Skip to content
The Little Epicurean
  • About
  • Desserts & Baking
  • Ingredient Index
  • Recipe Index
facebookinstagrampinteresttwitter
  • Recipes
  • Cuisine
    • Asian
    • Filipino
    • French
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Mexican
  • Desserts
    • All Desserts
    • Breads & Rolls
    • Brownies, Bars, & Pastries
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Cupcakes & Muffins
    • Donuts, Pancakes, & Waffles
    • Ice Cream
    • Pies & Tarts
    • Porridge & Puddings
    • Scones & Biscuits
  • Drinks
    • All Drinks
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee & Tea
    • Mocktails
    • Smoothies
  • Ingredient
    • Cheese
    • Chocolate
    • Coffee
    • Meat
    • Nuts
    • Peanut Butter
    • Pumpkin
    • Seafood
    • Vegetables
  • Occasion
    • Birthday
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Memorial Day
    • Mother’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact
facebookinstagrampinteresttwitter
Home ·  Recipes

Brown Butter Spaghetti with Baby Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash

Author: Maryanne CabreraPublished: Apr 18, 2013Updated: Sep 30, 2022
View Recipe34 Reviews
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Brown butter spaghetti served with baby kale and roasted butternut squash. It’s an easy pasta dish to make during busy weeknights!

brown butter spaghetti with baby kale and roasted butternut squash

I sure do share lot of pasta recipes.

What can I say? I love carbs, especially in the form of noodles.

This spaghetti is special because it uses brown butter.  

Brown butter is my secret ingredient of choice.

Not only it is amazing in baked goods like chocolate chip cookies and brown butter peach scones, but the warm, nutty flavor of brown butter does wonders to savory foods.

brown butter spaghetti

Brown Butter Spaghetti

The nutty brown butter works well with the hearty butternut squash, the slight bitterness of the baby kale, and the sweetness from the caramelized onions.  

Brown butter is created when the milk solids of butter is cooked until fragrant and golden brown.

Butter is made up of water, butterfat, and milk solids. As melted butter is headed, the water evaporates and the milk solids separate from the butterfat (thus creating clarified butter or ghee).

The milk solids brown in the fat. Those golden specks is what gives brown butter its iconic rich, nutty, warm flavor.

Garlic with Mortar and Pestle

Use Fresh Garlic for Pasta

Fresh garlic tastes more vibrant and clean compared to jarred minced garlic.

Peeling and mincing fresh garlic is well worth the effort.

I have a mini mortar and pestle that I absolutely love.

For large amounts of garlic, I recommend using this garlic press.

Garlic fans will love this spicy garlic shrimp spaghetti or Filipino garlic fried rice.

uncooked butternut squash

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

Cooking the butternut squash is the most time consuming part of this dish.

Cut and prep a whole butternut squash, or save time by purchasing already cut squash.

It’s best to roast butternut squash over high heat.

Spread the butternut squash chunks over baking sheet. Toss with oil and season well.

It will take about 30 minutes to cook. Heat until the squash is soft and can easily be pierced with fork tines.

baby kale

Kale and Other Vegetable Options

I highly recommend using baby kale. Although, any variety of kale will work such as dinosaur kale (Tuscan kale) or curly kale.

Other great green options include: spinach, baby spinach, or collard greens.

If you don’t want leafy greens, you may also used sautéed zucchini, roasted mushrooms, asparagus, or eggplant.

brown butter spaghetti with baby kale and roasted butternut squash

Serving Suggestions

This brown butter spaghetti sets off an explosion of flavors and smells that causes my belly to do a little dance with every bite.

For an even heartier dish, serve this pasta with grilled protein of choice. It’s fantastic with chicken, steak, or shrimp.

Although the pasta dish should be served warm, it’s just as tasty at room temperature or chilled.

brown butter spaghetti with roasted butternut squash served on white plate.

Brown Butter Spaghetti

5 from 1 vote
An easy weeknight vegetarian meal. The combination of nutty brown butter paired with sweet butternut squash, earthy baby kale, and umami packed parmesan cheese is unstoppable.
Yield: serves 2
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Inactive Bake Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 oz spaghetti
  • 2 cups butternut squash chunks
  • 1 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, smashed or minced
  • 2 small onions sliced, about 2 cups
  • 4 cups baby kale, packed
  • ¼ cup grated pecorino romano
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • additional pecorino romano or parmesan, for serving
  • finely sliced chives, for serving

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400° F.  On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread out butternut squash.  Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until squash is soft and can be easily pierced with a fork or knife. Set aside.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti to al dente according to package details. When draining pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water.
  • In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, continue to cook over medium low heat until butter has browned and is fragrant (should smell nutty).
  • Add minced garlic (I like to smash mine using a mortar and pestle) and sliced onions. Cook until onions are almost translucent. Add baby kale in two additions. Cook until kale begins to wilt. Remove from heat.
  • Add pecorino romano, parmesan cheese, and roasted butternut squash. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat pasta. Add 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water at a time until pasta is well coated with sauce. (I ended using 1/2 cup of pasta water).
  • Serve immediately with sliced chives and/or more cheese, if desired.
Author: Maryanne Cabrera
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brown butter spaghetti, roasted butternut squash, vegetarian pasta dish, kale squash spaghetti
Did you make this recipe?Show us on Instagram! Tag @littleepicurean and hashtag #littleepicurean.
34 Reviews
Filed in:
PastaBrown Butter · Cheese · Fall + Winter · Savory · Thanksgiving · Vegetables

Ask a Question! Cancel Reply

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or review below. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Reader Questions and Reviews

  1. Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says:
    April 21, 2013

    Your pasta looks delicious! I’ve never tried brown butter in a savoury dish, I think I need to give it a go!

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      April 23, 2013

      Brown butter is amazing in all applications! Give it a try!

  2. Allison (Spontaneous Tomato) says:
    April 24, 2013

    This looks so good! And I was just going to make the same comment as the first commenter– I’ve never thought of using brown butter in savory contexts (other than with fish), but brown butter with pasta sounds like the happiest combination! I love baby kale, too… I would have used even more! :)

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      April 25, 2013

      Thanks, Allison! I kept picking at the baby kale as it was cooking.

  3. Judy says:
    May 2, 2013

    I made this tonight and it is absolutely delicious! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      May 2, 2013

      You are welcome, Judy! I am glad you liked it!

  4. Danielle says:
    May 7, 2013

    I made this last night and it was delicious! I’m loving your blog, Maryanne!!

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      May 7, 2013

      Thanks for checking out the blog, Danielle! I’m glad you enjoyed the spaghetti. Its one of my favorites!

  5. Danita says:
    May 12, 2013

    I made this amazing dish last night for 20 plus people. THEY LOVED IT!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING.

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      May 14, 2013

      You are so welcome, Danita! I’m happy that your party enjoyed it!

  6. Natalie says:
    May 21, 2013

    Hi, looks delicious! I picked up a bunch of normal kale at the supermarket today (looks a lot frillier than the baby kale in your pic) – would it work in this recipe, or too bitter?

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      May 21, 2013

      Hi Natalie, normal sized kale should work fine. For large leaves, it would be best to cut off the thick center stalk. Chop or tear large leaves into equal sizes so they cook evenly.

  7. p-- says:
    May 25, 2013

    Holy cow, is this stuff good!

    Reply
  8. Julia Demmer says:
    October 5, 2013

    Where do you buy the baby kale? I only know the regular size kale…

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      October 5, 2013

      Hi Julia, I bought my baby kale from Ralphs supermarket. I think the brand was Earthbound Farm Organic. Regular sized kale is totally fine for the recipe.

    • Julia Demmer says:
      October 5, 2013

      Thank you!! Kale and squash are a great match!
      I made a salad with (raw) kale and oven roasted butternut squash with a orange/honey/ginger vinaigrette last night…

    • Maryanne says:
      October 6, 2013

      Yes they are! That sounds delicious…I want to try that dressing!

    • Julia Demmer says:
      October 10, 2013

      Heu Maryanne!

      Here’s the vinaigrette recipe:
      ingredients:
      3 tbsp olive oil
      juice of 1 orange
      1/2″ knob of fresh ginger, peeled and
      minced
      pinch of salt
      squeeze of honey

      To make the dressing, combine the
      olive oil, fresh ginger, orange juice,
      salt and honey in a small bowl or
      mason jar. Stir or shake until well
      combined – then drizzle dressing over
      any salad.

    • Maryanne says:
      October 10, 2013

      THANK YOU Julia! I’ll be making it this weekend!

  9. Musings from a writer's life says:
    October 6, 2013

    Looks yummy and I’ve put it on my list of dishes to try. I was looking for other ways to eat butternut squash and this looks inspiring! :-)

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      October 6, 2013

      That’s great to hear! Thank you,Sophia!

  10. DH says:
    October 22, 2013

    Made for my cooking club….was so tasty. I used spinach from my garden. :)

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      October 22, 2013

      Awesome! I bet it taste great with spinach. Oh, how I wish I could grow vegetables :)

  11. Alexis says:
    October 27, 2013

    I used grown up kale, cut up into slices. Left the center stalk in tact and just cooked the Kale a little longer. Added juice from half a lemon. So good!

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      October 27, 2013

      Kale with a sprinkle of lemon sounds delicious and fresh. Thanks for tip, Alexis!

  12. jrrisk says:
    October 29, 2013

    I made this dish for dinner this evening after finding it on Pinterest. I reduced the amount of onions because I thought two cups was a bit much. Otherwise, it was good. I think next time I might add some pine nuts.

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      October 31, 2013

      Thanks for trying it out! Pine nuts would be a great addition!

  13. hipfoodiemom says:
    December 31, 2013

    hi there! saw this on Foodie Crush. . omg, love this! going to try this recipe soon! Cheers to you!

    Reply
    • Maryanne says:
      January 1, 2014

      Hi Alice! Thanks! Cheers to 2014! :)

  14. Diane in NC says:
    February 11, 2014

    We made this for dinner last night and loved it.

    Reply
    • Maryanne Cabrera says:
      February 19, 2014

      Awesome to hear, Diane! :)

  15. Rosalyn Gallo says:
    November 10, 2020

    I was really excited to try this recipe but was disappointed in the end result. Way too much onion and not a distinctive flavor. I would decrease onion to 1/2 cup and add some toasted pecan or walnuts and bacon bit to the finished pasta dish.

    Reply
    • Maryanne Cabrera says:
      November 16, 2020

      I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, adding toasted nuts or bacon bits would definitely add another dimension of texture and flavor!

  16. Alex says:
    December 29, 2022

    5 stars
    I’ve tried this dish a few times and I LOVE IT. Everything goes so well together, especially the kale and the squash. I add some ground turkey to make it a full meal. Its one of my favorite meals to take to work!!

    Reply
Maryanne Cabrera

Meet the Author

Maryanne Cabrera is a classically trained pastry chef, baker, cake maker, and cocktail shaker.
Read more about me

You Might Also Like...

a serving of spinach mushroom lasagna on plate

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Fusilli with arugula pesto

Fusilli with Arugula Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Fresh Fettuccine with leeks

Fresh Fettuccine with Bacon and Leeks

Sesame Almond Noodles

Find Your Next Recipe

The Little Epicurean is a Los Angeles-based recipe blog featuring from-scratch baking, decadent dessert, and unique cocktails.

Let's Get Social!
facebookinstagrampinteresttwitter
Cake

Chocolate Butter Mochi Cake

Inspired by our travels to Maui, this chocolate butter mochi cake features a chewy brownie topped with peanut butter...

Orange Blossom Bundt Cake

This alluring orange blossom bundt cake is moist and buttery. It is naturally flavored with orange zest and orange...
Breads & Rolls

Cheddar Everything Babka Buns

Soft and fluffy Cheddar Everything Babka Buns. These individually portioned muffin buns are loaded with cheddar cheese and everything...

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Carrot cake cinnamon rolls frosted with whipped cream cheese and topped with toasted walnuts. It’s the iconic flavors of...
Cookies

Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies

These aren’t your average chocolate chip cookies. Brown butter rye chocolate chip cookies are nutty and spiced with touch...

White Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies

Soft and chewy Earl Grey Cookies infused with tea and studded with white chocolate chunks. They’re a sweet treat...
As Seen On Better Homes & GardensBuzzfeedHuffington postReal SimpleThe Kitchn
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
© 2023 The Little Epicurean, All Rights Reserved. Design by LH.