Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Introduction

The story behind our Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce recipe: there are certain meals that feel like an event. Not just dinner — an *occasion*. The kind where you pour a glass of wine before you even start cooking, put something good on the kitchen speakers, and spend a few unhurried hours doing something with your hands that results in something genuinely beautiful on the plate. Brenda and I don’t make homemade ravioli often, and that’s exactly what makes it special when we do.

This Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce recipe is one of those dishes that sounds intimidating until you actually do it. Fresh pasta dough, a silky butternut squash filling, and a sauce built on brown butter, crispy fried sage, and toasted walnuts.. That’s it. Four components, each one simple on its own, that together produce a plate of food that looks and tastes like something you’d order at a really good Italian restaurant — the kind where the pasta is made in-house and the menu changes with the seasons.

The original version of this recipe has been in my rotation for years — butter, shallots, squash puree, a touch of cream and Parmesan. Solid. But when I started thinking about what it could be, a few things jumped out at me. The filling needed more character. A little deeper, a little more complex. The squash itself needed more love. Roasting a halved squash is easy, but roasting cubes — that’s where the real flavor is.

Here’s the technique that changed everything for me: soften the whole butternut squash in the microwave for a few minutes first, just long enough to make peeling and cutting manageable. Then peel it, cube it, toss the cubes in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast them on a sheet pan at 425°F. Every flat face of every cube is exposed to direct heat. The squash caramelizes. The edges brown. The interior deepens and sweetens in a way that simply doesn’t happen when you roast the squash in its skin. More surface area means more Maillard browning, and more Maillard browning means more flavor in the filling before you’ve added anything else.

From there, brown butter to sauté the shallots, a touch of ricotta to lift and lighten the filling, and something that took me down a small rabbit hole of Italian culinary history: the sweet-spice element that traditional Mantovan squash fillings have always carried.

In the Mantova region of Lombardy — where stuffed pasta filled with butternut squash has been made for centuries — the classic filling includes crushed amaretti cookies. It sounds odd until you taste it. The almond sweetness of the amaretti plays directly against the savory Parmigiano, and that push and pull between sweet and savory is exactly what makes the filling interesting rather than just rich. It’s not a dessert note — it’s a contrast. A whisper of something unexpected that makes you take another bite trying to figure out what it is.

Amaretti can be hard to find in a regular grocery store, which is why this recipe gives you two equally good alternatives. Crushed almond biscotti — the kind you might already have in the pantry — is actually the closer substitute. The almond character is there, the texture crushes to a fine dry crumb that incorporates beautifully, and the sweetness is slightly more restrained than amaretti, which suits the balance of this filling well. Plain toasted breadcrumbs with a pinch of cinnamon work too, and deliver the textural benefit of lightening the filling even without the almond note. Use whichever you have. The filling is good either way — but if there’s a box of almond biscotti on the counter, reach for that first.

The sauce is classic sage brown butter, done properly: sage leaves go into the butter while it browns, frying in the fat as the milk solids develop their own toasty, nutty complexity. A splash of pasta water at the end pulls everything into a sauce rather than a puddle of butter.

For the pasta dough, I’m linking out to the companion post — Fresh Egg Pasta Dough for Ravioli — where I walk through the full process from mixing to rolling to shaping with a ravioli press mold or by hand. That post covers everything you need to know. Start there if this is your first time making fresh pasta.

This serves two, generously. It’s a proper date-night dinner — the kind of meal that feels like a celebration just by virtue of making it from scratch together.

What We’re Remodeling — and Why

The original Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce recipe is a good starting point, but here’s where the remodel happens:

Cubed and roasted squash. The original recipe calls for roasting the squash halved. The upgrade: microwave the whole squash for a few minutes to soften the skin just enough for safe peeling and cutting. Cube it, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast the cubes at 425°F on a sheet pan. The increased surface area means real browning on multiple faces, deeper caramelization, and a more concentrated, complex flavor before the filling is even assembled.

Brown butter in the filling. The original uses plain melted butter to sauté the shallots. Browning the butter first adds a layer of nutty depth to the filling that amplifies the brown butter sauce finishing the dish. The whole plate sings in the same key.

Toasted walnuts in the brown butter sauce. A small handful of roughly chopped walnuts, toasted and added to the sage brown butter at the finish, does two things at once — it adds a textural contrast against the soft pasta that the dish was missing, and it deepens the nutty flavor profile that the brown butter is already building. Walnuts have a slight earthiness and bitterness that cuts through the richness of the sauce and plays well against the sweetness of the squash. Scattered over the finished plate, they also give the dish a rustic, substantial look that signals there’s something worth paying attention to on top.

Ricotta. A quarter cup of whole-milk ricotta folds into the filling to lighten its texture and add a subtle, creamy tang that plays beautifully against the sweetness of the squash. It also helps bind the filling so it holds its shape cleanly when piped or spooned.

The sweet-spice element — amaretti, biscotti, or breadcrumbs. Traditional Mantovan squash ravioli has always included crushed amaretti cookies in the filling — a sweet-almond counterpoint to the savory Parmigiano that defines the dish’s character. Since amaretti aren’t always easy to find, this recipe offers two substitutes. Crushed almond biscotti is the closest alternative: same almond note, similar dry crumb texture, slightly more restrained sweetness. Plain toasted breadcrumbs with a pinch of cinnamon deliver the textural benefit without the almond character. All three options work — the biscotti is the best substitute if you have it.

Better seasoning. The original was underseasoned at every stage. Squash needs more salt support than you’d expect — the filling should be assertively savory before it goes inside the pasta. Taste it and adjust before it goes into the refrigerator.

The sauce technique. Sage goes into the butter while it’s browning, not after. The leaves fry as the milk solids toast, infusing the butter with their aromatic oils at the exact moment the butter is developing its own nutty character. A splash of pasta water emulsifies everything into a proper sauce.

A Note on Roasting Squash Cubes

The microwave step isn’t about cooking the squash — it’s about making it safe to peel and cut. Raw butternut squash is notoriously hard to handle with a knife. Two to three minutes in the microwave (whole, with a few poked holes to let steam escape) softens the skin just enough that a peeler moves through it cleanly and the flesh yields to a sharp knife without fighting back. From there, one-inch cubes roast at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on at least two sides and tender through. Let them cool slightly, then mash or briefly pulse them to a rough puree. Some texture is fine — this isn’t meant to be perfectly smooth.

Tips for Success for this Butternut Squash Ravioli recipe

Make the filling ahead. It benefits from time in the refrigerator — it firms up significantly, making it much easier to pipe or spoon cleanly when assembling the ravioli. Make it the night before or at minimum a few hours in advance.

Drain the ricotta if it’s wet. Spoon it onto a paper towel and let it sit for a few minutes before adding it to the filling. Excess moisture from wet ricotta will loosen the filling and make it hard to work with.

Seal with intention. The number one reason homemade ravioli fall apart in the water is a poor seal. Whether you’re using a press mold or hand-shaping, press firmly and work from the filling outward to push out any trapped air before sealing the edges. Trapped air expands in boiling water and blows the seam open.

Watch the butter. Brown butter goes from perfect to burned in about 30 seconds. Use a light-colored or stainless pan so you can see the milk solids clearly, keep the heat at medium, and pull it the moment it’s amber and smells nutty.

Reserve pasta water. Before you remove the ravioli, scoop out at least half a cup of the starchy cooking water. Use a splash in the sauce to emulsify the butter, and a bit more if the sauce tightens up on the way to the table.

A Note on Wine

This is a dish that earns a good bottle. The rich brown butter sauce and sweet, savory filling call for a white wine with enough acidity to cut through the richness and enough character to hold its own alongside the sage.

A Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige or Friuli is the classic regional choice — not the thin, supermarket style, but a well-made Northern Italian bottle with real minerality and a subtle nuttiness that mirrors the brown butter beautifully. It’s the most harmonious pairing on the table.

A Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc — Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé if you’re feeling celebratory — is an equally compelling option. The herbaceous, mineral character of a good Loire Sauvignon picks up the sage in the sauce in a way that feels almost intentional, and its bright acidity handles the richness of the butter without breaking a sweat. A New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc works too, though look for a more restrained style rather than an aggressively tropical one.

If you lean toward Chardonnay, a white Burgundy or unoaked Chardonnay — a Mâcon-Villages or Saint-Véran — rounds out the shortlist nicely. Brown butter and Chardonnay is one of the great pairings in food and wine, just avoid anything heavily oaked.

Whatever you open, pour a glass before you start cooking. You’ve earned it.

Tools & Ingredients

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it helps keep Recipe Remodeler going. I only link to tools and ingredients I actually use and recommend.

For Making the Ravioli:

Anolon 12-Imprint Ravioli Press with Mini Rolling Pin — This is the press I use. Lightweight aluminum, makes a dozen uniformly sized ravioli at a time, and the serrated ridges do the cutting for you. Lightly dust it with flour before laying on your pasta sheet and the release is clean every time.

KitchenAid 3-Piece Pasta Roller & Cutter Attachment Set (KSMPRA) — The all-metal KitchenAid pasta roller attachment is what I reach for when I’m rolling sheets for ravioli. Eight thickness settings, powered by your stand mixer, and it produces beautifully consistent sheets. If you already own a KitchenAid, this is the upgrade that makes fresh pasta genuinely easy.

Marcato Atlas 150 Hand Crank Pasta Machine — The classic hand crank option, made in Italy and built to last decades. Cook’s Illustrated calls it the Ferrari of pasta machines, and the description isn’t wrong. If you don’t have a KitchenAid stand mixer or just prefer the tactile feedback of hand cranking, this is the machine to own.

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Spider Skimmer — A spider skimmer is the right tool for lifting ravioli out of boiling water. A colander drains the pasta water you need for the sauce; a slotted spoon lets pieces slide off and tear. The OXO spider’s wire coil basket holds the pasta securely and drains water instantly. It’s also the tool I use for blanching vegetables and pulling pasta of any shape.

Cross-Links

Fresh Egg Pasta Dough for Ravioli — [link to companion post] — The complete guide to making pasta dough from scratch, rolling it thin with a KitchenAid attachment or hand crank machine, and shaping ravioli with a press mold or by hand. Start here.
Brown Butter: The Technique That Changes Everything — [link to brown butter cornerstone post] — A deep dive into the science and technique of brown butter. The sauce for this dish is a textbook application.

Recipe Card:

Print Recipe

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Prep Time50 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: butternut squash ravioli, fall pasta recipe, fresh pasta, homemade ravioli, ricotta ravioli, sage brown butter sauce

Servings: 2

Calories: 900kcal

Author: Scott – RecipeRemodeler

Equipment

• pasta roller
• ravioli press

Ingredients

For the Roasted Butternut Squash:

• 1 small butternut squash about 1½ lbs, to yield 1 cup roasted cubes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Filling:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter for browning
• 3 tbsp shallots finely minced (about 1 medium shallot)
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash mashed (from above)
• ¼ cup whole-milk ricotta drained if wet
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 3 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano freshly grated, plus more for serving
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt plus more to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground white pepper

For the Toasted Breadcrumb Mixture:

• 3 tbsp fine dry breadcrumbs plain, unseasoned
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of fine sea salt

For the Pasta:

• 1 batch Fresh Egg Pasta Dough rolled to setting 5–6 on a pasta machine – https://reciperemodeler.com/comfort-food-recipes/fresh-egg-pasta-dough/

For the Sage Brown Butter Sauce:

• 6 tbsp ¾ stick unsalted butter
• 10 –12 fresh sage leaves
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 –2 tbsp reserved pasta cooking water
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper for serving
• 2 tbsp Walnuts roughly chopped

Instructions

Roast the squash:

• Poke the whole squash several times with a knife or fork and microwave on high for 2–3 minutes. This softens the skin just enough for safe, easy peeling and cutting — it is not meant to cook the squash through.
  
• Let it cool for a few minutes, then peel, halve, seed, and cut into roughly 1-inch cubes.
  
• Toss the cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread in a single layer — do not crowd them or they will steam rather than roast.
• Roast at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the cubes are golden brown on at least two sides and completely tender.
  
• Let cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork to a rough puree. Measure out 1 cup. Some texture is fine. Set aside to cool completely.

Make the toasted breadcrumbs:

• In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the breadcrumbs, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Add the 1 tsp butter and stir to coat. Add the cinnamon and a pinch of salt, stir for 30 seconds, then transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Make the filling:

• In a small light-colored skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns golden amber and smells nutty — about 3–4 minutes. Watch carefully; it moves quickly once it starts to brown.
• Add the minced shallots to the brown butter and sauté until softened and just translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Add the mashed squash. Cook, stirring, until any excess moisture has dried off and the mixture looks slightly dry, about 3 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Cook 2 minutes more, then remove from heat.
• Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Let cool for 5 minutes, then fold in the ricotta and the toasted breadcrumb mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning — the filling should be assertively savory.
  
• Transfer to a bowl, press plastic wrap directly against the surface, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. The filling must be cold and firm before assembly.

Assemble and cook the ravioli:

• Follow the shaping instructions in the [Fresh Egg Pasta Dough companion post] for the ravioli press mold method or hand-shaping method.
  
• Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil and salt it generously. Before adding pasta, scoop out ½ cup of pasta water and set aside. Cook the ravioli in uncrowded batches until they float and the pasta is just tender, about 2–3 minutes. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon.
  

Make the sage brown butter sauce:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sage leaves as the butter melts. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, as the butter foams and then begins to brown and the sage leaves crisp. Add the walnuts to toast in the butter. Pull off heat the moment the butter is amber and nutty-smelling, about 4–5 minutes total. Season with salt.
  
• Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved pasta water and swirl to emulsify. The sauce should look slightly creamy, not greasy.

Finish and serve:

• Add the cooked ravioli to the skillet and spoon the sauce and crisped sage leaves over them. Add more pasta water if the sauce seems tight.
  
• Divide between two warmed pasta bowls. Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a few turns of black pepper.
  

Notes

On the squash: The microwave step is a safety technique, not a cooking step. Raw butternut squash is very hard to peel and cut; two to three minutes in the microwave makes it manageable without cooking the flesh.

On the ricotta: Drain wet ricotta on a paper towel for a few minutes before using. Excess moisture will loosen the filling and make assembly messy.

On the filling: Cold filling is firm filling. Do not try to assemble the ravioli with warm filling — it will be sticky, soft, and hard to control.

On the sauce: Have everything ready before you start the brown butter. This sauce does not hold. Warmed bowls make a real difference for keeping the pasta hot at the table.

US and Metric:

– 1 cup squash = 240 ml / approx. 225 g mashed
– ¼ cup ricotta = 60 ml / approx. 60 g
– 6 tbsp butter = 85 g
– 3 tbsp Parmigiano = approx. 15 g