Well hello there. I haven’t had much time to blog these past couple weeks. I’ve been tired (and pregnant) and keeping things as simple as possible, but it’s been a tough couple weeks for other reasons too. I’ve missed my family terribly and have felt as aware as ever of the physical distance from people we care about dearly. It never gets easier to be this far away.
As a result of the fact that Frank and I are in the midst of some drastic life changes, we’ve been trying to focus and simplify. Frank is up to his eyeballs in grad school work for his MBA, so we’ve been good about making the most of the free time we have together. I’ve been taking extra care of myself and whittling my usually excessive to-do lists down to the absolute basics. I’m daily getting better at letting go of things that don’t have to happen right this minute (or really, don’t have to happen at all). It was something I needed to do in general – and certainly something I needed to do before our daughters arrive.
Most of our dinners in this precious but strange transition time are 1) delivered to our door or 2) healthy, simple and rely on the oven to do the work. I’ve been wanting to get this particular recipe into blog-worthy shape for years. This baked pasta dish is from my single-girl days when I’d make a big batch of it on a cold Sunday and have it all week for lunches. I love the slightly sweet creaminess of the sweet potatoes with the sharpness of Greek yogurt and cheese. It’s one of those dishes I never get tired of. And one that satisfies my pregnant-lady mac and cheese cravings while still being loaded with vegetables.
Creamy Sweet Potato Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large), roasted until tender (see note)
- 12 ounces fusilli pasta
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 large carrots, finely diced
- 1.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
For topping:
- 2 ounces parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 10 leaves fresh sage
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Scoop the cooked sweet potato into a bowl and lightly mash with a fork until nearly smooth.
- Boil noodles according to package instructions, but stop cooking them 2-3 minutes sooner than directed. (The noodles will finish in the sauce, so don't overcook them!)
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and carrots and sauté until very tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and mashed sweet potato and stir gently until it begins to simmer. Remove the skillet from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, sweet potato sauce, Greek yogurt, and cheddar cheese. Stir to mix well. Pour the pasta into the prepared baking dish.
- Top the pasta with parmesan cheese. Dip each of the fresh sage leaves in olive oil and scatter them over the cheese. Bake until evenly heated through, 15-17 minutes. Turn on the oven's broiler and broil until the parmesan is golden and the sage leaves are crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
I’m fast-approaching 29 weeks pregnant (and feeling very glad we took care of a much-needed Ikea trip on Presidents’ Day) – update coming next week!
I’ve been putting carrots in EVERY recipe lately – makes things nice and sweet 🙂 Love you girl!
I hear ya on being so far away from loved ones. My family has gone through a lot over the last 6 months, and it’s been super tough being so far away. And having a 9hr time difference for calls and skype dates! I’m sure with the arrival of your babies coming up so quickly you’re really feeling the distance. Good for you for prioritizing so well. It’s something I’ve had to do with the insanity of full time work while finishing my MSc, and I know it’s not easy to let go. The pasta bake looks super delish – just the kind of thing I’m in the mood for on these cold winter days. I wonder if the pasta could be replaced with brown rice to make a rice bake? Will have to play around with it! But the idea of sweet potato and greek yoghurt… yum! Thanks for the recipe, and you are looking amazing!
Oh my gosh this sounds heavenlyy!!!! I have been wanting to try a sweet potato/butternut mac n cheese dish for FOREVER. I better do it before spring gets here! Thanks for the inspiration and keep up your awesome healthy pregnancy eating! (If it were me, I’d probably be stuffing my face with pancakes :/ )
I am so saving this recipe. I would eat this all week too. Love the flavor combinations. You look great, BTW.
This is so fabulous, Jess. I love creative meatless meals. And you look wonderful!!
Oh my gosh you look adorable Jess! And this meal is so my kind of pasta dish. I’ve been using sweet potatoes like crazy lately … it’s time to use them in pasta! I need to learn the same thing about pairing down my to-do lists … they get so out of hand sometimes…
Jess! This sounds absolutely delicious. I’m making this right away. Single-girl day recipes are my jam. 😉 I’ve been thinking of you and hoping everything is going well–it’s good to see you post and my, oh my, are you pregnant! Can’t wait for all that’s next for you! 🙂
Jess you’re looking fantastic! I can’t believe how fast it’s going.
Ahh yes whittling down the to do list. I’m amazed how much stuff I used to do because ‘I had to’ that now doesn’t get done at all. We do like to complicate things for ourselves don’t we?
This looks like my kind of meal. Yum!
You look great! And that bake looks like a great meal! I hear the missing the family part: thank god for Skype!!
Congrats on eating healthy and prioritizing…eventually when your sweet beautiful daughters get that’s what will happen—prioritizing life. Thanks for taking time out of your day to share with us what’s going on in your life and yummy recipes with!
Hang in there, y’all got this!☺️
I made this for dinner and loved it! It’s such a creative way to make a spin off of “mac and cheese.” I’m definitely glad there are leftovers so we can enjoy eating this again. Thanks for the recipe!
OMG…I made this tonight and loved it! Nice and sweet and light. Definitely keeping it in the recipe repertoire. Thank you!
(PS: I was just in KC with my partner at the end of August visiting the in-laws. Hope to be back for the Holidays. Love your city.)
Awesome, Hector!!! Thanks so much for letting us know. So glad you like KC – we think it’s a great city too!
Loved the inspiration I got from this recipe! I had minimal supplies and love just winging it in the kitchen so I only used: pasta, sweet potatoes, vegetable broth & Parmesan on top with salt, pepper, sage & cayenne. I am sure your recipe turned out better (and creamier) but I’m thrilled I was able to find your guidance & expertise to make it work!
That’s so great to hear Sarah – I love, love adaptations, and I’m so happy to hear that you were able to make this work with what you had!
I just came across this recipe and it looks so delicious! I’ll be trying it for dinner tonight! Have you ever added any kind of meat to it? Do you think tuna or chicken would work?
This is so healthy. Loving your recipes I’ve only just stumbled across your blog. I tried this today and everyone loved it. I switched up the vegetable broth with white sauce and the greek yoghurt with double cream making it a little bit less healthy but still just delicious.
Have you tried freezing this? Would you assemble and then freeze it, or make it completely and then freeze afterwards?
Yes – I have frozen it with great results. I like to assemble and freeze (then defrost and cook later). The only change I’ve made is that I find I need to add a bit of extra liquid – 1/2 cup of water or stock to the sauce since the freezer tends to dry things out a bit.