Butternut Squash Orzo
I love a good creamy pasta, and this creamy butternut squash orzo checks all the boxes! This dish kind of reminds me of a butternut squash risotto, except of course we’re using pasta instead of rice. Finished with brown butter that gets an extra fall flavor boost from fresh sage, this orzo with butternut squash and kale is full of savory flavors perfect for cozy autumn nights.
Butternut squash and pasta are a match made in heaven, and I’ve got the recipes to prove it! After you make the butternut squash orzo, you should try Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, Butternut Squash Sausage Pasta, and Butternut Squash Ravioli.
Why This Recipe Works
- Delicious leftovers. This dish makes a lot, so it can serve a family for dinner with plenty left over for lunch the next day, or it works great as meal prep for the week. As with many pasta dishes, it only gets more delicious with time!
- Healthy comfort food. Loaded with nutrients from both butternut squash and kale, this butternut squash and orzo pasta is a veggie-loaded dinner that contains very little dairy and mostly gets its creaminess from vegetable broth. A little bit of parmesan helps, too, but it doesn’t need a lot.
- Ultimate fall dinner. The combination of sweet butternut squash, creamy orzo pasta, and kale, sage, and brown butter gives this easy recipe all of the fall flavors you love in one bowl. It’s a perfect cold weather meal!
Ingredient Notes
- Butternut squash: You need 4-5 cups of peeled and diced butternut squash. You can typically get the right amount from a 3-4 lb whole butternut squash.
- Onion: This vegetable forms the base of so many recipes because it adds the perfect savory flavor to a dish!
- Orzo: I love these versatile little pasta noodles. The shape and size make this dish feel reminiscent of risotto to me.
- Vegetable broth: Broth makes this butternut squash orzo recipe surprisingly creamy. You can also use vegetable stock, although you may need to add more salt. I use vegetable broth to keep this dish vegetarian, but you could easily substitute chicken broth. It will make the flavor pretty different, but I think it would still be tasty.
- Lacinato kale: Also known as dino kale, this is my preferred kale variety for this dish. However, if you can’t find it in stores, regular curly kale will do in a pinch.
- Parmesan cheese: It wouldn’t be true comfort food without at least a little cheese, right?
- Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg can be found in a surprising number of savory dishes. It’s important not to use too much, but the subtle warmth of nutmeg can really elevate a savory flavors.
- Butter: What really takes this dish to the next level for me is the addition of nutty brown butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter, just make sure to taste test everything so it doesn’t get too salty.
- Sage: For maximum fall flavor, chopped fresh sage is steeped in the hot brown butter before being stirred into this butternut squash orzo recipe. If fresh herbs aren’t your jam, you can use dried sage, but only put in a teeny amount—dried herbs tend to be a lot more potent than fresh, and you don’t want to overdo it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Chop and dice ingredients. Peel, deseed and dice a 3-4 lb butternut squash into ½ inch cubes. You need 4-5 cups of squash cubes. I recommend chopping the cubes as evenly as possible, so they will cook in the same amount of time. Once you’ve chopped the squash, dice a small onion, mince garlic (you need 1½ teaspoons – about 2 garlic cloves), destem and shred 1 bunch of kale, and roughly chop 12 fresh sage leaves.
- Brown butter. Add 6 tablespoons of butter to a small pan on the stove top over medium or medium-low heat. Stir the butter continuously. It will melt, then begin to foam and sizzle. Eventually, the foam will subside and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn a light golden color. Continue to stir the butter until the milk solids begin to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Once the butter has browned, immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into a small heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. Stir the chopped sage leaves into the browned butter and set aside.
- Cook squash and onion. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add 4-5 cups of diced butternut squash and 1 small diced onion. Cook until the squash is fork-tender.
- Add garlic and orzo. To the large pot with the butternut squash and onion, add 1½ teaspoons of minced garlic and 1½ cups of orzo. Stir and cook for another minute, so the orzo gets a little toasted and the garlic flavor permeates the mixture.
- Pour in broth. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth to the butternut squash and orzo mixture, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the broth simmer in the pot for 1 minute, or until it’s almost completely absorbed, before adding the remaining 2½ cups of vegetable broth. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Cook orzo. Stir frequently, as orzo tends to stick to the bottom of pots, and cook orzo until al dente. The butternut squash will be very soft and falling apart at this point, making the pasta look a little orange.
- Add kale, cheese, and nutmeg. With the pot still over heat on the stovetop, stir in 1 bunch of shredded kale, ½ a cup of shredded Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Continue to cook until the kale is wilted.
- Pour in browned butter. Once the kale has wilted, remove the pot from the heat and pour the sage brown butter over the butternut squash orzo pasta. Stir to combine. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, or nutmeg as desired.
- Serve immediately. Ladle a generous portion of pasta into a bowl. Take a bite and feel all of the cozy fall feelings. For extra coziness, grate extra Parmesan cheese on top.
Recipe Tips
Peeling and chopping a butternut squash can be tough. If you prefer, many grocery stores sell pre-diced butternut squash which would work great for this recipe. Otherwise, here’s a tip from one of my readers, Janet: microwave butternut squash whole for 1 minute. This should make it a little softer, and therefore easier to cut and peel.
I prefer to use lacinato or “dino” kale for this recipe, but if you can’t find it, curly kale will work great. You can also substitute spinach.
If you don’t care for the taste of sage, I think fresh thyme or rosemary would both be tasty alternatives.
To keep this a vegetarian recipe but add some protein, drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. For a non-vegetarian option, leftover rotisserie chicken or sausage could be tasty additions.
Add a bit of heat to this pasta dish with some red pepper flakes!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: This pasta is best fresh, but you could definitely make it at the beginning of the week and eat it for meal prep!
Storing: Store leftover butternut squash orzo in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing pasta because it gets super mushy once it thaws. However, I do recommend freezing diced butternut squash (uncooked) and diced onion. You can just throw them in the pot, frozen. They’ll take longer to cook from frozen but it will cut down on your prep time!
Recipe FAQs
Butternut squash is one of the easier winter squash to peel and therefore easier to prepare, but there’s no reason you can’t use another hard squash like acorn or kabocha squash for this recipe.
You can use another small, short pasta, like ditalini, for this recipe.
Butternut squash should be hard. Similar to watermelon, it should also be heavy for its size. Other things to look for are a hard intact stem—butternut squash stems pop off when the squash is past its prime. The skin should be dark beige and matte, not shiny.
More Cozy Pasta Recipes
Butternut Squash Orzo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 butternut squash - peeled, deseeded and diced into 1/2" cubes (about 4-5 cups worth)
- 1 small yellow onion - diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic - minced
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 4 cups vegetable broth - divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- pepper - to taste
- 1 bunch lacinato kale - destemmed and shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sage Brown Butter
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 12 sage leaves - chopped
Instructions
- Brown butter in a small pan and set over medium to medium-low heat. Stir the butter around the pan until melted. While browning butter you want to stir just about the entire time to keep things moving and to prevent the butter from burning. Browning butter is a process that takes about 8 minutes from the time you started. Once the butter melts, it will begin to foam and sizzle. Continue stirring, eventually the foam will subside and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn a very light golden color. Continue stirring until the milk solids are golden brown and almost amber colored. The smell will be nutty and very buttery. Butter can burn in a matter of seconds so don’t overcook the butter. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a heat proof bowl or container. This will stop the cooking process. Stir in the chopped sage leaves and set aside.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once shimmering add the diced squash and onion. Cook until squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and orzo. Cook for an additional minute. This will toast the orzo and allow the garlic to permeate its yummy juices into the vegetables 😊
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in 1 cup of vegetable broth, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the broth simmer for 1 minute, or until almost completely dissolved. Pour in the remaining 2 ½ cups of broth, add the salt and pepper (to taste). Stir frequently as I’ve found orzo to really stick to the bottom of pans easier than other pastas. Cook until the orzo is al dente, about 10 minutes or so. The butternut squash will be very soft and slightly falling apart, creating an orange tinge to the dish.
- Stir in the kale, parmesan cheese, and nutmeg. Cook until the kale is wilted. Remove from the heat. Pour the sage brown butter over the pasta and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
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