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If you thought the viral TikTok baked feta pasta couldn’t get any better, just wait until you try this cozy fall twist. It’s the kind of pasta dish to make you want to curl up with on a chilly autumn night while watching reruns of Gilmore Girls.
This cheesy butternut squash baked feta pasta is loaded with roasted butternut squash, caramelized onion, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and plenty of fresh rosemary and thyme. The feta gets perfectly melty and creamy, coating every bite in rich fall flavor. It’s casual enough for a weeknight dinner, yet fancy enough for a date night or dinner party. It’s will instantly become a fall favorite comfort dish!
More cozy fall dinner recipes:
Why you’ll love this cheesy butter nut squash cauliflower pasta
- If you tried the viral TikTok baked feta pasta, you’re going to love this fall version packed with seasonal squash and herbs. If you haven’t tried the viral TikTok baked feta pasta, let us introduce you to one of the easiest and most delicious meals.
- It’s basically a one-pan dish. Besides making the pasta over the stove top, everything else is baked and mixed in the same dish. Making it super easy to make and clean up!
- Great for meal prepping. It makes a large batch, making it great for lunches and dinners throughout the week.
- Serve casually or for a date night! It’s a pasta dish that is good enough for any occasion!
What You’ll Need
- Butternut squash
- Yellow onion
- Cauliflower
- Cherry tomatoes
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Block of feta cheese
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Favorite curly pasta noodle
- Lemon juice
- Dino kale
- Salt and pepper
How to I make cheesy butternut squash cauliflower pasta?
You can make this pasta with a handful of steps and ingredients. Let’s dive into the details!
1. Peel, chop and season vegetables.
Grab a good sharp knife and cutting board and get to chopping! The good thing about this dish is that you don’t have to be super technical with chopping. Just make sure the butternut squash is cut into cubes small enough to cook through – about 1-inch cubes. Refer to the tips below on how to peel and cut a butternut squash. The onion and cauliflower can be roughly chopped. And garlic cloves will be minced.
Once everything is chopped, toss the squash, onions, cauliflower and tomatoes in your baking dish. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle with minced garlic, rosemary and thyme.
Lastly, place the feta cheese block in the center of the baking dish. You want to use a block of feta because it has more moisture than the feta crumbles.
2. Bake veggies and cook pasta.
Bake in a preheated oven on 400ºF for 30-35 minutes. Depending on how your oven cooks, you may need more or less time. But you will know the vegetables are done when the tomatoes are slightly bursting and the butternut squash and cauliflower are soft if poked with a fork.
While the vegetables are roasting, start making your pasta. Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Before you strain the pasta water, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. You’ll add this back into the pasta for flavor and moisture.
Pro tip: When you’re boiling the water for the pasta, generously salt your water! It will add extra flavor to the pasta.
3. Toss in pasta and serve hot!
Mix the veggies and feta together until they are nice and creamy. Pour in the cooked pasta into the cheesy veggie mixture and toss until its coated. It’s best if served hot!
Best way to peel and cut butternut squash…
Butternut squash can be a bit tricky to cut and peel, but if you follow these steps, it will be quite a bit easier.
- Cut the stem end off first.
- Peel skin off with a vegetable peeler. The skin on butternut squash is a somewhat thick. This step may take the longest amount of time, but you’ll want to make sure all the skin in removed before boiling and pureeing.
- Slice butternut squash in half.
- Remove seeds. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard all the stringy bits.
- Slice squash into 1-inch slivers and then cut into cubes.
What does salting pasta water mean? And how much salt do I add?
Salting pasta means you are adding water to the boiling pasta water. And it’s important to generously salt the water to add needed flavor to the pasta and to give the pasta a yummy flavor.
A general rule of thumb for salting water…add 2 Tbsp for every 4 quarts of water.
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Cheesy Butternut Squash Baked Feta Pasta
Description
A super simple pasta dish made with feta cheese, butternut squash, onions, tomatoes and cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 5 cloves garlic
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz block feta cheese
- 2 tsp rosemary, chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme, chopped
- 16 oz orecchiette pasta/ other pasta
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 cups chopped Dino kale
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a 9×13 inch baking dish add cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, onion and garlic.
- Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper over the vegetables and toss to coat. Place the feta cheese block in the center of the baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. The tomatoes should have burst open and the butternut squash and onions should be soft. Test by poking with a fork.
- Make the pasta while the feta and vegetables are cooking. Follow the instructions provided on the box. Be sure to salt the pasta water for taste. Before you drain the pasta water, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Once the feta and vegetables are finished cooking, remove from oven. Squeeze lemon juice over the vegetables and gently stir the feta and vegetables together until creamy.
- Pour pasta into the feta vegetable mixture and gently mix to combine. If the consistency is still too thick or dry, mix in the reserved pasta water. Top the dish with fresh rosemary or thyme. Best when served hot!
