Creamy Squash & Beef Skillet Pasta (Easy One-Pan Dinner)

Name: Creamy Squash & Beef Skillet Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6

KarinJanuary 6, 2026

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This creamy squash and beef skillet pasta is an easy one-pan dinner made with ground beef, tender squash, and a rich, cozy sauce the whole family will love.

Do you ever find yourself throwing things in a pan to use up old ingredients or partial containers and just hoping for the best?? That’s me… ALOT…totally me. This recipe was born out of a rather embarrassing moment of mismanaged freezer inventory. I was going through the freezer looking for all of my veggie scraps and carcasses to make broth the other day and BAM…there it was…a bag of pureed home grown butternut squash from 2023 staring me in the face. What on earth?? Needless to say, I could not let that homegrown beauty go to the chickens – it needed to be used up so I started to scour the pantry to see what I could pull together.

I’m all about a one-dish-wonder so out came “big bertha”, our 13″ cast iron skillet and I started chucking ingredients in the pan hoping for the best but also rejoicing in the fact that the squash was going to be used up! I found 2 partial boxes of pasta (Mafalda & Campanelle) that totaled 10 oz together so I figured since we are in “use it up” mode, that would work. Other random bits like a partial carton of heavy cream, the last of our grated parm and a few chunks of cheddar as well as a small scoop of frozen peas.

Here we go.

This was what I pulled together to hopefully make something tasty.

ingredients for creamy squash & beef skillet pasta — some onions and carrots, spices and garlic, and a pound of burger

illustrate the use of partial boxes of pasta — notice that the 2 types of pasta I used were on the small side and relatively close in size.

browned beef, carrots and onions with garlic and spices added — start by browning the ground beef and cook carrots and onions until softened, then add your spices

squash puree and diced tomato added to browned beef mixture — in goes that squash and a can of diced tomatoes (drain them first)

broth added to browned beef, squash and tomato mixture — added some homemade broth and brought it to a gentle boil

pasta being added to dish — add whatever pasta you are using and get it stirred in and submerged. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stir once in a while and add more broth if it needs it.

cheese and cream added to pasta dish — once the pasta is al dente, add in your peas, cream and cheese

creamy squash and beef skillet pasta cooking for the final 3 minutes before serving — cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes until the peas are heated, stirring to make the sauce smooth.

Tips:

Let it rest for 5 minutes off heat before serving if you want he sauce to thicken a bit
If it’s too thick, add a splash of broth, cream or even water if your out of the other two ingredients.
If it’s too thin, just simmer uncovered for a few minutes longer.

I am a huge fan of making beauty out of a mess and this recipe did not disappoint. It allowed me to use up multiple random bits that needed to get used and was delish! A total win in my book.

I do hope that you try it or maybe some other variation – what’s in your pantry or fridge that needs to get tossed in?

Enjoy!