Hi friends! If you’re looking for the perfect cool weather dinner that the whole family will love- I found it for you! I made this dish once last year, and decided to make it again last week. I’m a sucker for butternut squash-anything and well, here we are! (Literally when it’s cold, there is something squash-based in my fridge at all times!)
I posted these on my insta-stories as I was making them and y’all voted you wanted the recipe, so I’ve also created a pinterest- friendly graphic (the one at the very top) for you to pin and save for later, too!
This recipe is super easy- If just a teensy bit time consuming. That being said it makes enough for more than one meal, so it’s worth it! It also makes enough to freeze some shells for left-overs, as well! And I think they would also be great with a red sauce.
I’d like to note that the ingredients in this recipe can easily be swapped out- diced mushrooms for the sausage to make it vegetarian, or you could also do half goat’s cheese/half ricotta instead of a full 15 oz of ricotta for a bit of zing.
- 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 c coconut milk (you may also use half milk half vegetable broth)
- 1 lb Italian sausage ( or spiced ground sausage can be subbed)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb of jumbo pasta shells, cooked al dente
- 15 oz. Ricotta
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 c shredded parmesn, divided in half (half for stuffing half for topping)
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bunch of fresh Sage
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp Pepitas
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Toss onion and cubed squash in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread evenly across baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage and garlic and garlic powder on medium heat until browned.
- Place roasted squash and onion in a food processor and blend until a smooth puree forms.
- Add your milk and brown sugar into the puree slowly and blend until sauce is creamy.
- Pour the sauce mixture into the bottom of your 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the sausage, Ricotta, 1/4 c parm and the egg.
- Cook your shells until al dente and then rinse in cold water.
- Toss your shells in olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
- Fill cooled shells with a heaping spoon full of filling, and place on top of the squash mixture in the baking dish.
- Repeat until stuffing mixture is gone.
- Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes covered.
- Uncover and sprinkle the remainder of parm on top of the shells evenly.
- Bake for another 15 minutes (you can even broil for a few minutes if you want them to be bubbly and browned on top).
- In a separate skillet, melt butter and let simmer until brown.
- Add your Julienned sage, and fry until crispy.
- Remove sage from butter and drain over paper towel.
- Remove baking dish from oven and top with crispy sage and Pepitas.
- Serve hot!
- *Add salt and pepper to filling and sauce to your liking.
- You can change out chopped mushrooms for the sausage, cows milk or another milk of your choice for the coconut milk.
- I had 5 left over shells, and froze them. You could also serve with red sauce.
Also, if you guys don’t have a good food processor, I highly recommend snagging a Ninja- it’s so versatile and works like a dream! I’ve linked the one I use and a similar baking dish below (same brand, just different color):
