Name: Honeynut Squash Pasta Alla Vodka
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 honeynut squash (about 200g roasted squash); 350g pasta (I love mezze maniche for this dish); 2 shallots, finely minced (about 100g); 4 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated (12g minced); 3 tbsp (55g) tomato paste; 1 1/2 tsp aleppo pepper; 1 tsp dried oregano or italian herbs; 3 tbsp (30g) lemon juice; 2/3 cup (130g) creamy milk; 1/2 cup (95g) pasta water, plus more as needed; Sage leaves and olive oil; Parmesan for serving

This honeynut squash pasta alla vodka is possibly my favorite fall pasta ever. It’s your standard pasta alla vodka, but with sweet honeynut squash and extra spice. The sauce alone is to die for!

Full transparency, calling this a vodka pasta is misleading, because there’s no vodka in this squash pasta alla vodka. Instead, I like using lemon juice to mirror what vodka does in a sauce like this. That said, feel free to use vodka if you prefer (about 30g-40g and cook off).

Ingredients

Honeynut squash
Pasta: I love mezze maniche for this dish, but any rigatoni-style pasta will work well.
Shallots
Garlic
Tomato paste
Milk or cream: I used my house blend milk for this (my cashew milk also works well here). If you’re not dairy-free, regular milk or half-n-half will both work equally well.
Lemon juice
Aleppo pepper
Italian herb blend: Make sure the herb blend you use contains oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil, and sage.
Fresh sage leaves: I love topping this pasta with crispy sage, but it is purely optional – this pasta tastes great on its own.
Olive oil

Method behind this Honeynut Squash Pasta Alla Vodka

A little visual guide!

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Poke your honeynut squash with a knife or fork, and roast whole (or cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and place face-down on the pan) for 40-45 minutes or until soft. NOTE: I typically have either roasted honeynut squash or roasted koginut squash in my fridge, which eliminates this step and makes this pasta much easier to whip up.

While the squash roasts, prep the aromatics, and gather your ingredients.

Cook the pasta just before you start cooking the sauce, so it cooks in parallel to the sauce. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, reserve 3/4 cup of pasta water, drain, and dump the pasta into the pot with the finished sauce. NOTE: You’ll likely only need 1/2 cup of pasta water, but I like to reserve extra pasta water just in case.

To a large pan, add a generous amount of olive oil (~4 tbsp), shallots, and garlic. Sauté the aromatics until the shallots are translucent, then add the tomato paste and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the Aleppo pepper and herbs and let bloom for 20-30 seconds, then add the lemon juice, cream, 1/2 cup of pasta water, and 200g squash. Stir together.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until super smooth (about 2 minutes), or use an immersion blender to blend the sauce together. I prefer the blender option – it yields a super silky sauce, whereas the immersion blender yields a more rustic sauce.

Add the blended sauce back to the pan along with the cooked pasta and stir to combine over low heat, using additional pasta water as needed to thin the sauce. Taste and adjust for salt.

Fry sage leaves in olive oil (or butter) until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Serve individual plates with the fried sage leaves and grated parmesan.

Notes, Reheating, Storing

Koginut squash, kabocha squash, and honeypatch squash are the best swaps for honeynut squash.
Store any leftovers in a container in the fridge. Full transparency, we’ve always finished this within 30 minutes of making it, but it should save well for 1 day. Keep in mind that the pasta will lose some of its bite sitting in the sauce overnight and become mushy.
To reheat this pasta, warm it in a large pan or pot, along with a generous splash of milk. The sauce will thicken as it sits in the fridge overnight; it just needs some liquid and heat to become creamy and glossy again.

So excited for you to make this honeynut squash pasta alla vodka. Please leave a starred rating and review, love hearing from you!