As a mom with a toddler, I am always trying to find ways to sneak vegetables into my daughter’s food. My sister taught me this trick: add in butternut squash to your tomato pasta sauce. It adds a nice creaminess and sweetness. This butternut squash ragu pasta is a kid favorite in our family and I hope that it also helps you trick your kids into eating more fiber and veggies!
Butternut Squash Ragu Pasta
Butternut squash adds sweetness to ragu with pasta
Ingredients
- 1 package pasta
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
Roasted Butternut Squash
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 butternut squash de-seeded
Ragu Sauce
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flake
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
Roasted Butternut Squash
- Cut butternut squash in half length-wise. Remove seeds. Brush flesh of butternut squash with oil. Roast 1/2 butternut squash skin side up in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Afterward, allow to cool and remove squash from the skin. Set aside.
Ragu
- Heat a large pot on high. Sprinkle salt on top of beef. When pan is hot, add in beef and Italian sausage and brown for meat 5 minutes, breaking apart into small pieces. Use a spatula to smash any clumps of meat and break them apart.
- Then add celery, carrot, onion, and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes
- Then add tomato paste, butternut squash, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, and crushed red pepper flake.
- Add in red wine and simmer on medium low heat for 30 minutes.
- Then add milk and simmer on medium low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add in roasted squash into the sauce. Taste for seasoning. Add salt, pepper, or sugar as needed. The sauce should taste savory and slightly sweet.
Cook Pasta with Sauce
- Boil pasta according to package directions. When pasta is almost cooked through, or al dente, place into the hot butternut squash ragu sauce. Add in a ladle of pasta water. Simmer sauce with pasta for 1-2 minutes.
- Turn off fire. Add in grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and mix gently into the pasta. Serve immediately.
