Easy Bean & Veggie Pasta Bake with Creamed Butternut Squash
An easy and delicious Easy Bean & Veggie Pasta Bake with Creamed Butternut Squash.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Mazola® Corn Oil. All opinions are mine alone. #simpleswap #CollectiveBias
This Easy Bean & Veggie Pasta Bake with Creamed Butternut Squash is packed with beans, garlic, and spinach! In this dish, I used oil instead of butter, coconut milk instead of heavy cream, and gluten-free pasta instead of regular pasta to make this a gluten-free, dairy-free, lighter meal for anyone who might be restricting their gluten intake, cutting out lactose, or trying to be healthier.
What are the ingredients needed to make this butternut squash bake?
You will need the following ingredients:
- A package pre-cut butternut squash
- Corn Oil
- Coconut milk
- Vegetable stock1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- Smoked paprika
- Egg
- Frozen spinach
- Chickpeas
- Black beans
- Gluten free pasta
- Onion
- Ginger
- Garlic
- salt and pepper, or to taste and parsley to garnish
Way back during my high school years, I walked into my Human Anatomy class one day to find my teacher scooping out the waxy bit of a yellowish-white candle onto a plate. She then proceeded to hold it up and tell us that that’s what cholesterol looked like before lecturing on about how cholesterol (in the right amounts) is essential in making the outer coating of cells and bile acids as well as in helping our bodies make Vitamin D and hormones.
But, as we know, cholesterol can also cause serious issues to our ticker if allowed to run amok. And, seeing February is National Heart Health Month, I figured we could talk a bit about foods that have been shown to reduce cholesterol. Speaking of which, I recently came across some interesting info.
A clinical study showed Mazola® Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, see Mazola.com.
By the way, cholesterol free Mazola® Corn Oil has a neutral taste that won’t negatively impact the taste of ingredients, so it lets the natural flavor of your food stand out.
For the longest time, I did not realize that all cooking oils have a smoke point that, once exceeded, negatively affected the food’s flavor and nutritional value! Mazola® Corn Oil also has a smoke point higher than most cooking oils at 450°F and performs well in a variety of cooking applications, including stir-frying, sautéing, grilling and even baking. You can check out Mazola® Corn Oil on Facebook for more recipe ideas, tips and information!
In addition to Mazola® Corn Oil, certain foods such as beans, garlic, and spinach also play a part in helping reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
And, today’s Easy Bean & Veggie Pasta Bake with Creamed Butternut Squash is made with Mazola® Corn Oil and is jam packed with beans, garlic, and spinach! In this dish, I used Mazola® Corn Oil instead of butter, coconut milk instead of heavy cream and gluten free pasta instead of regular pasta to make this a gluten free, dairy free, lighter meal for anyone who might be restricting their gluten intake, cutting out lactose or trying to be kinder to their hearts.
When I pulled this out of the oven, my daughter took one look at it and said “hmmm…mom, this does not look like a winner-of-my-tastebuds-dinner” but… then she took one mouthful… and another… and yet another… and this Easy Bean & Veggie Pasta Bake with Creamed Butternut Squash won her over! Now, this dish involves quite a few separate steps such as:
~ roasting the butternut squash…
~ creaming it with coconut milk, vegetable stock, turmeric and smoked paprika…
~ and, waiting a bit till it cools before adding in the egg and blending the mixture again…
~ as well as, prepping the gluten free pasta, spinach and beans…
the resulting gluten-free, lactose-free, bake is simply scrumptious and kinda great for your ticker too!
Happy Heart Health Month ~ I sure hope y’all are kind to your tickers this month and every month … and I sure hope y’all give this recipe a try sometime soon!
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 12 oz package pre-cut butternut squash
- 2 + 2 tablespoons Mazola® Corn Oil
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable stock
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach
- 1/2 cup chickpeas
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1 cup gluten free pasta
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper or to taste
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Add 2 tablespoons of Mazola® Corn Oil to a skillet or oven safe pan and also add the butternut squash to it.
- Pan roast butternut squash over medium/high flame for about 15 minutes so some cubes are slightly charred. Add in the 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock and cover pan and let cook about 4-5 minutes so butternut squash cubes are tender.
- Then add butternut squash to a blender with coconut milk, vegetable stock, turmeric and smoked paprika and blend – then set blender with mixture aside to cool a bit before adding the egg.
- While waiting for mixture to cool, boil gluten free pasta till al dente in another pan.
- While pasta is boiling, grab the skillet that you used for the butternut squash and add the other 2 tablespoons of Mazola® Corn Oil and add onion, garlic and ginger and saute about 5-7 minutes. Add in the spinach and chickpeas and black beans. Then add in the pasta and season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, add egg to creamed butternut squash in blender and blend till well incorporated.
- Pour this creamed butternut squash mixture over pasta, spinach and bean saute in skillet.
- Place skillet in oven and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
I am seriously jealous that you can find butternut squash at this time of the year…I can eat this winter squash every single day…sadly they are only available during Fall season. The pasta bake looks super yummy!
This is the perfect meatless Monday meal ! And I can really do with any ingredients/recipes to help me lower my high cholesterol 🙂
This recipe is right up my alley! I just recently bought a pumpkin and wasn’t sure what to do with it, but now I’m thinking I want to try this! I love using pumpkin as a sauce base, it gives such creamy results!
I love pasta bakes, they are the perfect family meal and this one looks totally delicious! Love the inclusion of creamed butternut squash
What a great mix of flavors and textures. This looks delicious and healthy to boot!
So many yummy ingredients in this dish! Seriously loving all those veggies–and the butternut squash! 🙂
This is a perfect recipe. I usually like to have my pasta more creamier.. This one looks delish … mr. husband will love this definitely..
What a delicious meal! I love cooking with Mazola, it is so great!
I enjoy butternut squash to add to pasta sauces your version really looks good and you got me at garlic too =). Thanks for your participation on this shop.
Oh man, I totally remember lessons like that from bio class. They were never my favorite. I mean the lesson itself stuck, but I just didn’t like bio. I was more of a Physics kinda guy. Speaking of physics, I’m feeling an unstoppable force pushing me towards this skillet pasta bake. I’m all about skillet bakes for easy dinners! Thanks for the info about Mazola, too…we always keep a bottle in the pantry!
Biology class would sometimes freak me out, especially if there were ‘samples’. That paired with the fact that I was petrified of speaking in front of a crowd was not good for me, lol. I remember having to give a group presentation one time and I literally could not get the words out. I stumbled and stumbled and stumbled all over them. Anywho – onto more pleasant stuff – this bake 😉 I love anything in a skillet and this is packed with so many good-for-you ingredients. I would love to make this and enjoy throughout the week for easy lunches. Tasty and healthy to boot! Happy Monday, my friend! XOXO
Pasta bakes are wonderful! And so comforting at this time of the year — help beat the cold weather. This looks terrific — thanks.
So loving this meatless pasta! Perfect everyday, hearty meal. Been using Mazola too, it blends well with different tastes and flavors.
Now this is the sort of recipe I’m looking out for today! Yummy and comforting and heart healthy too. Thanks Shashi, this one is definitely a winner. 🙂
Oh my Gosh Shashi, my mouth is watering. I wish this recipe was in front of me right now and I would have eaten all of it. Mmmm I am loving it. Pinning 🙂
What a delicious meal Shashi! I did not realize that Mazola corn oil can actually help to reduce cholesterol. That’s awesome and what a great dish you concocted. (don’t you love the word, concocted???) 🙂 And butternut squash is a fave of mine. I guess I will have to wait on trying this recipe since I have no oven or even a stovetop due to our kitchen remodel. My sweet friend Julie offered me their portable propane stovetop, that sits on wobbly old saw horses, that they used during their kitchen remodel. But my hubby Jon says NO WAY does that come in the house. He has a point, since Ju who loaned it to me – ummm… her first house burned down. So my J says “there’s a track record here”. So I can only use the propane stove top on the back deck… which is now covered in white stuff. Chilly chef I will be. LOL. xoxo
Do you thaw the squash before you cook it?
The squash isn’t frozen – just refrigerated, so no thawing is needed.
I’m going to disagree with your daughter today, Shashi. This pasta bake looks like a winner to me. This rather unusual pasta combo to me, but I like the flavors and textures going on (I won’t mind some cheese on top though, haha).
Should the coconut milk be the baking kind (that’s usually in a can and very creamy) or the drinking kind?
Thanks, this looks awesome!
Hi Sarah – the coconut milk should be the canned kind – thick and creamy 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by.