Roasted Butternut Squash Zucchini Pasta Bake - a simple comforting pasta bake with roasted butternut squash, zucchini and pasta baked in a tomato sauce with a delicious cheesy topping. It is an easy family friendly dinner that comes together with very little fuss and is perfect for busy evenings.
Sometimes the best dinners come from just using up what you already have sitting in the fridge, and this pasta bake turned out to be one of those meals we all loved. Roasting the butternut squash first adds so much flavour and sweetness, while the zucchini cooks perfectly straight in the bake without any extra prep. Everything is then mixed together in a tomato sauce, topped with cheese and baked until golden and bubbling.
Calories in Roasted Butternut Squash Zucchini Pasta Bake
This recipe serves 4 and is 531 calories per serving.
If you're looking for more recipes by calories, you'll find plenty of options grouped by calorie range here: Slimming Eats Low Calorie Recipes
If you're following a calorie-controlled diet or a healthy eating plan, it's important to calculate your daily calorie needs using a reliable calorie calculator. The calorie counts provided are estimates and can vary depending on the exact ingredients and portion sizes you use. Using your own calculations helps ensure you're meeting your individual needs. A calorie calculator can help you make informed choices and stay on track with your goals.
See the recipe card for full nutritional estimation.
Ingredients Notes
To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Fusilli Pasta: Fusilli works really well in pasta bakes as the twists hold onto all the delicious tomato sauce and melted cheese.
- Olive Oil: Helps the butternut squash roast beautifully and adds extra flavour.
- Butternut Squash: Roasting the squash brings out its natural sweetness and adds lots of flavour to the pasta bake.
- Paprika and Garlic Powder: Add extra savoury flavour and work perfectly with the roasted squash.
- Onion: Adds sweetness and flavour to the homemade tomato sauce as it softens while cooking.
- Zucchini (Courgette): Adds extra vegetables and cooks perfectly in the pasta bake without needing any pre-cooking.
- Passata: Creates a rich smooth homemade tomato sauce for the pasta bake.
- Italian Seasoning: Adds extra herb flavour to the tomato sauce.
- Mozzarella: Melts beautifully over the top for that classic cheesy pasta bake finish.
- Parmesan: Adds extra savoury cheesy flavour and helps give the topping a lovely golden finish.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Important for seasoning and balancing all the flavours.
- Fresh Parsley: Adds freshness and a lovely finishing touch before serving.
Once you've gathered all the ingredients and prepared them accordingly, you're all set to create this easy and delightful recipe.
See the recipe card for specific quantities and instructions.
Variations and Substitutes
This pasta bake is really easy to adapt depending on what vegetables, pasta or cheeses you have on hand.
- Penne, rigatoni or macaroni all work really well instead of fusilli.
- Sweet potato can be used instead of butternut squash.
- Add extra vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers or eggplant.
- Cooked chicken, turkey or spicy sausage make great additions if you want to add extra protein.
- Swap the mozzarella for cheddar, gouda or a lighter cheese blend.
- A little cream cheese or mascarpone stirred into the tomato sauce makes it extra creamy.
- Add chilli flakes for a little heat.
- Fresh basil works really well alongside the parsley.
- Use wholewheat pasta for extra fibre if preferred.
- Cooked Lentils or chickpeas can be added for a vegetarian protein boost.
- For extra richness, stir through a spoonful or two of pesto before baking.
Side Suggestions
This pasta bake pairs really well with lighter vegetable sides to balance the rich tomato sauce and cheesy topping. Steamed or roasted broccoli, green beans or tenderstem broccoli are all great options and add a nice freshness alongside the roasted squash and pasta.
A simple salad with mixed greens, cucumber, red onion and even a few pomegranate seeds also works really well for a fresh crunchy side. If you like a little extra flavour, a drizzle of ranch dressing or spicy mayo over the pasta bake is really delicious too.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating
Storing
Allow the pasta bake to cool before covering or transferring to an airtight container and storing in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing
This pasta bake freezes really well. Allow to cool completely before transferring to freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. You can freeze the whole bake or individual portions depending on what works best for you.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven, covered loosely with foil, until heated through and bubbling hot in the centre. Individual portions can also be reheated in the microwave until piping hot.
More Pasta Recipes
Looking for some more pasta recipes? Check out these:
see more Pasta Recipes
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more.
All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.
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Recipe Card
Roasted Butternut Squash and Zucchini Pasta Bake
Roasted Butternut Squash Zucchini Pasta Bake - a comforting cheesy pasta bake with roasted butternut squash, zucchini and pasta baked in a tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 300g (10.5oz) of pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 500g (17.6oz) of butternut squash - peeled and chopped into cubes
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 1 zucchini (courgette) - chopped
- 3 cups (720g) of passata
- 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
- 100g (3.5oz) of mozzarella
- 60g (2oz) of parmesan
- salt and black pepper
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan, 200°C, 400°F or gas mark 6.
- Add the butternut squash, zucchini and onion to a large baking dish or tray. Sprinkle over the paprika and garlic powder, season well with salt and black pepper, drizzle with the olive oil and toss everything together until well coated.
- Roast in the oven for approximately 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and lightly golden.
- While the vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Once the roasted vegetables are ready, add them to an ovenproof baking dish along with the cooked pasta, passata and Italian seasoning. Mix everything together until evenly combined.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan over the top.
- Return to the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbling.
- Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley before serving.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly - see storing, freezing and reheating section
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Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 531Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 8gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 33mgSodium 848mgCarbohydrates 76gFiber 2gSugar 15gProtein 25g
Nutritional information and values etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
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