Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli is warm, hearty, and flavorful — with the perfect balance of sweet and savory. It is made from scratch with real homemade pasta dough that is rolled into thin sheets and then filled with a roasted butternut filling. It has a a richer, fresher flavor than the plastic-packaged stuff from the store and is so worth the effort! Serve with a browned butter sauce with crispy sage leaves for a nutty, aromatic note that complements the sweet flavor of butternut squash. Perfect for a cozy fall evening.
Every single thing about this recipe is a love letter to autumn. The fresh pasta, roasted squash, parmesan, nutty brown butter, and fresh sage leaves balance each other perfectly and taste like a hug. We like to serve it as a vegetarian main for dinner parties, but it's special enough to make for the holidays, too.
Why You'll Love This Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Completely handmade. There are no cheats here. Every single ingredient is made from scratch, including the pasta and butternut squash puree. You can taste the love - and the purity of ingredients - in every bite!
- Easy to make. I know the thought of handmaking pasta and the filling sounds intimidating, but this is quite a simple dish. You can also roast the butternut and make the pasta dough the day before, then let the ingredients rest in the fridge overnight. Take your time rolling out the dough and shaping the ravioli. It's quite relaxing!
- Perfect flavor combination. The sweetness of the roasted butternut balances the salty, meaty flavor of the parmesan, and then every bite is coated in the nutty brown butter sauce. It's the definition of warm and cozy!
Ingredient Notes
To make this delicious Butternut Squash Ravioli, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):
- flour - we use all-purpose flour and semolina flour. Although you replace the semolina with more all purpose flour, the semolina helps the pasta hold its shape after cooking. This gives your ravioli the best presentation.
- eggs - use the best eggs you can find. The darker the yolk, the more yellow the pasta will be.
- extra virgin olive oil - for a tender, pliable texture.
- water
- salt - always season pasta dough to add flavor to every layer.
- butternut squash - roasted and pureed until smooth and tender.
- butter - added to the filling and forms the base of the butter sauce. For the sauce, the butter will be browned until golden brown, which releases a nutty flavor that gives it more depth of flavor.
- Parmesan cheese - use real Parmigiano Reggiano to add a savory flavor or enzyme-based parmesan to keep this dish vegetarian.
- black pepper
- sage leaves - chopped, then fried in the butter until crispy.
You will also need measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, stand mixer, baking sheet, rolling pin, ravioli cutter (or knife), cooking pot, and saucepan.
How to Make the Best Butternut Squash Ravioli
First, make the pasta dough.
- Combine ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the dough ingredients including all purpose flour, semolina flour, eggs, olive oil, water, and salt. Mix on low speed until well combined and no dry ingredients sticks to the side of the mixing bowl, about 5 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand until it turns into a soft and smooth dough ball.
- Rest. Cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes to develop gluten.
Next, prepare the butternut squash filling.
- Prep butternut squash. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lightly brush the cut sides with a little bit of olive oil.
- Roast butternut squash. Place on a quarter sheet baking pan cut side up and bake in a 375F preheated oven for 1 hour or until very tender.
- Mash. Scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash and place in a large mixing bowl. With a potato masher or an electric hand mixer on low, mix until smooth. If the butternut squash is too chunky for your liking, transfer it to a blender and puree it until desired consistency is achieved.
- Season. Add butter, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese to the bowl. Stir to combine until smooth. Set aside to cool.
How to Assemble Ravioli
- Roll. Roll out the pasta dough into to desired thickness with a rolling pin and dust with flour if needed. You can also attach the pasta sheet roller to your stand mixer and run the pasta sheet through a few times to achieve desired thickness. Set the pasta sheet aside.
- Shape. Use a pasta cutter or knife to divide the dough into 4 or 6 long sheets.
- Fill. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of butternut squash filling onto the dough about an inch apart. Using your finger or a pastry brush, lightly brush the dough with water around each filling portion.
- Add top. Cover with another sheet of rolled pasta on top and press gently around each portion of filling to seal it in.
- Cut. Using a ravioli cutter (or a pizza cutter or sharp knife), cut along the edges and between the filling to form squares that are about 2 to 2 ½-inches wide.
- Repeat. Lightly flour the ravioli or transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet so that they don’t stick together. Repeat rolling and shaping process with remaining 3 dough portions.
Now let's cook the ravioli.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the ravioli. Cook until they all have floated, about 3-5 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of hot pasta water, then drain the ravioli and set aside a plate.
Finally, let's make the butter sauce.
- Sauté sage. In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add sage and sauté until crispy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Make sauce. Slowly stir in reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Mix until the sauce becomes smooth.
- Toss in ravioi. Add cooked ravioli and toss well.
- Serve. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Recipe Variations
- Use other winter squashes. There are many squashes similar to butternut that would be great for this recipe, like blue hubbard, red kuri, and kabocha. You can even use roasted pumpkin puree, but make it yourself! Homemade pumpkin puree is so much more flavorful than the canned stuff.
- Try different cheeses. Parmesan adds a salty, umami flavor, but you can achieve a similar effect with pecorino romano, asiago, or even aged gouda.
- Make a creamy sauce. Since the ravioli filling is so creamy, I like pairing it with the lightness of the sage sauce. But you can easily serve this homemade butternut squash ravioli with your favorite cream or cheese sauce.
- Change the shape. If you have a round ravioli stamp, you can trim the ravioli into a round shape instead of keeping them square.
How to Serve
This Butternut Squash Ravioli is delicious served on its own for lunch or dinner, or paired with some of my favorite fall sides including:
- Sweet Kale Salad
- Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
- Garlic Breadsticks
- Arugula Salad with Apple and Pecan
- Buttermilk Cornbread
For more recipes, see our 50 Best Fall Side Dishes.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Don't burn the sage. Butter burns at a low temperature, which is why it browns so quickly. Watch the heat carefully. If it looks like the sage is starting to burn, remove the pan from the heat. It cooks quickly!
- Rest and cool. Pasta dough needs to rest before shaping to relax the gluten. Give it at least 30 minutes, if not longer. You also want the butternut squash filling to be cool so it doesn't soften the dough and warp it during shaping.
- Seal well. If the ravioli isn't fully sealed, the sweet butternut squash filling will seep out while cooking. You don't need to press too hard. Just wet the edges of the dough, lay the top layer of pasta dough on top, and gently press around the edges to seal. Then, trim with a pasta cutter or pizza roller to complete the seal.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
How to Store
Store leftover uncooked ravioli in a single layer in an airtight container for 3-4 days, then cook like normal. Cooked ravioli can also be stored for about 3-5 days.
How to Reheat
You can pop the ravioli in the microwave for a few minutes, but I prefer to warm up the leftover pasta in a skillet. It can help to add a little extra butter or a splash of chicken or veggie stock to loosen the sauce.
How to Freeze
It's best to freeze uncooked pasta to maintain the best texture and flavor. To freeze, arrange the ravioli in a single layer on a sheet pan, then freeze solid. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and store for 1-2 months. Cook from frozen.
FAQ
Yes! Just like making dumplings, you can freeze your assembled ravioli before you cook it. Just lay it out on a sheet pan, freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer safe container for 1-2 months. You can actually boil it from frozen, which will add a couple of extra minutes of cooking time but saves a ton of time later on.
Pasta dough is all about getting just the right balance of moisture. If your dough is cracking, you likely did not add quite enough water. If you added ¼ cup of water as recommended, it's possible that the flour absorbed more moisture than normal or that you accidentally added too much. When in doubt, either scoop and level the flour into your measuring cups or weigh it out on a kitchen scale (1 cup of flour weighs 120 grams).
If this is your first time making ravioli, you may have a little bit of a learning curve to get the pasta to seal properly. The secret is to use a little bit of water! Brush water around the edges of the dough to help glue the sheets of pasta together, then press the second sheet gently on top, sealing all the way around. Cut the ravioli with a knife or pasta cutter to lock everything in place. Tip: It also helps to use a wide slotted spoon to gently lift the cooked ravioli out of the boiling water to keep the seal intact.
More Butternut Squash Recipes
- 30 Best Butternut Squash Recipes
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad
- Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas
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Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli is warm, hearty, and flavorful — with the perfect balance of sweet and savory. It is made from scratch with real homemade pasta dough that is rolled into thin sheets and then filled with a roasted butternut filling. It has a a richer, fresher flavor than the plastic-packaged stuff from the store and is so worth the effort! Serve with a browned butter sauce with crispy sage leaves for a nutty, aromatic note that complements the sweet flavor of butternut squash. Perfect for a cozy fall evening.
Ingredients
For the pasta dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
For the butter sauce:
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (and more for garnish)
Instructions
Prepare the pasta dough:
- In a stand mixer, add all the dough ingredients including all purpose flour, semolina flour, eggs, olive oil, water, and salt. Mix on low speed until well combined and no dry ingredients sticks to the side of the mixing bowl, about 5 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand until it turns into a soft and smooth dough ball.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes to develop gluten.
Prepare the butternut squash filling:
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lightly brush the cut sides with a little bit of olive oil. Place on a quarter sheet baking pan cut side up and bake 1 hour or until very tender.
- Scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash and place in a large mixing bowl. With a potato masher or an electric hand mixer on low, mix until smooth. If the butternut squash is too chunky for your liking, transfer it to a blender and puree it until desired consistency is achieved.
- Add butter, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese to the bowl. Stir to combine until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Assemble the ravioli:
- Roll out the pasta dough into to desired thickness with a rolling pin and dust with flour if needed. You can also attach the pasta sheet roller to your stand mixer and run the pasta sheet through a few times to achieve desired thickness. Set the pasta sheet aside.
- Use a pasta cutter or knife to divide the dough into 4 or 6 long sheets.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of butternut squash filling onto the dough about an inch apart. Using your finger or a pastry brush, lightly brush the dough with water around each filling portion.
- Cover with another sheet of rolled pasta on top and press gently around each portion of filling to seal it in.
- Using a ravioli cutter (or a pizza cutter or sharp knife), cut along the edges and between the filling to form squares that are about 2 to 2 ½-inches wide.
- Lightly flour the ravioli or transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet so that they don’t stick together. Repeat rolling and shaping process with remaining 3 dough portions.
Cook the ravioli:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the ravioli. Cook until they all have floated, about 3-5 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of hot pasta water, then drain the ravioli and set aside a plate.
Make the butter sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add sage and sauté until crispy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly stir in reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Mix until the sauce becomes smooth.
- Add cooked ravioli and toss well.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
How to store: Store leftover uncooked ravioli in a single layer in an airtight container for 3-4 days, then cook like normal. Cooked ravioli can also be stored for about 3-5 days.
How to reheat: You can pop the ravioli in the microwave for a few minutes, but I prefer to warm up the leftover pasta in a skillet. It can help to add a little extra butter or a splash of chicken or veggie stock to loosen the sauce.
How to freeze: It's best to freeze uncooked pasta to maintain the best texture and flavor. To freeze, arrange the ravioli in a single layer on a sheet pan, then freeze solid. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and store for 1-2 months. Cook from frozen.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: Italian
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