Easy Roasted Butternut Squash
An easy roasted butternut squash that is simple enough for weeknights yet fancy enough for your holiday table. Serve roasted butternut squash as a healthy side dish or use it in your favorite squash recipes.
Learn how to make roasted butternut squash two ways, cubed or by halving a whole butternut squash. Both are irresistibly delicious!
Butternut squash is a versatile ingredient that can be used in soups, salads, casseroles, pastas and desserts. Perhaps my favorite way to enjoy butternut squash, though, is simply roasted with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
I often roast a whole butternut squash each weekend and serve it alongside our meals later in the week. Along with roasted sweet potatoes, it’s one of my favorite vegetables to meal prep.
When you roast butternut squash in the oven, you can keep the seasoning simple and still be rewarded with a dish worthy of praise. Roasting is the best way to cook butternut squash because the heat of the oven caramelizes the edges of the squash and develops the rich flavor and natural sweetness of the squash.
You won’t be able to resist this butternut squash, mashed with a bit of butter and brown sugar. Serve it as a side dish to pork tenderloin or baked chicken for an easy fall meal.
Below you’ll find the recipes and method for roasting butternut squash halves and cubed butternut squash. Both are easy to prepare, healthy and delicious!
Should you peel butternut squash before cooking?
You can cut a butternut squash in half and cook it with the skin on. After the squash cooks, you can easily scoop the flesh out of the skin.
If cubing or chopping your butternut squash, you will want to peel it first.
How do you peel butternut squash?
Peeling a butternut squash might seem like a big chore, but it doesn’t have to be! Here’s what I do:
- Slice off the stem and base. Just cut off 1/2 inch or so at each end.
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin, first from one half of the squash and then the other. Hold whichever end you are not peeling firmly in your hand while you peel the skin off of the other end, rotating the squash as you go.
- A good vegetable peeler is the key to easily peeling a butternut squash. If yours is getting dull, invest in a new one.
- After your squash is peeled, you can cut it in half, lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Then it’s ready to be chopped for your recipe.
Roasting butternut squash
To roast butternut squash halves without peeling, first halve your squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rub a little olive oil over the squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper, for seasoning. You can skip the oil and seasoning if you plan to make butternut squash puree for making pancakes, muffins or other recipes.
Place the squash halves, cut-side-down, in a baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Bake at 375 degrees F until a fork or knife easily pierces through the skin and flesh. Depending on the size of your squash, this will take about 35-45 minutes.
To roast chopped butternut squash, it’s important to cut your squash into pieces that are all roughly the same size. This will ensure that the pieces cook evenly.
Toss your squash cubes with sweet or savory seasonings before roasting. Often I’ll use just olive oil, salt and pepper. In the recipe below I added cinnamon. You can add a little pure maple syrup or some fresh herbs for more flavor. I recommend rosemary or thyme because they can stand up to the heat of the oven and their flavor goes well with butternut squash.
Roast 1-inch butternut squash cubes at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan. You want air to be able to circulate around each piece of squash for the best browning and caramelization. If needed, divide the squash between two pans and rotate the pans from top to bottom in your oven halfway through the baking time.
Tips for making roasted butternut squash
- Choose a butternut squash that is firm and heavy for its size. You want the stem to be intact and the skin to be free of fine green lines, which mean the squash isn’t fully ripe. Choose a squash that is free of cuts, bruises and soft spots.
- Line your pan or baking dish with parchment paper for easy clean up.
- You can use roasted butternut squash in place of pumpkin puree in recipes for pancakes, muffins, etc. After roasting, puree the squash using your food processor or blender, following the same method that I use for homemade pumpkin puree.
- Save the seeds from your butternut squash. You can roast them just like roasted pumpkin seeds!
More butternut squash recipes:
Easy Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash:
- 3 pound butternut squash
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash Halves:
- 3 pound butternut squash
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange oven racks so that one is in the upper third of oven and the other is in the lower third.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Peel and seed the butternut squash. Chop it into 1-inch cubes.
- Place squash on the baking sheets.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour over the squash. Use your hands to toss until the squash is evenly coated. Spread the squash out on the pans so that it is in a single layer.
- Bake squash in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the squash and then rotate the pans top to bottom in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes more, until squash is soft and lightly browned on the edges.
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash Halves:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Line a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds.
- Drizzle the squash with olive oil and rub it over the cut side of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (Omit oil and seasonings if you plan to puree the squash for baking.)
- Place squash, cut-side-down, in the prepared baking pan. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan.
- Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is soft when pierced with a fork.
- Let cool slightly and then scoop the flesh out from the skin. If desired, you can serve the butternut squash mashed with butter and brown sugar or pure maple syrup. Or puree it to use it in your favorite butternut squash recipes.
Notes
