally used GROUND basil for your ‘Italian Seasoning’ mix… so it ended up being a little basil-forward 😂 Looking forward I trying it again!
Thank you Lauren! xT
So, I omitted the cream and used vegetable broth. I doubled the chicken and used hearts of palm “pasta” from Trader Joe’s. It’s amazing!!! I also used less cheese and it was just fine. Very happy with this dish. Although it took about 1.5 hours to finish…well worth it 🙂
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I appreciate you leaving a comment! 🙂 xT
I have made this 3 times already. 1 time with all non dairy products. I used coconut milk, chickpea pasta and non dairy cheese.
It was delicious. 🎃
Hi Wendy! Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great fall season! 🙂 xT
Wasn’t the worst but not the best and won’t make it again. Took way longer to cook squash and puree was super thick. Not sure when the chili flakes are supposed to go in but didn’t add bc I didn’t know. Pasta water was not nearly enough and by the time I realized it it was too late. Overall flavor was okay but maybe the missing chili flakes or the last table spoon of Italian seasoning would have been a game changer, but they aren’t in the directions.
Hey Claire! I’m so sorry about that! Thank you for letting me know! xT
would this be good substituting sausage for the chicken? making this for my parents this weekend but they’re not huge chicken fans!
Yeah, definitely! xT
The flavor combination of sage, rosemary, garlic & shallots is absolutely fabulous made even better in the roasting step. You could do so many different things with this recipe! Highly recommended!
Wow thank you Annie! I appreciate it! xT
I loooovveeee this recipe. It’s very forgiving and versatile. I’ve made it a few times and it turns out fantastic every time! The most recent time, today, I added frozen spinach and didn’t have any heavy cream, but whole milk worked just fine!
This was SO good!!! I make the pasta in the pot before I cook the chicken to make it easier and then just save some pasta water for extra. I slowly poured in the pasta water and a little extra cream into the food processor to thin out the sauce. 10/10
Thanks so much Olivia! xT
In step 6 it says to add 3.5 cups water the pot and boil the pasta and then add the butternut squash sauce after pasta is cooked.
Do you drain the pasta or does the water become part of the sauce?
Hi there! You do not drain the pasta, the water becomes part of the sauce! If you’d like a thicker sauce you can drain more water out! xT
This quickly became one of my favorite HBH’s recipes! I almost didn’t even make it because I read some of the previous reviews…but I am so glad I didn’t listen to those strangers! It was absolutely delicious. My husband (who isn’t a fan of pasta) even loved it. Thank you for this recipe!!! Definitely a winner.
Thank you so so much Paige! xT