Name: Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups butternut squash; 4 ounces dried whole wheat shell pasta; 3 tablespoons shallot, diced; 1 tablespoon sage, minced; 1 garlic clove; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth; 3/4 cup low-fat ricotta; 2 ounces low-fat mozzarella, grated

$22.31

basket total, in-store

$11.16

per serving (2 servings)

+$6.53

dearer than the $4.62 median dinner

What it costs at Kroger - Kroger On the Rhine

Every non-staple ingredient matched to a real product on the shelf, priced on 2026-07-17 at Kroger - Kroger On the Rhine (ZIP 45202). 2 pantry staples excluded. 1 match is flagged for you to check rather than silently swapped. Prices change without notice - this is what we paid attention to on that date, not a quote.

The recipe says	We found	Package	Uses	Costs	Left over
2 1/2 cups butternut squash	Butternut Squash · 1 lbx2	$1.49	500 g	$1.64	$1.34
4 ounces dried whole wheat shell pastaCHECK THIS	Simple Truth Organic® 100% Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta · 16 ozSUBSTITUTE	$1.69	113 g	$0.42	$1.27
3 tablespoons shallot, diced	Shallots · 1 lb	$3.99	45 g	$0.40	$3.59
1 tablespoon sage, minced	Simple Truth Organic® Sage · 0.5 oz	$2.49	3 g	$0.53	$1.96
1 garlic clove	Kroger® Whole Garlic Bulbs · 5 ct	$2.49	1	$0.50	$1.99
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth	Simple Truth Organic® Low Sodium Vegetable Broth · 32 oz	$1.99	120 ml	$0.26	$1.73
3/4 cup low-fat ricotta	Kroger® 2% Low Fat Small Curd Cottage Cheese · 24 ozSUBSTITUTE	$3.19	180 g	$0.84	$2.35
2 ounces low-fat mozzarella, grated	Kroger® Reduced Fat Mozzarella String Cheese · 12 ct / 10 ozSUBSTITUTE	$3.49	57 g	$0.06	$3.43

Where the money goes

shallot drives this basket at $3.99, 18% of the total. The next biggest lines are low-fat mozzarella ($3.49) and low-fat ricotta ($3.19). $17.66 of the basket - 79% - is package remainder: food you buy because stores sell packages and recipes call for amounts. It does not vanish, it sits in your kitchen for the next meal.

What carries into next week

Shallots · about 409 g left, $3.59 of value
Kroger® Reduced Fat Mozzarella String Cheese · about 3345 g left, $3.43 of value
Kroger® 2% Low Fat Small Curd Cottage Cheese · about 500 g left, $2.35 of value
Kroger® Whole Garlic Bulbs · about 4 left, $1.99 of value
Simple Truth Organic® Low Sodium Vegetable Broth · about 787 ml left, $1.73 of value
Butternut Squash · about 407 g left, $1.34 of value

Tired of tomatoes? Try topping pasta with creamy low-fat ricotta and sweet roasted butternut squash for a weeknight dinner that’s anything but ordinary.

Ingredients

Directions

Wash hands with soap and water.
Preheat oven to 425 °F. Cut butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the cut sides down in a large baking dish and fill with 1/4 inch water. Bake butternut squash until tender (about 45 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
While the squash bakes, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside. Reduce oven to 375 °F.
From the butternut squash, measure out 2 cups of the squash. Place in a food processor along the shallot, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse until squash is smooth. Add in low-sodium vegetable broth and pulse until well-combined.
In a small baking dish, place a third of the squash purée in the bottom. Add half the noodles, followed by the low-fat ricotta. Top the ricotta with the next third of the sauce, then the remaining noodles. Finish with remaining sauce and low-fat shredded mozzarella.
Bake pasta for 25 minutes at 375 °F. Cheese should be browned. Remove and serve warm.

Created by the Grain Foods Foundation, a member of the MyPlate National Strategic Partnership Program. MyPlate took its recipe pages offline in 2026 - the original lives on at the Internet Archive. More on this: What dinner actually costs in 2026.

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Butternut Squash Pasta Bake - $11.16 a serving