Baked Pasta With Butternut Squash and Ricotta

Submitted by KelBel

"This pasta casserole is a hearty yet elegant combination of whole wheat penne, rich butternut squash, toasted walnuts, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. From weightwatchers.com - 5 Points"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 566.99 g butternut squash, fresh, peeled and cubed
• 0.61 ml table salt
• 340.19 g whole wheat penne
• 295.73 ml skim milk
• 29.58 ml all-purpose flour
• 9.85 ml garlic, minced
• 2.46 ml salt
• 1.23 ml black pepper
• 14.79 ml fresh thyme, chopped, divided
• 118.29 ml part-skim ricotta cheese
• 78.78 ml parmesan cheese, grated
• 59.14 ml walnuts, chopped & toasted

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Coat a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place squash on prepared baking sheet; roast until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Place in a large bowl and mash.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. After squash has been roasting for about 10 minutes, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
4. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in mashed squash and 2 1/2 teaspoons of thyme. Add sauce to pasta; toss to mix and coat.
5. Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish; dot with spoonfuls of ricotta and then sprinkle with Parmesan and walnuts. Bake until top is lightly browned in a few spots, about 15 to 20 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.

Reviews

[SMScooking]

I've made this recipe three times this Fall already and will be making it again tomorrow. Great meal that is even better for leftovers - Followed the recipe exactly the first time, but since then I have added sauted onions, mushrooms, garlic and spinach to the squash mixture. Thank you for this great seasonal recipe!

 

[jessi_mcg]

This was so lovely! I am amazed at how flavorful the sauce was, even before adding the squash. That could, of course, be due to the fact that I at least doubled the garlic!! I don't know that I would change a thing...I guess roasting a sliced onion to add to the sauce might be a nice touch, but definitely not necessary. I was short on thyme (aren't we all LOL!) so I used a mixture of sage and thyme. It was a beautiful early fall dish. My non-adventurous DH didn't love it, but if there are no tomatoes with his pasta he thinks something is wrong...argh. Thanks so much for posting!!

 

[brendapasieka]

Tried this recipe last night, not great at all. If I was to make again I would change a few things. Sauté onions until soft add garlic cook one minute, add flour and cook one minute then stir in milk. Add cooked squash, stir until warm then add in ricotta. Mix into pasta. Put into prepared casserole dish top with Parmesan and cherry tomatoes cut in half, sprinkle with bread crumbles

 

[mizshan]

I added a few cups of chickpeas along with the pasta to up the protein. I also tripled the garlic and added basil along with the thyme, but I still found this dish rather bland. I'm not sure I'd make it again, but if I did, I'd substitute goat cheese instead of ricotta for more flavor. And I'd use more salt.

 

[Francine88]

Not bad. I thought it was ok (tasted better the next day) but my boyfriend really like it. He is a much healthier eater than I. I added some caramelized onions and I sauteed the garlic with the onions instead of adding it to the milk mixture. I also used dried thyme (and didn't put any on the top), and prob only a 1/2 teaspoon because I had no idea how the conversion would work.