Bacon and butternut squash pasta touches all the emotions

Do you ever have those days where you’re so defeated and upset, only pasta can fix it?

As someone in their twenties, it happens to me more often than I’d like.

Sometimes we have bad days. We miss our train, our car breaks down, we mess up at work, and Mercury is somehow always in retrograde. Here’s the thing about pasta, though: It never lets you down. It’s there for you when you’re happy, when you’re sad, or when you’re not even hungry -- you just want something salty, buttery, and full of gluten while you’re on the couch waiting for Taylor Swift to release her re-recording of “Red.”

Enter my bacon butternut squash pasta. You might not be able to say it five times fast, but you can make it with just five main ingredients in less than 45 minutes. If you don’t have shallots, you can use a small red onion — tears will likely be shed either way.

I regularly use this in my meal prep rotation because it has everything I want in a dish: warm, salty pasta for comfort, bacon and Parmesan for indulgence and crispy butternut squash for my serving of vegetables.

If you’re having a bad day, a good day, or even just an average day, I hope you’ll consider my bacon butternut squash pasta to add some brightness to your kitchen and belly!

Bacon Butternut Squash Pasta

16 oz., or 1 box of pasta (I recommend using a shape like fusilli, farfalle, or penne)

2 cups cubed butternut squash

8 oz. thick cut bacon

2 shallots, diced (you can also use 1 small red onion if that’s what you have on hand)

½ cup Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a large baking sheet, drizzle the cubed squash with olive oil and crushed red pepper. Move to one side of the sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove squash from oven and add the diced shallots and bacon slices on the other side of the pan. Bake for another 30 minutes or until the squash is fork tender and the bacon is cooked through. Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces.

While the squash and bacon are cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions or until al dente. Reserve half a cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and pour back into the pot. Combine the cooked squash, shallots, bacon, and add the Parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8.