Name: Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Gruyere, and Greens
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 8 Servings
Cuisine: American

Cooking with Conks Verified

February 4, 2026

If you’ve never made butternut squash sauce for pasta before, this is your chance to impress yourself and your friends and family. This pasta dish is great for when you’re craving mac and cheese but also vegetables. The sauce is velvety smooth, naturally a little sweet from the squash, a little cheesy and nutty from the gruyere, and a tiny bit bitter from the sautéed Swiss chard. It’s creamy, cozy, and a wonderfully comforting seasonal recipe.

Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Gruyere, and Greens

Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Gruyere, and Greens cover

From the Cook

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Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Gruyere, and Greens

Cooking with Conks Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the squash and shallots with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Add to the baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until the squash is soft.

While the squash is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Remove the shallots and squash from the oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Add the veggie broth and then the roasted squash and shallots to a high powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, then add in the cream and blend again.

Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and onions to a sauté pan over medium heat. Cook until slightly softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chard and season with a pinch of red pepper flakes and a touch of salt. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until slightly wilted.

Pour in the butternut squash sauce into the pan and cook until bubbling. Mix in the shredded gruyere until smooth, and add a dash of freshly grated nutmeg. Taste the sauce for seasoning.

While the sauce finishes up, add your pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook until it’s al dente, according to package directions (don’t overcook it or it’ll get mushy in the sauce later). Drain the pasta and set aside.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir gently to combine. Garnish with more gruyere and red pepper flakes, if desired.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Squash Roasting Technique 🎃
Roast the butternut squash with the skin on to preserve moisture and intensify its natural sweetness, then easily peel after roasting.
Cheese Melting Magic 🧀
Grate the Gruyere while it's cold and let it come to room temperature before adding to the sauce for smoother, more even melting.
Chard Preparation Pro 🥬
Remove the tough stems from the Swiss chard and slice them thinly to sauté separately, adding a subtle textural contrast to the creamy sauce.
Sauce Consistency Hack 🥄
If the butternut squash sauce is too thick, use pasta water to thin it out – the starchy water helps create a silky, clingy sauce.
Nutmeg Nuance 🌰
Freshly grate whole nutmeg instead of using pre-ground for a more aromatic and complex flavor that elevates the entire dish.

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About the Cook

Cooking with Conks

We’re Rachel & Emily Conklin (“Conks” for short), sisters, lifelong foodies, and the voices behind Cooking with Conks. We grew up in Southern California, surrounded by bold flavors, big family meals, and the kind of kitchen chaos that turns into inside jokes