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.

Rigatoni pasta in a serving pan with delicata squash sauce, kale and cheese.


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

Ingredients laid out on a surface, with a delicata squash, bowl of kale leaves, sliced red onion, rigatoni pasta and dishes of grated cheese and crushed red pepper.
  • 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 tend 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.

How to make 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.

  • Halved delicata squash and a knife on a cutting board.
    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.
  • A halved winter squash on a cutting board, with the seeds scraped out with a spoon.
    2. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon (Tip: This sturdy spork is perfect for the job!)
  • An uncooked delicata squash sliced with a knife and prepped on a cutting board.
    3. Slice each half in half again, then into 1/2-inch chunks (rigatoni-size!)
  • Chunks of delicata squash in a bowl with sliced red onion and olive oil.
    4. Put the squash in a bowl with onion, garlic, olive oil, salt and chili.
  • Chunks of delicata squash in a bowl with sliced red onion and olive oil.
    5. Combine to coat (skip the bowl for easier clean-up and mix this right in your pan).
  • Sliced delicata squash in a pan with sliced red onion and olive oil.
    6. Arrange the squash in a large ovenproof pan or small sheet pan, in one layer and roast about 20 minutes.
  • Cooked rigatoni pasta and kale greens in a colander.
    7. Drain the pasta over the greens to quickly wilt them.
  • Rigatoni squash, roasted delicata squash chunks and kale greens combined in a serving pan.
    8. Combine pasta with the squash mixture, cream, and cheese.
Rigatoni pasta in a serving pan with delicata squash sauce, kale and cheese.
4.72 from 81 ratings

Roasted Delicata Squash Pasta

Karen Tedesco
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.
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Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

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
  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
  • ¼ cup (25 g) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Equipment

Instructions
 

  1. Heat oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Add the squash to the pasta and toss together. Serve hot with additional cheese and chili to your taste.

Notes

  • 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

Calories: 411kcal Carbohydrates: 58g Protein: 12g Fat: 15g Sodium: 407mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 7g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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