Recipe: Squash, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pasta with Basil

This recipe was inspired by one of our favorite vegetable gratins—a combination of summer ingredients that you should eat now, before Fall arrives and you switch to pastas like this. (P.S. We've also made this dish without the bacon, and it's just as good.)

This pasta is a cinch to put together. But you can make it even easier by caramelizing the onion and cooking the bacon ahead of time. Then, right before dinner, sauté the squash, cook the pasta, and slice the basil—easy!

If you have leftovers, don't worry if the goat cheese looks stiff and icky after being in the refrigerator. We've reheated this pasta in a pan with a few splashes of chicken broth, and the sauce softened right up.

Squash, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pasta with Basil
serves two to three, generously

4 to 5 slices of bacon
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
1/2 pound pasta (we prefer shapes like penne or gemelli to long noodles)
2 medium yellow squashes, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 ounces goat cheese
small handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a large skillet (you'll be adding all of the pasta to this skillet later) until crispy. Remove, and let drain on paper towels. Add the onion to the bacon grease, season with salt and pepper, and cook on medium-low heat until very soft and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente. Add the squash to the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. If the pan gets dry, add a splash of olive oil.

Scoop out 1/2 cup of the pasta water, set aside, then drain the pasta and add to the pot with the squash and onions. Crumble the goat cheese on top and stir until it is distributed throughout the pasta, drizzling in the pasta water to help make the sauce creamy.

Crumble the bacon over the top, add the basil, and season to taste.

(Image: Elizabeth Passarella)

Comments (12)

Just yesterday I was thinking of adding bacon to a pasta dish...but I went with fresh Maine shrimp instead. Now I see this and I will trust my instincts next time! Yummm!

What is the pasta shape in the picture?

Can anything ever REALLY be just as good without the bacon? ;)

This looks so good to me right now, and I have all the ingredients for it. How often does that happen?

I'm loving the Italian theme. My husband and I visited Italy last October and fell in love with the food and everything else in Tuscany. I have been feeling "homesick" for the last few weeks and craving so much Italian food. I even picked up a copy of Frances Mayes Under the Tuscan Sun. Oh Tuscany, I wish I could come see you. These wonderful recipes on the Kitchn will just have to suffice.

Yum! This was just as good as it looked. I wasn't kidding when I said it looked good. It didn't matter that it is the middle of the afternoon, I made it anyway and poured myself a glass of wine (I slept through breakfast afterall).

Instead of the basil, I used fresh rosemary and a little dried thyme. I also added some button mushrooms, that I added and sauteed after I carmalized the onion. I added 2 cloves of garlic too...love my garlic. I gobbled it up. I will definitely make this again.

This is actually the first time I've had goat cheese on pasta. I have a great source of local goat cheese, but I usually eat it on salads. I've been making delicious spinach salads with fruit and goat cheese all summer. It was wonderful on a hot pasta dish, and it will make a great alternative to high-cal, high-fat creamy pastas like Carbonara. When I get to craving alfredo or Carbonara, I'm grabbing the goat cheese instead. Thank you Kitchn!

@iphigenia I had the same question, but googling hasn't turned anything up. So far as I can tell, the closest thing to it is gemelli, if it weren't twisted. I really like the look and the shape of it though, hopefully somebody knows what the name is.

Hi everyone. The pasta shape is called casarecce, and I bought it at Whole Foods. Very similar to gemelli, actually- sort of an S shape.

Great recipe. My roommate and I made it tonight. We did 50/50 bacon with pancetta. Also added sundried tomatoes for some acidity.

My mouth is watering reading this recipe. I am gonna try this right now at home.
Nox Edge

Just made this with added green beans, shallots and a bit of fresh grated parmesan... but I did manage to forget the basil. Seriously tasty and incredibly simple to make.

I just made this for dinner. Forgot the basil and used feta instead of goat cheese, but it was very tasty. Cooking everything in the bacon grease makes it taste rich and smokey.