Tortellini Butternut Squash Pasta with Pancetta and Spinach

Tortellini Butternut Squash Pasta with Pancetta and Spinach is a creamy, comforting dinner. Ready in 30 minutes, this pasta recipe is one the whole family will love. Makes 6 servings.

Love easy pasta dishes? You need to try Lemon Salmon Pasta, Baked Gnocchi with Chicken and Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup!

Today’s the day—it’s Freaky Friday Fall 2021! And I’m thrilled to be sharing a recipe from Angela of LeMoine Family Kitchen.

I had my work cut out for me because Angela has so many recipes on her site to choose from. Like me, she’s been blogging for years and has TONS of options!

I knew I wanted to highlight a fall ingredient, and Angela has a ton of butternut squash recipes on her site! Simply put, this fall favorite ingredient called my name. I wound up choosing her Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Pancetta because I thought my whole family would dig it.

Spoiler alert: We all LOVED IT!

join our party!

get our latest recipes delivered to your inbox every week — plus all my entertaining tips and tricks!

​
​

Subscribe

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Why we love this recipe:

I’m seriously obsessed with this quick tortellini recipe. Why? It highlights some of my favorite fall flavors.

Also…

• It’s quick to make! I was able to put this together on a weeknight with ease. (Pro tip: Purchase pre-chopped butternut squash to save yourself time.)
• It’s perfect for a crowd. Yes, this pasta is easy to serve to guests and also delicious.
• The seasonal ingredients just sing when paired together. Something about the combination of butternut squash, pancetta, garlic and spinach with the tortellini and cream is just right and perfect for this season.

Basically—there’s a ton to love about this recipe. And unlike some butternut squash pasta recipes, we won’t use pureed butternut squash, either. (So you won’t need to get out your food processor.) It stays in cube form, and it melds into the creamy sauce so beautifully!

Other pasta dishes to try: French Onion Steak Pasta | Cajun Chicken Alfredo | Spicy Sausage Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce | Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese | Lemon Shrimp Pasta

Need dinner inspiration? Check out my Dinner Recipe Index for some ideas!

Let me tell you about Angela and LeMoine Family Kitchen

Angela is a stay-at-home mama to two boys who’s from New Jersey. She’s got deep Italian roots—all of her grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy. Her family’s gatherings always involved food, and Angela says that she was always looking to help in the kitchen. And her love for cooking has only grown since her childhood.

When I was assigned Angela’s blog, I knew I would be making a pasta recipe. Hi, hello. Please inspect her pasta recipe index and drool with me.

I perused her seasonal dishes, pondering a Cranberry Apple Pie or maybe Apple Chestnut Stuffing.

In the end, I decided between Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Pancetta and Fusilli with Sausage, Kale and Butternut Squash. The tortellini won out.

I hope you’ll take some time to head over to Angela’s blog and check out her recipes!

So… What Is Freaky Friday?

It’s an blog hop, which is a collaboration where every blogger posts on the same day. We also link to one another. It’s a fun way to connect with other bloggers, as well as introduce our readers to new people to follow. 

Michaela, the lady behind An Affair from the Heart, founded this quarterly collaboration and secretly assigns everyone another blogger.

We then choose and make a recipe from their site in secret, photographing it as our own. Then we write a post about it and share our posts on the same Friday. That day is today!

We hope that this collaboration helps you discover some amazing new recipes, as well as find new bloggers to follow!

For previous Freaky Friday exchanges, I’ve made:

• Shortbread Brown Butter Cookies
• Boozy Bacon Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars
• Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
• Cherry Bourbon Slush
• Halloween Peanut Butter Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Valentine’s Day Dessert Board
• Chicken Pesto Pasta
• Pepperoni Dip
• Upside Down Cranberry Cake
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
• Pretzel Cheese Dip
• Easy Lemon Bars
• Lemon Zucchini Bread

Check out all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Fall Recipe Exchange Recipes:

An Affair from the Heart – Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust

Aunt Bee’s Recipes – 30 Minute Skillet Lasagna

The Carefree Kitchen – Brazilian Cheese Bread

Devour Dinner – Instant Pot Applesauce

Fresh April Flours – Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

The Fresh Cooky – Air Fryer Ravioli

The Foodie Affair – Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Recipe

Hostess at Heart – Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookie Recipe

House of Nash Eats – Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog – Halloween Monster Cookie Recipe

Lemoine Family Kitchen – Creamy Vegetable Gnocchi Soup

Life Currents – Loaded Potato Skins

Life, Love & Good Food – Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Sue Bee Homemaker – Overnight Sourdough Bread

Take Two Tapas – Air Fryer Asparagus Fries

What you’ll need to make this recipe

The Speckled Palate participates in affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my disclosure page for more information about these affiliate programs.

• A large skillet or braiser pan (mine is 3.5 quarts)
• Liquid measuring cup
• Wooden spoon
• Tongs

In addition to these tools, you’ll need a handful of ingredients, too.

• Fresh tortellini—I used a five-cheese variety, but you can use your favorite flavor. Make sure to purchase it from the refrigerated section of your grocery for optimal flavor.
• Reserved pasta water—I know this sounds like an odd ingredient, but go with me on this. The water the pasta boils in can help bind a sauce to the pasta. So just before you drain the tortellini, reserve about a cup for later. You probably won’t need all of it, but I always like to have more in case it’s necessary.
• Pancetta—this is a cut of meat originating in Italy is cured in salt and preserved. Unlike bacon, which also comes from the pork belly, it’s not cured and smoked.
• Olive oil
• Garlic—you will need whole cloves of garlic, so don’t use the pre-chopped stuff.
• Butternut squash—it needs to be diced. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of dicing a whole squash, a lot of stores sell chopped butternut squash in their refrigerated section. (If you have a whole butternut squash and need assistance, check out How to Peel and Cut Butternut Squash.)
• Spinach—fresh baby spinach is what you’re looking for here!
• Light cream—I could not find it in my grocery store, so I used whipping cream, which has a higher fat content. If you can find light cream, purchase it.
• Salt and pepper—we keep medium-grain kosher salt in our house and grind out black pepper

Acceptable substitutions in this recipe:

Look, I’m not one to make a ton of substitutions in recipes, but if you have trouble finding some ingredients, here is what I recommend:

• Tortellini: If you can’t find fresh tortellini, look in the freezer section for frozen tortellini. Follow the instructions on the package to cook it, but it’ll work like a charm here, too. Also consider using your favorite filling.
• Pancetta: If you can’t find this at your grocery store or local butcher, consider using the same amount of bacon. The bacon will add a smokier flavor to the pasta dish, but it will still be delicious!
• Light cream: This was unavailable at my grocery store, so I used whipping cream instead. Light cream has about 20% fat content while whipping cream has 35% fat content. (By comparison, heavy cream has at least 36% fat content. Half-and-half has just 12%. If you like to nerd out about this stuff, here’s an excellent article from The Kitchn.) I decided to go with the heavier cream to make a more decadent sauce.

How to make Tortellini Butternut Squash Pasta with Pancetta and Spinach

Prep your ingredients. Dice the pancetta and butternut squash, if they’re not already. Crush the garlic cloves. Measure out the cream into a liquid measuring cup. This will come in handy later because everything is ready to go.

Boil the tortellini. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water generously, then add the fresh tortellini, cooking until al dente. This shouldn’t take long since the pasta is fresh.

Reserve the pasta water, drain the tortellini, and set aside.

Cook the pancetta. Do this in a large skillet or braiser pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and pancetta, and cook until crisp.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the pancetta from the pan. Drain it on a plate lined with a paper towel. You’ll need this for garnish later, so don’t toss it!

Pro tip: Don’t drain the remaining fat from the pan! This is going to flavor the rest of our pasta dish, so leave it there!

Cook the butternut squash and garlic. Add the garlic and squash to the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until fork tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the cream. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan once the cream is in to pull up any tasty bits. Cook for just a few moments, careful not to bring to a boil. The sauce will thicken.

Wilt the spinach, and add the pasta. Toss the tortellini to coat. Give it a taste, too, to see if you need more salt or pepper, and add those accordingly.

If the pasta feels dry, add a bit of the reserved pasta water, and give it another gentle toss.

Serve immediately with crispy pancetta and grated pecorino or parmesan cheese for garnish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks for making the quick tortellini pasta

• Double or triple the recipe! If you’re feeding a crowd, you definitely want to do this. I suggest using a larger pot or dividing it between two skillets because it will become ungainly in one.
• Dice your squash in advance. This is a great way to cut down on prepwork. Prep and dice the squash, and store in an airtight food storage container in the fridge. It’ll be good for 3-5 days.
• How to store leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments until heated through.