Let’s face it: we always knew that butternut squash and brown butter were the perfect match. Enter in goat cheese and corn and you’ve got a seriously creamy, tangy, sweet, spicy, and salty situation that is bound to become a forever favorite.
This spicy brown butter goat cheese pasta is easy to make and every bite is seriously a flavor adventure. There’s something so magical about roasted squash tossed into your favorite comfort foods (hello, cozy pasta) because it adds a lovely sweetness that balances everything out.
This is one of those dishes that’s incredible on its own, but you can make it even heartier by adding some ground sausage or grilled chicken. One of my favorite easy weeknight dinners for fall!
Ingredients in this brown butter goat cheese pasta
Although this gorgeous pasta dish looks a little fancy, it’s actually made with pretty simple pantry staples. Here’s what you’ll need:
- For the butternut squash: we’re roasting up cubed butternut squash with a little olive oil and honey, plus garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. The warming spices pair beautifully with the sweetness of the squash and the honey.
- Pasta: feel free to use any pasta shape you’d like! I love penne, orecchiette, and orzo best.
- Butter: oh yeah, you already know we’re browning salted butter for this pasta. You can also use unsalted butter.
- Goat cheese: creamy goat cheese adds a lovely tang to balance the sweetness.
- Corn: you’ll also stir in fresh or frozen sweet corn for another depth of flavor and texture.
- Mix-ins: bring everything together by folding in fresh basil leaves, pickled jalapeños, extra goat cheese crumbles, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Perfection.
Simple ingredients swaps
This butternut squash goat cheese pasta is easy to customize with ingredients you have on hand. Here’s what I can recommend:
- Swap the squash: feel free to use cubed sweet potato, acorn squash, or even pumpkin!
- Choose your cheese: if you prefer a salty flavor over tangy, try this pasta with crumbled feta instead of goat cheese. For an even creamier, sauce-like texture, add ricotta.
- Add veggies: if you’re looking for a veggie boost, I recommend folding in fresh spinach or kale.
Make your own pickled jalapeños
Yes, it’s SO easy! Check out my tutorial here and get ready to add them to everything.
Can I make it gluten-free or dairy-free?
- To make gluten-free: simply use your favorite gluten free pasta shape.
- To make dairy-free: use a vegan/dairy-free butter, but please not that you cannot brown it. Simply melt it and use as directed. Then omit the goat cheese or use your favorite crumbled dairy-free cheese.
How to prep your butternut squash
I have a wonderful tutorial on how to peel and cube butternut squash here! It’s easier than you think, and much cheaper than buying pre-cubed squash.
Our favorite way to boost the protein
Keep this brown butter goat cheese pasta vegetarian by adding in a can of rinsed, drained chickpeas, or try any of these delicious meat options:
- Sliced sauteed spicy or Italian chicken sausage
- Ground Italian sausage
- Pan-fried or grilled chicken
- Grilled or sauteed shrimp
- Crispy chopped bacon (learn how to easily cook it in the oven here!)
How to brown butter
The brown butter adds incredible flavor to this butternut squash goat cheese pasta recipe. Get all of my tips and tricks for browning butter in this post — it’s amazing in both sweet and savory recipes!
Storing tips
Store any leftover pasta in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. To reheat simply do so in a microwave safe dish or on the stovetop with a splash of water.
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my kitchen essentials here!
More pasta recipes you’ll love
- Brown Butter, Ricotta & Butternut Squash Baked Bucatini
- One Pot Cheesy Mushroom Spinach Beef Pasta
- One Pan Tomato Basil Baked Orzo
- Cilantro Pesto Pasta with Roasted Pumpkin & Honey
- Brown Butter Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Chickpeas
Get all of my pasta recipes here!
I hope you love this spicy brown butter goat cheese pasta! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Spicy Brown Butter Goat Cheese Pasta Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- Squash:
- 4 cups ½-inch cubed butternut squash (from a 2-pound squash)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey (or sub pure maple syrup)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Brown butter and pasta:
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
- 10 ounces pasta, such as penne, orecchiette or orzo (gluten free if desired)
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup fresh or frozen, thawed sweet corn
- Serving:
- 6 to 8 large basil leaves, julienned or torn
- ⅓ cup pickled jalapenos
- Extra goat cheese crumbles
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Roast the squash: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread squash cubes evenly across the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and honey or maple syrup. Sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and generously season with freshly ground salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss together so that the squash is well coated. Bake until squash is fork tender, 30 minutes, tossing the cubes halfway through.
- While the squash cooks, fill a large pot with salted water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside, then drain pasta and return to the pot.
- Brown the butter: Add butter to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Once melted, whisk constantly: the butter will begin to crackle, then foam. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to turn a golden amber color. As soon as the butter turns brown and gives off a nutty aroma, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Stir the following into the pot of pasta: the brown butter, goat cheese, reserved pasta water, salt, and pepper until the goat cheese has melted and the mixture is creamy. Fold in the roasted butternut squash cubes and corn. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Add to bowls and garnish with pickled jalapenos, basil, goat cheese crumbles and red pepper flakes, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on February 13th, 2o24, and republished on October 12th, 2025.
I made this for dinner last night! It was absolutely delicious. The flavors came together so nicely. I used Trader Joe’s party meatballs for the protein and jumbo elbows for the noodles. It came out perfectly! Next time, I will make more sauce because I loved the flavors!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
This sounds incredible!! I can’t wait to try . YUM!
Hope you love this one!!
So I’m assuming I’m not meant to use the whole cup of pasta water, because my recipe was soupy. I ruined the recipe. Is there any clarification that can be put in the recipe?
Hi! Yes, you do add the full cup of pasta water, which will help create a creaminess when mixed with the rest of the ingredients. The pasta shouldn’t turn out soup-y because the pasta water is starchy and will thicken as you stir!
This recipe was amazing!! We added the apple-chardonnay chicken sausage from TJ’s and it paired wonderfully with the pasta. This one is a keeper!
That sounds SO good!
This sounds sooo good. However, I have a major aversion to goat cheese 🫣 What might you sub in its place… feta?
Hi! Try using feta crumbles instead 🙂
I did not have pickled jalapenos, so I omitted. I substituted pumpkin for the butternut squash. The honey roasted pumpkin was delicious. It paired well with the pasta and goat cheese. I used orange bloom honey goat cheese instead of plain. The corn was okay. I am not used to eating corn with pasta. I plan to try this with marinaded artichoke hearts when I eat left-overs. I would make this again and might add grilled salmon.
Love it! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 that orange bloom honey goat cheese sounds perfect!
Okay this was INSANE!!! Like so good!!! I was really doubting the pickled jalapeños but I should know by now to trust everything Monique does. This blew us away!
Right?! So many flavors in here! Glad you loved it 🙂
this was one of those dinner recipes that i have to text to all my friends (especially the vegetarian ones because this one had so much flavor, you didn’t need the sausage) my 2 year old asked for seconds and there was enough to last a couple nights. win win win. thank you as always <3
Love that! New fav for us, too 🙂
My whole family loved this! I used sweet potatoes instead of the squash, and I added bacon. I added some of the bacon grease too which was delish. Definitely going to make it again!
Perfect!! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Easy and tasty, added chicken sausage and it was perfect
Love that! Perfect dinner.
This was okay, but I’d probably make some changes next time for my personal preferences. It was a bit too sweet with the butternut squash, corn, and honey. I’d probably reduce or eliminate one of those three. When I made it, I followed the recipe as is and added some Italian chicken sausage.
Love the idea of adding chicken sausage! And feel free to reduce the sweetness – I found the flavor combo to be just right, but everyone’s “sweet” preferences varies.
YUM! This recipe exceeded both mine and my husband’s expectations. Thank you.
I’m so glad!!
Needed something quick and the photo looked like a delicious recipe! I made it with the red lentil penne pasta I had bought from Trader Joes, was little skeptical if that pasta would work. It turned out to be the perfect pasta and the ingredients were fantastic too! Thank you for another amazing recipe, can’t go wrong with choosing Ambitious Kitchesn!
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
This was sooooo delicious! I know I love goat cheese, brown butter, and butternut squash on their own – I just didn’t know that I would love the combination of them so much in this recipe. I used frozen butternut squash to save time on chopping. I loved how this had very minimal chopping in the whole recipe. I also added spicy ground Italian sausage and went heavy on the pepper, I didn’t end up using the pickled jalapenos. This was so good and such a nice change from the boring standard red pasta sauce. Definitely going to make this one again. Thank you Monique!
Amazing! So glad you loved it – and great idea to add Italian sausage. YUM.
This recipe is delish. Great way to use up squash from the garden. I used fusilli pasta and pickled some hot peppers I got from a friend instead of jalapeños and both worked great. I’d recommend adding the squash on top like a garnish after mixing in the other ingredients. I found that stirring it in made it mushy and gave the pasta a sticky texture. Otherwise, so good!
Absolutely! Great tips, too. Glad you loved it!
I have made dozens of ambitious kitchen recipes and this is probably my favorite yet! My husband said Gordon Ramsey would approve. I roasted the butternut squash and cut the kernels off 2 cobs of corn. I then stirred the corn in with the squash for the last couple of minutes of roasting. I added an entire 5 oz package of baby spinach immediately before draining the pasta just to steam it. I reserved a cup of the pasta water but I would recommend adding this slowly. I found that 1/4 cup of the reserved water was plenty to make a sauce with the browned butter and goat cheese. I cannot imagine using the full cup! I forgot to buy the pickled jalapeno and didn’t have extra goat cheese, but topped with a tiny bit of fresh parmesan and 4 pieces of crispy bacon, crumbled. Amazing.
So happy to hear that! Great tips and additions here – one of my favs 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight and I’m in love!! I cooked the butternut squash for closer to an hour and it made the pasta so creamy it was like Mac n cheese. This will definitely be in my fall/winter dinner rotation!
Amazing! So glad you loved it!
I’ve been wanting to make this for a while and this week I finally did – my goodness, what a flavor bomb! I added the Italian chicken sausage for extra protein and I’m obsessed with the combo of the sweetness of the squash, the savory goat cheese and sausage, the fresh basil, and the spicy kick from the pickled jalapeños that shouldn’t work but totally does. My fiance loves it too and we’ve been gobbling this up the last couple of days!
Thanks for trying this one, Hillary! The jalapeños add such a fun kick in my opinion, too!
So so good! The brown butter with the goat cheese…ugh perfect!
Best combo!!