Gloriously golden and luxuriously silky, butternut squash ravioli sauce creates a sweet and stunning cloak for almost any pasta-filled parcel. Simple to prepare and instantly elevating, wrap your weekly ravioli with a restaurant-quality sauce.
With squash season upon us already, make the most of this gorgeous gourd and try my warming recipes for Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage and Goats Cheese and Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry.
Sauce for ravioli
As filling and as tasty as they are, offering up store-bought ravioli at the family dinner table regularly can leave a bit of a gap in the nutrition department. This is one of the reasons I like to serve them with a homemade sauce.
My 5 minute ravioli sauce has been a reader favourite for years but let me up the ante a little bit with this new offering.
A pasta sauce made from scratch can be a heavily disguised, nutritious serving of vitamin-packed vegetables.
What’s more, aside from appearing a bit boring, undressed pasta can go a little sticky and flabby without a good dousing of slick and flavoursome sauce! Sadly, no amounts of extra virgin olive oil are going to help that. I’ve tried!
Serving suggestions
Not sure which ravioli will work with your butternut squash sauce? Here are my top five pairings:
- Spinach and ricotta– their modest mildness allows the squash and sage flavours to radiate.
- Prosciutto crudo and mozzarella– the slightly salty and meaty edge brings out the sauce’s earthiness.
- Bolognese or ragu– for full on rich flavours!
- Nduja and mascarpone– a pleasing warmth of chilli compliments the squash.
- Prawn and lemon– keeps it light and fresh.
Absolutely all ravioli and sauce dishes should be served with a salad on the side, in my opinion! Especially this butter-hued one. Vibrant greens and yellows on a plate are just what’s needed as the evenings get longer and darker.
Buttery green beans are great too if you prefer a warmer accompaniment.
Recipe tips and notes
- Blended butternut squash has a creamy consistency of its own. Only a small amount of actual cream is added for extra luxury.
- Prepare the squash with care! You’ll need a strong, dependable vegetable peeler, a sharp knife and a steady hand. Late squashes also tend to be harder, bear that in mind too!
- Cube your squash small so it will cook faster.
- I’m all for kitchen hacks and this is one of them: you can buy ready prepared, peeled and cubed butternut squash! It’s obviously more expensive, but sometimes the convenience just pays for itself.
- To achieve the desired fluid consistency, blend with a stick blender or food processor.
- This flavour combination has been inspired by Italian cooking. Squash, or pumpkin, with lashings of butter and sage: squisito!
- Almost any filled pasta parcel goes with this super sauce, so you do you. Spinach and ricotta ravioli or basil and pine nut tortellini are my staples.
- Or for a lighter meal or pasta course, choose an unfilled pasta. The best for ensuring a mouthful of sauce is twisty, tubular or scoop shapes rather than linguine ribbons or spaghetti strands.
Storage and leftovers
Leftover sauce can be kept for 2-3 days in an air-tight container the fridge. Just reheat on the hob.
I don’t usually suggest freezing sauces that contain cream as I don’t like the grainy texture once thawed.
More butternut squash recipes
- Butternut Squash Casserole (Gratin)
- Creamy Butternut Squash Gnocchi
- Creamy Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry
Butternut Squash Ravioli Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp dried sage
- 600 g / 4 cups cubed butternut squash
- 350 ml / 1½ cups vegetable stock
- 125 ml / ½ cup single cream or light cream
- 50 g / ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 250g/8 oz ravioli
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pan, add the minced garlic and sage, cook over low heat for 1 minute, making sure not to colour the garlic.
- Add the cubed butternut squash with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring once in a while, then add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer with a lid on for 15- 20 minutes or until the squash is very soft.
- Blend the squash and the cooking liquid in a blender or a food processor. (You can also use a stick blender to minimise the number of dirty dishes.)
- Cook the ravioli according to package instructions.
- Bring the blended squash back to the pan and warm it through, then add the cream and grated Parmesan, allow the cheese to blend into the sauce. Add the cooked ravioli to the pan and gently stir to coat with the sauce. Serve topped with grated Parmesan.
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