an easy fall dish: butternut squash noodles with goat cheese and sage

If you’re like me, the fall season has you craving heartier dishes that’ll warm you up and soothe the soul. Unfortunately many of the dishes I am dying to make are not that great for you – pastas, pot pies, and the like. A couple weeks back I was inspired by this pasta dish I saw on Instagram, and decided to try and make it sans pasta. Instead of doing butternut squash ravioli, I simply used butternut squash noodles! This recipe is even easier than my favorite zucchini noodle recipe, and with far less ingredients! This is a quick and super easy solo meal to whip up on a week night, or try it as a side dish to your favorite meat. Next time I may try adding diced chicken or a protein to it for added flavor and texture! You can really add whatever you want – test out things like pine nuts, walnuts, other herbs, etc to add more depth! You’ll get the taste of autumn you’re craving, but with all the added guilt. You can thank me later!

The key to making this fall dish in a flash is by buying pre-cut butternut squash noodles. I buy mine at Whole Foods, but many stores do this now! While you can certainly spiralize your butternut squash at home, it is a much tougher vegetable than zucchini which makes it much more difficult to do. Buying the pre-spiralized squash will cut your prep time in half!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter

1 package of pre-cut butternut squash noodles

1 small package or a handful of sage, chopped

Black pepper and sea salt, to taste

2 tbs grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs goat cheese crumbles

DIRECTIONS

1. Place olive oil in a large skillet pan with minced garlic. Place stove on medium-high heat until oil is bubbling and garlic has been cooked about a minute.
2. Add butternut squash noodles and cook for 5-7 minutes or until tender. You may want to add a swig of olive oil if the pan starts to get dry while cooking!
3. While butternut squash is cooking, sprinkle on pepper, sea salt and half of the chopped sage.
4. Once the squash is thoroughly cooked and tender, toss in the parmesan and stir until mixed well.
5. Before removing from heat, toss goat cheese crumbles in the pan and stir until just melted.
6. Sprinkle on remaining sage and a few extra goat cheese chunks for garnish!

If you want to add a protein, try spicy Italian sausage or grilled chicken! I’ve used both and they add great flavor and extra texture.