This Creamy Butternut Penne with Spinach and Parmesan is a rich, creamy pasta dish that’s a healthy way to get your comfort food fix on chilly fall evenings!
Comfort food season is here! Chilly evenings call for warm, filling meals. Of course, along with the idea of comfort food, usually comes the idea of heavy, rich foods that aren’t exactly that good for you.
Since we want to be able to enjoy comfort food without all the extra unnecessary calories, we’ve been on a hunt for healthier options that are still satisfying.
This creamy butternut penne is just what we were looking for!
The creamy sauce is actually made without any cream, though you wouldn’t know from tasting it! Butternut squash is cooked down with broth and some seasoning to create a rich, silky sauce.
Oh, and the sauce for this pasta dish is made in the slow cooker. So, all you have to do is prep the ingredients and then its hands off!
Stir the sauce into the pasta, add the spinach and Parmesan, allow the spinach to wilt a bit, top with additional Parmesan, and enjoy! It’s that simple.
One bite of this butternut penne, and you’ll be adding this pasta dish to your regular menu rotation this fall!
- 2½ tbsp butter
- ½ C chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp minced fresh sage, divided
- ¼ - ½ tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2¾ C vegetable broth
- 1½ lbs (or about 4 C) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size pieces
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 13.25 oz whole wheat or whole grain penne
- 4 C spinach
- 2 oz (or about 1 C) grated Parmesan cheese
- additional grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
- Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until softened and lightly browned. Stir in garlic, 1½ tablespoons sage, and pepper flakes and cook for 30-60 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in 1¼ cups vegetable broth. Scrape up any browned bits and whisk out any lumps.
- Transfer to slow cooker. Stir remaining 1½ cups broth, squash, salt, and pepper into slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high, or until squash falls apart when pierced with a fork.
- In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of cooking water and drain pasta. Return pasta to pot. Add in sauce from slow cooker. Stir in sauce until squash breaks down and creates a creamy sauce for the pasta. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and remaining sage until spinach is slightly wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. If sauce is too thick, add reserved cooking water until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve with additional Parmesan.
This recipe is inspired by America’s Test Kitchen’s Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution.
It’s National Pasta Day! Check out more great pasta dishes from these bloggers:
Slow Cooker Baked Ziti // The Recipe Rebel
Tomato Basil Penne // One Sweet Appetite
Baked Italian Tortellini // Tried and Tasty
Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti // Dessert Now Dinner Later
Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo // Cupcake Diaries
One Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta // Life Made Sweeter
Loaded Mac & Cheese // Lemon Tree Dwelling
Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio // Garnish & Glaze
Creamy Butternut Penne with Spinach and Parmesan // A Kitchen Addiction
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
I love that this pasta is so creamy and love that you added spinach too! It is the perfect meal for fall. I can’t wait to try it for dinner soon.
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
YASSSS!!! I’m all for enjoying scrumptious comfort food without all the extra unnecessary calories – and this sounds wonderful!Loving that butternut squash “sauce”!
Marye says
Creamy and delicious! This is what I want for dinner!
Aimee @ShugarySweets says
So many great dinner ideas linked at the end there…just bookmarked a bunch! Especially this Pasta, OMG!!
Ashley - The Recipe Rebel says
I can’t get enough of my slow cooker these days! What a perfect fall meal!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Mmm what a perfect fall meal! Comfort food perfection with this pasta!
Kelly says
Lightening up yummy comfort dishes sounds perfect! Looks so creamy and I love that you used your slow cooker for the sauce!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I’ve never had pasta with butternut squash but I need this ASAP. It’s fall dinner perfection and I’m really wishing I had a big bowl in front of me to dig into!
marcie says
I love that you can make this sauce in the slow cooker and that there’s no cream — cream based sauces get a little too rich for me! I can’t wait to try this!
kita says
This is seriously my kind of pasta dish! just hand me a giant fork and all that butternut goodness!
Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later! says
No cream?! You fooled me! Looks amazing!
Ashley says
I love sauces like this that are creamy without the cream! This looks like a perfect fall dinner!!
Maria says
So creamy and delicious! Perfect cozy Fall meal!
Julie Evink says
This is packed with so much flavor! Love the fall twist!
Lauren Gaskill says
We are ALLLL about the butternut squash in our family. Can’t wait to try this. Pinned!!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
This pasta looks so creamy and delightful!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
Beautiful photography!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
This looks easy and perfect for fall! Love butternut anything. I really love your blue plate presentation by the way. I can never shoot on anything but white because I’m a total fake 🙂 Looks awesome!