Butternut Squash Alfredo Pasta

This wonderful bowl of pasta has everything you want this autumn season. Comforting and creamy, this dish will show butternut squash in a whole other light. 

So if you’re like me, you’ve made too much Butternut Squash Soup (follow link here) and you’re wondering what to do. I froze about 7-10 cups for like 8 months and discovered it recently. It’s never too late to use leftover soup. If using frozen like me, defrost the hunk of soup in a large bottom pan on medium-high heat stirring often (twist the frozen chunk around as it defrosts, flip it a few times so each side defrosts evenly). Once soft enough, I set some plain soup aside for Husband’s lunch and kept the rest in the pan for the pasta. 

In this recipe you will see 1 cup half-and-half used with 1 cup reserved. This reserve is for reheating purposes. Alfredo sauces seize up a little in the fridge and suddenly you have a block of pasta and you’re trying to chisel off an individual portion. Instead try this… I reheat the entire portion of leftover pasta for dinner on night #2 or you can store it in individual portions and reheat as needed. Take the amount you want to reheat in a microwave safe container (stove top is fine too), pour half-and-half on top enough to thoroughly moisten then reheat at intervals of 1 minute. Test with a spoon if the pasta is able to break apart, adding more liquid as needed. This reconstitutes the sauce best I find. 

Butternut Squash Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1lb spaghetti or other pasta
• 4-6 pieces thick cut bacon
• 4-6 cups butternut squash soup
• 2 cups half-and-half (save one cup for later)
• 3 tbsp butter cut into chunks 
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• Parsley

Directions:

Cook bacon in large, deep pan until desired crunchiness (I like it super crunchy to add some texture to the dish). Remove and let drain on paper towel. 

Begin heating water for pasta.

In the same pan you cooked the bacon, reheat leftover soup on medium-high heat while stirring often until simmering lightly. Whisk in half-and-half then remove from heat. Whisk in butter and Parmesan cheese until combined. Stir in bacon and parsley. 

Cook pasta according to package directions. When pasta is done to your liking, scoop it directly from the pasta pot into the sauce. A little pasta water is A-Okay. Stir to combine. Serve sprinkled with a little more parmesan cheese.

Enjoy! 😀

Don’t forget to tag #whatsinbreesbelly to show me what you’ve made!