Creamy Butternut Squash, Cranberry & Goat Cheese Orzo
This Creamy Butternut Squash, Cranberry & Goat Cheese Orzo is my latest spinoff of the viral baked feta pasta from 2021! With a seasonal winter spin, this creamy pasta dish is loaded with roasted butternut squash, burst cranberries and silky goat cheese. It's the coziest winter meal that's perfect for weeknights, as meal prep or to bring to a holiday party!
Equipment
- 9x13" baking dish
- medium pot
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs butternut squash peeled, seeds removed & cut into small cubes*
- 1 heaping cup fresh cranberries
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 12 sprigs of thyme stems removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt + pepper to taste
- 8 oz log of goat cheese
- 8 oz dry orzo **
- ½-1 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Add butternut squash, cranberries, garlic and thyme to the baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Toss to coat everything.
- Make space in the middle of the baking dish and then add the log of goat cheese. Bake for 40 minutes or until the butternut squash is fork tender.
- At the end of the baking time, cook the orzo until al-dente, according to package directions. Make sure to reserve some of the excess pasta water!
- Let the butternut squash, cranberry and feta mixture cool for a few minutes, then add it to a high speed blender along with ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth, adding the remaining ½ cup of the reserved pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.
- Add the sauce back to the baking dish along with the cooked orzo. Stir until coated in the sauce, and enjoy! ***For serving suggestions, see the Notes.
Notes
*NOTE: If your squash is in too large of pieces, it won't get tender in time and this may lead to a grittier sauce. **NOTE: If you want it less saucy, feel free to increase the amount of orzo to 10oz. If you're gluten free, you can also try substituting a GF brand like Jovial. Any type of pasta shape will work fine here! ***NOTE: If you want to make this more of a full, well-rounded meal, you can add in some cooked chicken sausage (either chopped up links or ground chicken sausage) and some wilted greens such as kale and/or spinach. I would recommend up to 1lb of chicken sausage and 8oz of spinach or chopped kale.