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Creamy One-Pot Pasta With Sausage and Squash

An overhead shot of creamy onepot pasta with sausage and squash with a wooden spoon in the pot.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Laura Rege
  • Active Time

    25 minutes

  • Total Time

    45 minutes

This creamy, cheesy pasta sauce is a great foil for the pound of butternut squash scattered throughout the dish. The best part? Both the pasta and the sauce are made in one pot—no separate pot of boiling water needed.

Ingredients

4 servings

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
12 oz. Italian sausage (about 3 links), casings removed
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 large butternut squash (about 1 lb.), peeled, seeded, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lb. fusilli
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 sprig sage
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a medium heavy pot over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking up into about 1" pieces with a wooden spoon, until well browned, 5–7 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until evenly distributed, about 1 minute.

    Step 2

    Combine milk, cream, and 2 cups water in a large bowl or glass measuring cup. Stirring sausage mixture constantly, slowly stream in milk mixture; bring to a simmer. Add 1 1/4 cups Parmesan and cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted. Add squash, pasta, garlic, sage, salt, and nutmeg and toss to combine, making sure pasta is covered with liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and bring to a bare simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is cooked through, squash is beginning to break down, and sauce is reduced and glossy, about 20 minutes.

    Step 3

    Pluck out and discard sage. Transfer pasta to a platter. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and a few cranks of pepper.

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Reviews (28)

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  • Great recipe that is satisfyingly filling and delicious. I've made this many times to get my squash-phobic spouse to eat some squash with me, and there's never been a complaint.

    • PH

    • Memphis, TN

    • 6/19/2022

  • I really liked it. The sausage saltiness balanced the cream and milk. The cheese and garlic increased the creaminess and enhanced the meat. The squash, I cut too small, but I did roast it beforehand and I added asparagus towards the end. Would definitely make it again.

    • VJ

    • New York, NU

    • 12/6/2021

  • It was pretty good. We read the reviews and decided to pre-cook the squash in the oven. We used Cascatelli instead of Fusilli because we didn't have any. Overall it is a tasty dish for a cold winters night. Comfort food for sure. You can always add or subtract ingredients to make it your own.

    • Sandra H.

    • Miami, FL

    • 10/19/2021

  • I really appreciate one pot meals so this hit my radar. I used what I had on hand... hot italian sausage, a whole frozen butternut, no sage no cream. I added a dollop of better than bullion to help with the added water I used. We really enjoyed this. It would have been 5 stars if I wouldn't have cleaned the pot before the review ;)

    • Ohioan

    • Columbus

    • 10/18/2021

  • With 1 1/2 cups of parmesan it is unlikely to taste bad, but also unlikely to be healthy.

    • shawn

    • Nevada

    • 10/16/2021

  • My fiance and I enjoyed this recipe. The body of it was so warm and rich, a perfect accompaniment to an autumn eve. Looking through the other comments, we decided to par-cook the squash with steam (boiling water in a pot with a steamer basket in it) we also chose to season the squash with a couple of pinches of salt while it was boiling. Definitely adding this to our written recipe book.

    • Kearsen and Kat

    • Bloomington, IN

    • 9/13/2021

  • Would NOT make again. It was very blah and one dimensional to me as well.

    • slm214

    • Phoenix, AZ

    • 1/25/2021

  • 真的很喜欢这道菜。这里是我{小}riations: Browned the sausage and when almost completely browned, added 1 tablespoon of olive oil (my Italian sausage was not super oily) and tossed butternut squash into pot to brown and caramelize slightly to get it to soften ahead of adding pasta. Also added garlic for a minute of before liquids. Followed all other directions as written (used lactose free whole milk, plus heavy cream). Added a bag of baby spinach at the end for some greens. Was delicious. Would definitely make again.

    • Anonymous

    • Las Vegas, NV

    • 11/3/2020

  • Amazing, and I tweaked it. I sautéed sausage separately (1/2#) with 3 slices minced prosciutto and 1 c minced mushrooms. In the main pan I browned the flour, wisked in the milk mix replacing chicken broth for water. I did half parm half gouda, put in noodles and butternut squash pre-microwaved for 1-2 min. Don't skip the sage, its really nice. And at the end I added 2 handfuls of greens for 2 min - it made it look less white and more healthy. Seriously the perfect fall pasta! YUM.

    • mdmichelle

    • Excelsior, MN

    • 11/2/2020

  • meh--was very bland. I added chicken stock and gruyere to help it out.

    • sastribling

    • Bergen County, NJ

    • 5/17/2020

  • This was great, even though I had to sub the butternut for zucchini ( too many in my weekly box!) And it was a lighter dish for a cool spring night. I had to sub almond milk for whole milk, no matter, it totally worked. Fortunately I can tolerate parmesan even though I am dairy intolerant, and no one complained with the almond milk!

    • mojoqe2

    • Norfolk, VA

    • 4/28/2020

  • This recipe is to die for! It is delicious. Im not going to lie it's a bit heavy but soooo tasty. It is easy to make and only takes about 20 minutes. And everything goes in one pot so clean up is easy. I added a little more liquid, chicken stock. I'm not sure why it only gets a 3.5/4? I'd give it more than a 4 if I could. I've sent it to so many people.

    • Anonymous

    • Los Angeles

    • 2/5/2020

  • I've made this a couple time with a couple different results. It is rich, which is nice if you're in the mood, but if you're not into super cozy comfort food, this might not be the dish for you. I will say to my GF people; use rice-based pasta. I tried that and it turned out okay, but when I used chickpea-based pasta, I ended up with a salty, cheesy, disintegrated mass. I also used frozen butternut squash because I have a kid now and am in the cult of Whateveriseasiest and it cut down on the cooking time A LOT.

    • Brooklyn, NY

    • 1/18/2020

  • Gross!

    • Anonymous

    • Italy

    • 12/10/2019

  • Great recipe! Modified slightly - no sage, added chicken broth to help squash and pasta cook to al dente, and added kale.

    • jennyfeldmanlarocque

    • NYC

    • 3/11/2019

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