Delicious, low cal butternut squash pasta sauce

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  • mmstone13
    mmstone13 Posts: 60 Member
    Bump sounds awesome!
  • mattyc44
    mattyc44 Posts: 2 Member
    Looking for a way to help out my wife by making dinner for us 2 x week, and I don't want to just make "quick food" so I am bumping this up.

    I love creamy sauces. A zippy tomato sauce may hit the spot every now and then, but a truly comforting pasta dish is slathered in creamy goodness. How do these sauces get to be so creamy? Cream and fat. Not the best foods to be eating when you want something low calorie

    But after stumbling across a recipe for butternut squash pasta sauce, I decided to make my own.

    This sauce is smooth and creamy as sin. You wouldn't guess it's healthy. But being made mostly from a vegetable, and clocking in at a little over 70 calories for 3/4 of a cup, I can assure you this sauce is magic.

    ***I really love butternut squash. A lot. A lot more than I should. This is a very good sauce, but if my love for all things butternut squash oversells this sauce, I'm sorry. Just know this is a tasty, healthy pasta sauce.)

    INGREDIENTS
    100 grams baked and purreed (lump free) butternut squash*
    2 Tbsp fat free cream cheese
    1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
    Water
    Salt and pepper
    Garlic powder
    Onion powder
    Paprika
    Whatever other spices/herbs float your tasty party boat

    *by baked and riced, I mean that the butternut squash should be baked (I cube the squash and bake it at 400degrees for about 30 minutes). When I say purreed and lump free, I mean that it should be treated in some way that will reduce it to a lump free purée. I use a ricer, but you can push it through a strainer as well. If you have a strong blendr and are making a bigger batch, you can try that as well, but I haven't tested that method myself

    INSTRUCTIONS
    The hardest part is pureeing the squash. I find its easier when it's warm, but using a manual ricer or pushing it through a strainer is tough, tedious work. But stick to it!

    After you have 100 grams of squash puree, heat it in the microwave until warm. Add the cream cheese and stir until mixed and the cream cheese has melted.

    Add the chicken broth and combine. Add water until you get a sauce of you desired consistency.

    Add spices. I can't tell you what amount or what types, because I never measure and sometimes use different spices. I've listed salt, pepper, garlic and onion pepper, and paprika in the ingredients list becuse they go very well together. However, I've added things such as chipotle powder, basil, thyme, and chili powder. Just go wild and use your creativity.
  • angela233Z
    angela233Z Posts: 312 Member
    Sound's yummy, I have some butternut squash in the freezer. I'm going to give this a try. I make a very tasty butternut squash/sweet potato/jalapeno pepper soup that is to die for and am sure I will love your recipe. Heading to the store right now for low fat cream cheese. Thank you for sharing.

    can you post the soup recipe? I love spicy soups!
  • jenversuslife
    jenversuslife Posts: 57 Member
    I find nutmeg and parmesan both work amazingly in a butternut squash sauce.

    (P.S. Also I find adding starchy pasta water to tomato based makes it taste creamier as well)

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