Roasted Delicata Squash Pasta (30-Minutes)
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This easy pasta feels like pure autumn comfort, with sweet roasted delicata squash and jammy onions folded into a silky Parmesan sauce with tender greens. You can have this on the table in about half an hour.
Every season I look forward to roasting delicata squash until it turns sweet and golden. Turning that into a pasta dinner felt like the natural next step — I added caramelized onions, a chili-infused Parmesan cream sauce, wilted greens, and chunky rigatoni to catch all the saucy bits. It might just be my favorite fall pasta in the rotation.
If you’re in the mood for more winter squash pastas, this is in the same league as my creamy butternut squash pasta — every bit as simple and satisfying, just a different kind of silky, golden sauce.
Key ingredient notes
- Delicata squash: Delicatas are less stringy than other kinds of hard-skinned squash. The flesh roasts up tender and tastes nutty and lightly sweet, a little less so than your average yam or sweet potato. It’s most available in the fall and early winter. One delicata squash weighs around a pound, more or less. If you’re scaling up the recipe to serve 6-8 people, use two delicata squash.
- Pasta: I love to use short, chunky pasta shapes such as rigatoni or shells in this recipe — they’re pleasingly bite-size, and capture the sauce perfectly!
- Heavy cream: You just need a small amount of cream to “marry” the sauce. Substitute 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water if you want to skip the dairy.
My prep steps for delicata squash pasta
Another good thing about tender-skinned delicata squash is that you don’t have to wrestle with a giant cleaver in order to cut it into pieces.
1. The striated green and sunset-yellow skin is tender when cooked and totally edible. There’s no need to peel it. If you like, you can just scrape the skin randomly with a vegetable peeler to remove any blemished spots. Slice the squash in half lengthwise. 
2. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon (Tip: This sturdy spork is perfect for the job!)
3. Slice each half in half again, then into 1/2-inch chunks (rigatoni-size!) 4. Put the squash in a bowl with onion, garlic, olive oil, salt and chili.
5. Combine to coat (skip the bowl for easier clean-up and mix this right in your pan). 6. Arrange the squash in a large ovenproof pan or small sheet pan, in one layer and roast about 20 minutes.
7. Drain the pasta over the greens to quickly wilt them. 
8. Combine pasta with the squash mixture, cream, and cheese.
Roasted Delicata Squash Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (450 g) delicata squash, about 16 ounces
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup sliced shallot or red onion
- 1 grated or finely chopped garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, to taste
- 8 ounces (225 g) dried rigatoni or mezze rigatoni
- 2 big handfuls washed baby greens, such as spinach, kale or arugula
- â…“ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (25 g) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
- Trim the stem and root end off 1 delicata squash and slice it in half lengthwise. Scrape a spoon along down the length of the pieces to remove the seeds and strings. Slice each half in half again, then cut into ½-inch wide chunks.
- Put the squash in a large mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup sliced shallot or red onion, 1 grated or finely chopped garlic clove, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Toss to coat, then transfer to a half-size (13"x15") rimmed baking sheet. You can also mix the veggies and seasonings directly on the baking sheet to save on clean up.
- Bake 20-25 minutes, stirring everything around halfway through, until the squash is tender and nicely brown. Drizzle the balsamic over the squash as soon as it comes out of the oven and stir gently with a spatula.
- While the squash is roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 8 ounces dried rigatoni or mezze rigatoni until al dente. Before draining the pasta, add 2 big handfuls washed baby greens to the colander. The brief contact with the boiling pasta water will wilt the greens. If you're using a tender green like arugula, just toss it in after draining the pasta.
- Transfer the pasta and greens back to the pasta cooking pot and stir in ⅓ cup heavy cream and ¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese.
- Add the squash to the pasta and toss together. Serve hot with additional cheese and chili to your taste.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Substitute an equal amount (1/4 cup) of pasta cooking water for the cream if you want to skip the dairy.
- Add crumbled cook bacon or crisp prosciutto to the pasta when serving for a hit of protein.
- The prepared pasta keeps refrigerated for 3-4 days. The pasta will absorb the sauce as it sits, so add a few more drops of cream and/or broth to the pasta when reheating.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Really good!
Loved it! Even better my husband loved it! I’m so happy to find another way to use Delicata squash. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thanks!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it!
I have made this before and it was great. Guess I didn’t follow the directions completely because baking the shallots with the squash leaves them burnt. Than God I didn’t include the garlic. Both of those should be sautéed before the cream. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Ginger – Thanks for letting me know of your baking issue. Two things I suggest to troubleshoot: First, it’s possible your oven may run hotter than the set temperature. Have you ever checked yours with an oven thermometer? If that’s the case (or if you bake with your oven on convection mode) you can simply adjust your oven to 400F degrees instead of 425F to compensate. Roasting times will always vary from oven to oven, so it’s best practice to keep an eye on your ingredients. The other thing to consider is the size of your sheet pan. The best size to use for this recipe is a half sheet pan (13×18″). This size ensures that the ingredients sit in one close layer without too much space between them. If the veggies are too spread out, they will be more likely to burn. I hope you give this recipe another try – let me know!
Fantastic!
My wife and I got some delicata squash from our CSA this week. We were looking for a new recipe to try with them. We did a google search for recipes and found this. We had almost every ingredient in the house. What a WINNER. WE absolutely loved it. We did decide to double the amount of squash in the dish. We did not double the other ingredients. We were not overwhelmed having more squash in the dish. My wife put a photo and comments on Facebook and Instagram.
Spencer, that’s fantastic! I can’t seem to get enough delicata squash:)) So glad you enjoyed the pasta!
We included 2 squash also and loved it! Great recipe!!
Made this tonight since I had some delicata and kale from my CSA. Cooked the kale in oil and garlic first, then used what I had for the sauce–heavy cream, some Italian 4 cheese, and then a bit of Gouda. It was excellent, and my 8 y/o even gobbled it up!
I love how you used the kale – so happy it was enjoyed by your family!
This is so, so good. My daughter has been impatiently waiting for delicata season to roll around again, but now she is away at college. I’m guessing this wouldn’t freeze that well for her to keep some on hand in her dorm…?
Yes, you can freeze it! I recommend adding a little vegetable or chicken broth (1/4 cup) when reheating each portion as the sauce will thicken.
Awesome! She will be really excited. Thanks!
Of course! 🙂
YUM! found this from a quick google search because I had a delicata squash waiting to be used, and already had the other ingredients on hand. It was so easy to make and delicious! Curious how this would taste with nutmeg instead of chili pepper flakes…. is so good as written, but could be a good, different flavor.
I LOVE the idea of adding nutmeg!
This dish sent everyone over the moon! I had to make some adjustments due to food allergies. But it was a huge hit! It will now be my choice for Thanksgiving EVE when we do a autumnal something but with pasta. Thank you! Cheers!
That’s amazing! Cheers back at you Penny!
Oh my gosh! I found this recipe because i had extra delicata squash. I still have extra and can’t wait to make it again! I added sliced portobello mushrooms in the oven When there were about 12 minutes left. The dish wad perfection!!!
This was absolutely amazing. A big hit with my family – I doubled the recipe and used extra garlic and cream. Soooooooo good!!
Wow!! So glad you enjoyed it Michelle!
didnt have heavy cream on hand, so I used goat cheese with some milk. Also added some left over grilled chicken. Delicious !!
Googled “delicata squash pasta” and what came up first? YAY! Making this tomorrow, delicata is my FAVORITE squash ever and they are starting to show up at the Farmer’s Markets! XOXO
Fantastic!!I hope you love this. xoxo
Love some squash. Many thanks for the recipe.
I am making a variation of this reciepe for the restaurant that I work in tonight. Thank you for the inspiration
Glad to see you back in the kitchen and blogging! I despise the whole packing and unpacking business but at least it does give you a reason to do some “spring” cleaning and eliminate the junk.
Unpacking is infinitely worse than the actual move, but ending a organization with this beauty might make it a little better. Look so delicious!
Such a comforting bowl of pasta for a chilly fall evening. The roasted squash is a wonderful addition!
I always dread moving, and unpacking even more so. It’s always nice when you can finally find your rhythm in a new kitchen. I’m so glad you’re back to blogging again! 🙂
You said it – dreadful is the word. These past few months have been among the most challenging of my life. I’m feeling grateful to be back! Thanks for saying hello Laura.
Love the sound of this recipe (and beautiful pix, by the way)!
Thanks Patricia!