November 10, 2016

Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon – With Video!

Name: Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 8 cups spiralized butternut squash (made using the "spaghetti" blade); 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; Grated parmesan cheese, for serving

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Turn a seasonal favorite veggie into a healthful “pasta” dish the whole family will love with these Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon!

I’m here today with a seasonal edition of “yeah, I can spiralize that.” Ever since I bought a spiralizer, I’ve been looking around every time I go to the grocery store or farmer’s market to see what will be my next “victim.” Mua ha ha.

Truthfully, not everything spiralizes well. Radicchio is better off as a roasted radicchio wedge salad. But squashes of almost all kinds are great to spiralize. One of my favorite kinds to spiralize is butternut squash, especially this time of year when it’s in season!

The large size of the squash makes it ideal to get nice long strands of butternut squash spaghetti, which makes it an awesome healthful alternative to pasta.

I find that anytime I can get longer noodles out of a vegetable, it makes the “pasta eating experience” feel a bit more authentic.

I served these butternut squash noodles with eggplant parmesan on top for a complete meal. I found that this was a great way to have something decadent like eggplant parm (or even chicken parmesan), with a full serving of veggies rather than pasta on the side. It’s all about that balance!

These noodles are also great alongside seared chilean sea bass or salmon cakes.

How do I spiralize butternut squash?

When looking for a butternut squash to spiralize, you want to find one with a small “bulbous” end (the hollow part with the seeds), as that part won’t spiralize well (so just reserve it for another meal, perhaps where you simply slice it up and roast it).

You also want to find a squash with a long and thick “neck” (the non-bulbous part) – that’s the part that spiralizes well.

Peel the neck of the butternut squash and trim the top off. Spiralize the squash using the thickest noodle setting on your spiralizer.

If desired, use scissors or a sharp knife to trim the noodles into shorter lengths so they’re easier to eat (otherwise they can get REALLY REALLY long).

What is in Garlic & Lemon Butternut Squash Noodles?

unsalted butter
garlic cloves
spiralized butternut squash
rosemary
kosher salt
ground black pepper
lemon juice
grated Parmesan cheese

How do you cook butternut squash noodles?

I wanted to keep this Garlic & Lemon Butternut Squash Noodles recipe simple and really let the flavor of the squash shine, so I didn’t add too many ingredients to it.

First, you’re going to heat up some butter in a skillet, and then add a little garlic. Cook that for just a minute, long enough to infuse the butter with good garlic flavor.

Then, you’re going to add the squash noodles, along with a sprinkling of fresh rosemary (you can also use dried) and salt and pepper. Cook that for 5 more minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Finish the noodles with fresh lemon juice and parmesan cheese, and you’re ready to eat! I also love baking bacon and crumbling a little on top once in awhile!

Can you boil them instead of sauté?

Definitely! I prefer the stovetop sauté method because it allows me to get more butter and garlic flavor into the butternut squash spaghetti, but if you’d prefer to boil your butternut squash noodles, simply bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Just like with traditional pasta, make sure you salt the water well before adding your noodles.

Add the squash noodles and cook 2 minutes or until tender. Drain well and serve!

What to have with butternut squash noodles:

These butternut squash noodles are an excellent side dish to an entree protein such as chicken marinated in Greek chicken marinade.

I especially like these noodles with seafood, like baked sockeye salmon, Chilean sea bass or salmon cakes.

If you’d prefer a creamy sauce for these noodles instead of garlic-lemon-butter situation going on below, my Greek yogurt pasta sauce would be perfect with butternut noodles! My lentil pasta sauce is also great on butternut noodles.

Can I freeze butternut squash noodles?

Yes, you can! The texture won’t be QUITE as good as if the noodles were prepared fresh, but it’s absolutely OK to freeze them. It’s best to spiralize the noodles, and freeze them before cooking them.

Place them in a freezer bag and freeze up to a month. When ready to serve, thaw noodles and prepare the recipe as written.

Yield: 4 servings