I had this whole dinner planned. I researched recipes, wrote out my ideas, and eventually decided on an exact plan of action. The next morning, I was looking through the fridge to see what I needed to buy and realized the fridge was stocked…all with stuff I didn’t need. Not that I’m complaining, a full fridge is always, always a good thing. But I decided to scratch all my recipe research and start again. This time, I got smart and planned the recipe with ingredients I already had.
Out of frustration and last minute planning, this recipe was born! I’ll still be saving the other recipe I had planned for another day. I still kept with the Italian theme, just using regular pasta instead of spaghetti squash.
Switching gears, did you know Microsoft Word has an option to ‘read aloud’ your text? I used the function all the time, it’s great for catching editing errors! I changed to the free version of Word and it lacks this option. Go figure, the one thing I use all the time! However, I found a website that reads aloud text and I’ve been having way too much fun with it. You can change the accent the computer reads aloud. I’ve been using a British UK accent and it’s so funny to hear her review my text. Now, whenever I silently read it to myself I can’t get her voice out of my head! There’s your fun (or lame) fact of the day, now you can have error free text!
Getting back on track to pasta talk, I didn’t photograph this dish with an egg on top, but it might be 100x better if you top it with a poached egg! It’s not required but definitely recommended.
Fall Harvest Pasta

Yield: Serves 3 people |
Roasted butternut squash & carrots, with spinach, garlic, chickpeas, and pasta in a pesto sauce
You'll Need...
- 12 ounces butternut squash, peeled and cut in small cubes
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 12 ounces spinach
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound dry pasta
- 4 ounces pesto sauce
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss squash and carrots with half the olive oil, salt, pepper. Place mixture on baking sheet. Bake 35 minutes until soft & tender.
- Add the remaining olive oil to medium skillet. Heat over medium, add spinach and chickpeas. Cook 3 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Add garlic, cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat.
- Cook pasta according to boxed instructions. Drain pasta and coat with pesto sauce. Make sure to mix, mix, mix it up!
- Divide pasta, squash mixture, spinach mixture, and cheese between 3 plates.
Additional Notes
images & text © North Coast Eats
Lovely dish! It must be very tasty 🙂
Thank you Penelope!
Yum, love this pasta dish!! 😋
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!