Garlicky, herby butternut squash pasta sauce, with tomato and leek, perfect weeknight comfort food when you’re craving something cosy, autumnal and filling!

Whilst the Indian summer we’ve just had here in the UK doesn’t exactly scream autumn comfort food, this butternut squash pasta sauce with rosemary, leeks and lots of garlic is easy enough to cook whatever the weather!  The last few years I’ve made a concerted effort to eat seasonally, especially given the amount of things missing off the shelves this summer.  Do you grow your own veggies?  Last year I had a tonne of veggies growing in my garden thanks to my lovely neighbour and friend Penny and there’s nothing quite like picking and cooking right from your own garden.

I wanted to make this pasta sauce as simple as possible so everything (apart from the pasta) is cooked in one pan.  This sauce makes a great freezer addition too, for those rush rush, busy weeknights or heck, super lazy weekends.

Homemade pasta sauce ingredients:

Butternut squash – I’ve used fresh squash but you could use frozen butternut squash to make this even easier.

Rosemary – can be fresh or dried, either is fine.  I actually used fresh rosemary from my garden last year that I dried and brought with me to my new home!

Leeks – another late summer vegetable, substitute with onion or shallots if you prefer

Tomatoes – I’ve used tinned tomatoes, again for ease, but if you’ve got a glut of fresh tomatoes this sauce is a great way to use them up!

How to make butternut squash sauce:

Chop all your veggies first.  Peel and deseed the squash and chop into smallish chunks.  Thinly slice the leek and peel and finely chop the garlic.

Heat a little oil and butter in a large saute pan – the butter is for flavour, the oil stops the butter from burning.  Add the squash and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until just starting to caramelise.

Add the leek and garlic and saute for another couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes, vinegar, rosemary, water, stock cube (or bouillon) and miso paste and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until the squash is very tender.

Blitz everything in a blender or food processor, season to taste and then stir through cooked pasta.

This makes enough sauce for 4 really good portions of pasta but it’s just as easy to make even more and freeze the extra!

Looking for even more easy vegan past recipes?  Try these:

Lemon and courgette rigatoni

Creamy black garlic and sun dried tomato tagliatelle

Roast cauliflower pesto pasta

Summer pasta salad

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