When Paired With Pasta, This Fall Soup Becomes A Delicious Sauce

Fall flavors often lean into the richer sauces, heartier vegetables, and all-around more comforting foods. A cozy pasta or soup is often on the menu, but have you ever thought to combine one with the other? Instead of making a from-scratch fall pasta sauce, use a can of butternut squash soup as the base.

Butternut squash has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor profile that's perfect for fall dishes. Its flavor somewhat resembles a sweet potato, but when it's roasted and blended it turns into an ultra-creamy texture. This makes it a perfect base for soup, but those flavors translate well when served over pasta, too, and it's easy enough to just use a canned version.

If the canned soup is too thin, let it simmer with no lid on over low heat until it reduces to your desired thickness. You can also add some heavy cream to make it richer, and if you have it, a Parmesan rind (or even just grated Parmesan) will build on that salty, nutty profile. If the sauce is thick, choose a sturdier pasta shape like rigatoni or rotini. Butternut squash sauce would also pair well with tortellini or ravioli.

Besides just cheese or cream, you can add herbs and aromatics that complement the cozy flavors of the soup. Fresh thyme or a bay leaf can be included for an earthy addition, and a sprig of rosemary creates a hint of woodsy, robust flavor. For even more richness, add knob of butter, or melt a small amount of butter and sauté garlic in a pan, then whisk the garlic and butter into the soup. And for a brighter flavor, a squeeze of citrus works wonders.

If you want more texture than just pasta and sauce, thinly slice sweet onion and fully caramelize it. The sweet, rich flavors will pair nicely with the butternut squash. You can also go more cheese-forward with the pasta, melting sharp cheddar into the soup and turning the dish into a butternut squash macaroni and cheese rather than a more traditional pasta dish, or omit the cheddar for a vegan version. You can even use the soup-turned-sauce in a homemade lasagna, filling lasagna sheets with ricotta, caramelized onions, and cooked ground sausage.