This father-of-2's bolognese pasta sauce includes butternut squash and is perfect for winter nights. Here's how to make it.

• Danny Freeman is a popular cooking influencer known as Danny Loves Pasta.
• His pasta-themed cookbook debuted in June 2023.

It's a cool October day when Danny Freeman reveals his love of butternut squash.

"It's my favorite fall ingredient to work with," Freeman told Business Insider. "It was my first year growing butternut squash, so it took a long time. We only got maybe three or four, but it was fun to see them grow."

Internet foodies might know Freeman better as Danny Loves Pasta, the lawyer-turned-cooking star making waves across social media. Freeman gained more than 1.7 million followers for making pasta in all forms, whether traditional recipes like gnocchi soup or quirky projects like using dough to recreate Taylor Swift's album covers.

The father-of-two began uploading videos in 2020 and released his debut cookbook, Danny Loves Pasta, this June.

With winter well underway, Freeman shared the recipe for a butternut squash bolognese pasta sauce. Fans of the winter squash will also find more recipes in the cookbook, like butternut squash, sage, and nutmeg pasta filling.

Here's how to make Freeman's sauce.

Freeman's recipe requires 13 ingredients, including Parmesan and ground beef

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash

• 1 small yellow onion

• 1 carrot

• 2 celery stalks

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 pound ground beef (80 to 85% lean)

• 1 28-ounce can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• ¼ cup milk

• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

• ½ cup grated Parmesan

• 1 pound pasta of choice

• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

  You'll also need a baking sheet, a food processor (or knife), a skillet, and a pot for the pasta. The recipe serves 4 to 6 with a 15-minute prep time and a 70-minute cook time.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. If it is difficult to cut, microwave it for 3-4 minutes until the outer layer is soft. Scoop out the seeds and place the two halves face up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until soft enough to pierce with a fork, about 35 minutes.

2. While the butternut squash is cooking, use a knife or food processor to finely chop the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.

3. In a wide skillet or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat, then add the vegetable mixture. Cook until the vegetables become paler in color, 8 to 10 minutes. If they start to burn on the bottom of the pan, lower the heat or add a little more oil.

4. Add the beef, breaking it up with a spatula, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until there are no more pink spots, about 10 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and milk and stir everything together.

6. When the butternut squash is tender, scoop out the squash and add to the sauce.

7. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring and tasting occasionally and adding salt if necessary, until the sauce has reduced significantly.

8. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to recipe or package directions.

9. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and serve with basil and Parmesan sprinkled on top if desired.

Freeman's cookbook is available on Amazon.