Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon – With Video!
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, salmon cakes or Greek chicken meatballs.
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.
Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon
Turn a seasonal favorite veggie into a healthful "pasta" dish the whole family will love with these Butternut Squash Noodles with Garlic & Lemon!
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
Instructions
- In large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add squash, rosemary, salt and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until squash noodles are tender, stirring frequently. Add lemon juice; toss until well combined.
- Serve noodles garnished with cheese.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 186Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 310mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 14gSugar: 8gProtein: 4g
More recipes using your spiralizer:
- Grilled Pork Banh Mi with Spiralized Pickled Vegetables – a summer favorite at my house!
- Caprese Braised Chicken with Cacio e Pepe Zucchini Noodles – good for a date night at home.
- Zucchini Noodle Bowls with Spicy Cashew Sauce – I like this one for lunch meal prep.
- Cucumber & Avocado Salad with Tequila-Poppyseed Vinaigrette – a light and refreshing summer salad.
- Asian Zoodle Salad Jars – we make this one for lunch a lot.
- Rosemary Spiralized Potatoes from The Clean Eating Couple
- Spiralized Vegetable Salad with Roasted Chickpeas from Jessica Gavin
It was absolutely delicious, I will be making it a lot until i get bored of it but I dont see that happening for a long time yet
This recipe look sso good and healthy! Can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing!
I did this recipe with my sister when she came over from Germany. We both loved it!
Amazing recipe! I am a fast food girl but i wanted to try something different so tried this recipe. I am not good at cooking but man…. this simple yet tasteful recipe came out perfectly.
I cook spaghetti squash in the crock pot. I just poke it a few times with a fork, put in in a large crock pot (mine is oval shaped) and let it go all day on low. Very easy!
Love that idea, Moses!
Lori, it’s really awesome! This will quickly become a favorite in our house!
I’m so glad to hear that, Olga!
Lori, it’s awesome! I cannot wait to try this. I bet it makes the house smell divine and tastes incredible!
The garlic lemon butternut squash recipe was wonderful!! Just made it tonight & have sent it on to three people. Thank you so much for your delightful cooking.!
I’m so glad you liked it, Gerry Ann!
Hi Lori, I am about to embark on a vegan keto diet. I made this with Earth Balance instead of butter and added grape tomatoes too. It was so delicious and simple.
Thanks!
So glad this was a hit for you, Regina! Love the addition of grape tomatoes.
I was given a butternut squash and since my husband is diabetic, I love to use my Kitchenaid spiralizer and vegetables. So, I googled spiralized butternut squash and your recipe was one of the first ones. I made it exactly as you suggested and it turned out perfectly. We don’t eat breaded foods, so I made an herbed roasted chicken and sliced it over the top and it was so delicious! I shared this recipe with a lot of friends and family. I know they will love it too. Also, liked that it wasn’t too many ingredients and all I needed was fresh Rosemary, which we love! Thanks for helping me out.
Hi Roxanne – I am SO glad to hear that this recipe worked out well for your family. I love the idea of serving it with roasted chicken, too. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with your family and friends. Have a great weekend!
Hello,
Do you have nutrition information for this recipe. Thank you!
Hi Jen – I do not provide nutrition info at this time.
I am looking at the number of cups… I do not know how the cups can be converted to volume. What does 8 cups convert to… literally 64 ozs. or not? Thanks for your help and I am looking forward to trying this recipe… 🙂
Hi Annette – I’m not sure of the weight conversion for butternut squash, but one small to medium squash should do the trick! You can always adjust the recipe with a little extra butter and lemon juice if it ends up looking dry. Enjoy!
Thanks so much and I just realized I said ozs, but really meant grams… I will try a medium squash.
Hi Lori,
Off subject I am trying to eat healthier and I am trying desperately to find a white meat fish that doesn’t smell fishy or taste fishy. I have tried alot of fish only found one that I can eat (sea bass) but it is so expensive any suggestions?
Hi Elizabeth – good fish shouldn’t smell fishy at all. If it does, it means it’s not fresh. That being said, some more mild white fish you could try might be cat fish, tilapia and flounder. Hope that helps!
Beautiful, beautiful photos and the dish itself of course ! Thank you so much !
Thank you for stopping by!
Delish! I’m not a big Rosemary fan so I did another herb blend and my family dug it! Also a bit less butter but yum!
So glad to hear that, Roxanne!
I wish I would have seen the message about using less butter but still great
If you were to make an eggplant Parmesan yourself do you have a favourite recipe?
Hi Kim! I don’t think I’ve ever made eggplant parm, sorry! It’s one of those things I just usually eat at a restaurant or buy frozen. Seems like too big of a project for me.
So easy! Cut up an eggplant, bread it, put it on a cookie sheet and bake. When done, arranging a baking dish, another in sauce, too with cheese and bake.
Amazing! I used less butter and substituted chick broth. Did not have fresh lemon used one pack of true leaf lemon and fresh lemon balm. Define! Thanks!
Glad to hear you liked it, Cheryll!
This sounds so good! It reminds me of my favorite way to do spaghetti squash, which I got from Sunset Magazine. probably 40 years ago (after you roast the squash, you serve the spaghetti tossed with garlic butter and parmesan cheese). I don’t use my spiralizer enough so this would be a good excuse to use it.
Thanks so much, Susan! You’ve reminded me that I haven’t made spaghetti squash in far too long. I make it much the same way, with the garlic butter and cheese. I’ll have to add that to my menu next week, because I really can’t get enough squash (of all kinds) while it’s in season.