Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is easily one of the world’s greatest squashes. Squashi? Doesn’t matter. It elevates every savory dish with its soft and sweet flavor.
This squash recipe is super simple and only elevates the flavor of the seasonal fruit… vegetable… again, doesn’t matter. It’s delicious
And the local grocery store takes all of the work out of it by selling pre-skinned and cubed bags of it. But…
If you too were enticed by the funky shape of the squash sitting in a giant cardboard vessel of squash friends and took it home only to realize you have no clue how to even start preparing it. Here is what you are looking for…
How to prepare a whole butternut squash
Start by cutting off the top and bottom of the squash
Then slice the squash in half the long way. The easiest way I have found to do this is to stand it upright and slice down placing pressure on both sides of your knife. I also recommend using a large butcher’s knife.
Once you have your halves, use a kitchen spoon to scoop out all of the seeds. (you can roast these with salt just like pumpkin seeds if you want to)
Grab one half and use the hallowed part of the squash to grip while you peel the skin off using a vegetable peeler. (I recommend the Y peelers that are relatively cheap off of Amazon)
Once your squash is naked and gutted, the rest is up to you. You can cut it into slices or cubes or whatever your heart desires. I like to eat butternut squash in bowls with chicken, brussel sprouts, and rice so I cut mine into cubes. (keep in mind, the bigger your sections, the longer it will take to cook)
Place all of your squash pieces into a bowl and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Then spread evenly onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Place pan in the center of the oven and let cook for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes take them out, flip/stir them up so that another side can get crispy and put them back in for 15 more minutes. After 30 minutes they should be fork-tender and delicious. (if your pieces were larger cook for longer in 5-minute increments until fork-tender.
Enjoy!
Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash
Equipment
- Vegetable Peeler
- Large Knife
- Spoon
- Sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 whole Butternut Squash could use bagged, if preferred
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp paprika or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F and line sheet pan with parchment paper
- Start by cutting off the top and bottom of the squash
- Then slice the squash in half the long way. The easiest way I have found to do this is to stand it upright and slice down placing pressure on both sides of your knife. I also recommend using a large butcher's knife.
- Once you have your halves, use a kitchen spoon to scoop out all of the seeds. (you can roast these with salt just like pumpkin seeds if you want to)
- Grab one half and use the hallowed part of the squash to grip while you peel the skin off using a vegetable peeler. (I recommend the Y peelers that are relatively cheap off of Amazon)
- Once your squash is naked and gutted, the rest is up to you. You can cut it into slices or cubes or whatever your heart desires. I like to eat butternut squash in bowls with chicken, Brussels sprouts, and rice so I cut mine into cubes. (keep in mind, the bigger your sections, the longer it will take to cook)
- Place all of your squash pieces into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Then spread evenly onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Place pan in the center of the oven and let cook for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes take them out, flip/stir them up so that another side can get crispy, and put them back in for 15 more minutes. After 30 minutes they should be fork-tender rand delicious. (if your pieces were larger cook for longer in 5-minute increments until fork-tender. Enjoy!