Sicilian Pasta Sauce

When it comes to making family-friendly meals, you can’t go wrong with pasta! But why serve boring tomato-based pasta sauce when you can enjoy the flavors of other veggies on your noodles? Taking a cue from classic Sicilian sauces, this butternut squash pasta sauce recipe is filled with flavor. But the best part about this simple pasta topping is that you can make it ahead of time and store in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy it.

You can use purchased butternut squash soup in this recipe, but it’s not nearly as good as when you use our Curried Butternut Squash Soup in it. It’s worth the extra effort. In a pinch, store bought can be used.

Sicilian Pasta Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage, browned
• 1 onion, minced
• 10 mushrooms, sliced
• ½ green pepper, diced
• ½ red pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 500 mL butternut squash soup
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup water

For Day of Cooking:

• 3 cups penne pasta

Assembly Instructions:

1. Combine the browned Italian sausage in a large freezer bag, then add the onion, mushrooms, green pepper, red pepper, Italian seasoning, oregano, curry powder, butternut squash soup, salsa, and water. Seal the bag and squish the ingredients together until well combined.
2. Remove excess air and seal the opening of the freezer bag.
3. Place the butternut squash pasta sauce in the freezer until you’re ready to start cooking.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Transfer the sauce ingredients to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
2. Pour the contents of the bag into a large skillet and cook over medium heat.
3. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the penne pasta according to the package instructions.
4. Serve the sauce over the top of the cooked pasta.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce Recipe Ideas

This flavorful Sicilian sauce recipe is a great option for dinner because it’s healthy and delicious. Not to mention the fact that it’s super easy to prepare! And since it’s so simple, there are so many creative ways to customize your sauce. Try these recipe ideas to create an amazing pasta dinner for your family.

• Try vegetarian sauce. It’s simple to turn this meat sauce into a vegetarian topping! Just leave out the Italian sausage. You can prepare the sauce without meat and it will still taste amazing on your pasta.
• Use different types of pasta. This thick and creamy sauce holds up well to thick noodles, which is why we love eating it with penne. But there are other dense pasta varieties that would pair perfect with your butternut squash sauce. Try serving your finished sauce with rotini, elbow macaroni, fettucine, rigatoni, or gnocchi.
• Add some cheese. What better way to enjoy your pasta than with some cheese? Top your pasta with freshly grated Parmesan or stir in some mozzarella to add even more flavor and creaminess to your sauce.

How to Freeze Pasta Sauce?

Prepping sauce ahead of time is one of the simplest ways to serve homemade ingredients to your family without all the extra work. But making sauce ahead of time means you need to store it in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy it.

Luckily, freezing your sauce is quick and easy once you know a few insider secrets. Use these tips and tricks as you’re prepping your pasta sauce for freezer cooking.

• Cool the ingredients completely. To prevent freezer burn, it’s important to make sure all your sauce ingredients are fully cooled before placing them in the freezer. Once all the elements are cool, you can mix them together and pop everything in the freezer.
• Store in a freezer safe container. When the ingredients are cool, place them in a container that’s safe for the freezer. You can store it in an airtight plastic container or transfer the sauce to a freezer bag and store it flat.
• Freeze the sauce by serving size. Reduce food waste while freezer cooking by freezing the sauce in containers according to serving size. That way, you can pull out only what you need and save the rest for later.
• Label the container. Before placing your sauce in the freezer, make sure to label the container with the name of the recipe, the date of freezing, and the expected expiration date. Sauce typically stays good in the freezer for up to three months.
• Thaw it in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat your frozen sauce, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. This is the safest method for thawing your sauce because it allows you to defrost the ingredients without the risk of bacteria forming.

How Do I Store Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce?

Once you thaw your Sicilian pasta sauce, you shouldn’t refreeze it. But you can still store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat your leftovers again. Transfer the extra sauce (or pasta with sauce) to an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to four days.

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Sicilian Pasta Sauce

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Servings: 6

Calories: 548 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage browned
• 1 onion minced
• 10 mushrooms sliced
• ½ green pepper diced
• ½ red pepper diced
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 500 mL butternut squash soup
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup water

For Day of Cooking:

• 3 cups penne pasta

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Put the browned Italian sausage, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, red pepper, Italian seasoning, oregano, curry powder, butternut squash soup, salsa, and water in a large freezer bag. Seal and squish to combine.

2. Remove excess air and seal. Freeze.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.

2. Pour the contents of the bag into a large skillet and cook over medium heat.

3. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the penne pasta according to the package instructions.
4. Serve the sauce over the top of the cooked pasta.

5. Top with grated Parmesan and red chili flakes if desired.