Review: Prego Doesn't Reinvent Alfredo With New Squash-Based Sauce, But It Doesn't Need To

There are plenty of seasonally specific flavors, especially in fall, but Prego is betting on a slightly less traditional one with the launch of its new Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce. This limited-time flavor just hit shelves at participating Walmarts and promises in its promotional materials to blend "the natural sweetness of roasted butternut squash with savory Parmesan and a touch of warm spices," perfect for everything from lasagna to a chicken mushroom skillet.

Prego sent me a jar of its latest creation to try, but it's not the first new sauce from the brand I've sampled this year. The Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo joins Prego's Lemon Alfredo and Cajun Alfredo as a unique alternative to classic Alfredo sauce. The results on the two previous releases were mixed: The Lemon Alfredo was a bit aggressive and definitely calls for the correct pairing, while the Cajun was a fantastic blend of cream and spice that I would eat on just about anything.

So where does the new Butternut Squash Alfredo rank? Read on to find out if this new sauce is a must-have or a fall failure.

Prego sent me a jar of the new Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce to try at home. I snapped some photos of the sauce before sampling it solo and on penne pasta. I also consumed the sauce as part of a full meal, which included meatballs. My evaluations were based on flavor, texture, and how well the sauce worked in the context of a meal. 

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Butternut squash is a wonderfully versatile vegetable. You can make it into soup, a sauce, or roast butternut squash as a side. It's sweet and creamy, with a flavor profile that's not nearly as aggressive as the lemon or Cajun seasonings that Prego turned to previously. Still, a sauce needs some personality to stand out, and thankfully, there's just enough added flavor to give this sauce some life.

While they're quite a bit lower on the ingredient deck, a browned butter base, brown sugar, and cinnamon hint at the warmer notes this sauce is aiming for and largely achieves. It's still cheese-forward, as any good Alfredo should be, but there's a sweetness that conjures images of your favorite seasonal pies. I paired my pasta with beef meatballs and sautéed zucchini, and the sauce worked well with both. Honestly, the Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce is closer to a traditional Alfredo than anything wildly innovative, but its simplicity makes it versatile. I could just as easily add chicken or shrimp or even double down on the squash and make this the base for a fall-inspired pasta without any hesitation.

Prego didn't reinvent the Alfredo with this sauce, but it's a pleasant, well-balanced take on the classic. It's creamy, cheesy, and the right combination of spiced and sweet to present a sauce that is perfect for fall, but would fit in just fine all year long.

Prego Creamy Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce is available for a limited time at participating Walmarts and on the store's website. A 14 ½ ounce jar retails for $2.48.

A ¼ cup serving of the sauce contains 70 calories, 6 grams of fat (3 grams of which is saturated fat), 330 milligrams of sodium, and a single gram of protein. It contains the allergens egg and milk.