25 Minute Whole30 Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta
Published Jun 10, 2019 Updated Jul 11, 2023
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Life seems to fly, especially during the busy work week. When we have a busy week ahead of us, I love adding one skillet meals to our menu. Clean up is easy and I can be in and out of the kitchen in less than 25 minutes. My Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta is not only super easy to whip up, but it’s also super clean and considered Whole30, Paleo and Gluten Free.
Butternut squash can sometimes be intimidating if you are not familiar with how to use it. I’ll have to admit, when I use to stroll the grocery store, I would always walk right past it and never think twice about using it to develop new recipes. From the first time I made butternut squash noodles, I loved it. The texture is identical to pasta and is a delicious alternative to the real thing.
How do you spiralize a butternut squash into noodles?
In addition, adding in big handfuls of spinach and arugula to the butternut squash zoodles is a great way to give this dish a nice peppery kick that really brings it to life. Not to mention, the chopped chicken and heated cherry tomatoes that sit in a cream sauce is what makes this dish so filling.
The best news about my Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta, is it’s budget and family friendly. Additionally, it serves as a great leftover option for busy weekday lunches.
What are the different ways you can cook the butternut squash noodles?
There are a few different methods when cooking butternut squash. Here are the 3 different ways I recommend; roasting in the oven, boiling on the stovetop and sautéing . All 3 of these methods are great, but I usually get the best noodles when I add to the oven.
The oven method:
This method is pretty much fail proof and will deliver beautiful, crisp butternut squash noodles every single time.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil.
- Add the spiralized butternut squash to the pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
- Roast for 10 minutes or until tender.
Boiling:
- Bring a pot of water with a little salt to a boil over high heat.
- Add in the butternut squash noodles and allow to boil for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the butternut squash noddles and drain water.
- Serve immediately.
Sautéing:
I also really love this method, but you have to be gentle.
- Heat a skillet over medium/high heat with olive oil and minced garlic.
- Add the zoodles in and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender.
Can you use precooked chicken for the Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta?
Yes, the chicken can be precooked. Using leftover chicken, or if you are in a real hurry, feel free to use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. In addition, feel free to buy pre-spiralized butternut squash, or even spiralize your own the night before to save time.
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[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Butternut Squash Pasta with Chicken – This Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta is one skillet dish is filled with butternut squash noodles, cherry tomatoes, onions, and chicken that sits in a cream sauce. It can ready in under 25 minutes. This recipe is Whole30, Paleo and Gluten-Free. – chicken breasts (, cooked), shallot (,thinly sliced), cherry tomatoes,, spinach and arugula mix, garlic cloves (,minced or finely chopped), olive oil, salt, pepper, chicken broth ((no sugar added)), full-fat coconut milk ((canned)), onion powder, parsley, tapioca flour, , Cut the top off the butternut so that can be spiralized. Peel the skin off. Cut the butternut in 2 pieces so it’s easier to handle, then spiralize using the thickest noodle setting of your spiralizer. Cut into 6 inch lengths so it’s easy to eat. Leave the zoodles to the side. ; Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil along with the 2 chicken breasts. Cook each side for 5-6 minutes or until the juice runs clear. Once the chicken is cooked completely, transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest form 5 minutes. Once cooled, use a large knife and dice the cooked chicken into cubes. ; In the same skillet the chicken was cooked in, add another tbsp of olive oil and with the minced garlic and the slices of shallot. All ow to brown together for a minute or so. ; Next, add the butternut squash zoodles to the shallots and minced garlic, gently sauteé for 7- 8 minutes. ; Transfer the whole cherry tomatoes, chicken, spinach and arugula to the butternut squash zoodles. ; In a bowl, add the coconut milk, chicken broth, onion powder, tapioca flour, salt and pepper. Combine together until the tapioca flour is completely dissolved. ; Pour the liquid mixture to the zoodles and allow to simmer for 3 minutes or until the broth has become thicker. ; Serve immediately. ; ; – – Main Dish – butternut squash zoodles – zoodles – Paleo – Whole30[/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Butternut Squash Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cooked
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 cups spinach and arugula mix
- 2 garlic cloves ,minced or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (no sugar added)
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (canned)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp tapioca flour
Instructions
- Cut the top off the butternut so that can be spiralized. Peel the skin off. Cut the butternut in 2 pieces so it’s easier to handle, then spiralize using the thickest noodle setting of your spiralizer. Cut into 6 inch lengths so it’s easy to eat. Leave the zoodles to the side.
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil along with the 2 chicken breasts. Cook each side for 5-6 minutes or until the juice runs clear. Once the chicken is cooked completely, transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest form 5 minutes. Once cooled, use a large knife and dice the cooked chicken into cubes.
- In the same skillet the chicken was cooked in, add another tbsp of olive oil and with the minced garlic and the slices of shallot. All ow to brown together for a minute or so.
- Next, add the butternut squash zoodles to the shallots and minced garlic, gently sauteé for 7- 8 minutes.
- Transfer the whole cherry tomatoes, chicken, spinach and arugula to the butternut squash zoodles.
- In a bowl, add the coconut milk, chicken broth, onion powder, tapioca flour, salt and pepper. Combine together until the tapioca flour is completely dissolved.
- Pour the liquid mixture to the zoodles and allow to simmer for 3 minutes or until the broth has become thicker.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds delicious! I am considering this recipe as part of a weekly Whole30 meal prep and wondering if you would do anything differently knowing that, rather than serving immediately, you were going to refrigerate it in 2-3 large portions to reheat (microwave) the following day or as long as 2 days later? I was thinking I would mix the washed and spun arugula and spinach to the other ingredients *after* they have cooled so they are heated only once or even keeping those separate, so the person I am preparing this for can reheat the chicken, sauce, tomatoes and “squoodles” then stir the greens into the hot dish. She specifically does not like “stewed” greens much, so I think she might prefer them only slightly warmed from the other foods.
Hi Annie! Sounds great. Feel free to experiment and let us know how it turns out.
This was a great recipe! Since I wanted to make it for a friend to take in her lunch the next day, I made very minor changes. I browned and then cooked the chicken breasts in my Instant Pot – after browning, I seasoned generously with dried herbs, smoked paprika, garlic powder, S&P and then returned to the pot on a trivet over 1 C chicken broth to finish cooking. Once cooled, I cut them in small pieces and even shredded a bit. My hope is that this will keep them from getting dry and rubbery if re-heated by microwave tomorrow. I cooked the squash “noodles” as directed but undercooked them by at least 3 minutes since the shallot and garlic seemed about to burn. It helped to add the tomatoes as they were still wet from rinsing and that loosened up the shallot and garlic. I did NOT add the greens yet, and I increased the amount of sauce by 50% in case it is absorbed overnight. Once the sauce was thickened and the heat was off, I set aside all but about 3/4 C and stirred a small handful of baby arugula and baby spinach into that just until wilted from the heat. It was delicious! I placed the rest in a microwave container, pushed it to one side, and tucked about 1-1/2 C mixed baby spinach and arugula beside it before pressing on the lid and storing for tomorrow.