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It’s time for another episode in our Plant-Based Basics series! If you remember, last time we showed you how to prep, chop & store kale. And before that, we reviewed the basics of chopping an onion. Today we’ll be talking all about one of our favorite fall ingredients… butternut squash!
When fall starts to roll around, you won’t find me on the lookout for anything pumpkin spice, but I am ALL about the butternut squash. The problem is, I often buy them just because they look especially amazing in the fall months, but I have no plan for how to utilize them when I get home. After watching today’s video, hopefully you’ll never have that problem again!
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We are starting out with three beautiful squash, and we’ll show you a few different ways to cut, prep and roast your squash. We’ll also give you a bunch of ideas for utilizing them in recipes. So let’s get to it!
You can use these links to skip ahead to each method:
Oven Roasted Whole >>
Oven Roasted Halved >>
Oven Roasted Peeled & Cubed >>
Oven Roasted Whole
First up is the easiest method to get your squash roasting in the oven. You simply preheat your oven to 375°F, clean the outside of your squash, leave it completely whole, and place it on a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Depending on the size of my squash, I usually let it cook for about 20-30 minutes and then flip it over once the skin starts to get golden brown and bubbly. After you flip it, let it cook for another 20-30 minutes and it will be fork tender.
My favorite way to utilize a whole roasted squash is to make a purée that can be utilized in recipes. To do this, simply let it cool enough to handle, cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and scoop the insides into a food processor. Process until smooth.
The purée will store in your refrigerator for several days. I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with adding it to recipes like my Butternut Pecan Muffins (coming very soon!), a salad dressing I’m working on, and even a pizza crust. It adds a nice mellow, sweet, almost caramelized flavor to dishes.
Oven Roasted Halved
Another good method for roasting your butternut squash is to cut it in half first and then roast. After you clean the outside, use a sharp knife to cut off both ends.
Then, stand your squash up on one end and carefully slice it in half lengthwise. Leave the seeds in and transfer to a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Roast in the oven (seed side up) at 375°F for 40-60 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. You don’t need to flip these or anything, but it’s good to check them periodically since cooking times can vary depending on the size. After they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the seeds.
We like to roast squash this way when we are going to make a stuffed squash. You can simply remove more of the interior squash, leaving a nice amount around the edges to form your “bowl.”
Then mix other ingredients in with the squash you scooped out, and stuff the squash back up and bake until warmed through. We mixed in some of our Cauliflower Poblano Queso Blanco (recipe coming soon!) and topped it off with some red pepper flakes. You can actually eat the entire skin as well!
Oven Roasted Peeled & Cubed
Our final method is cubed. Once again, we are going to start by cleaning the squash and cutting off both ends.
Before you cut it in half, peel the skin off.
Stand it up straight on your cutting board and cut in half. Use a spoon to remove the seeds.
Cut each squash half again, separating the more rounded part from the straighter part of the squash. For the straighter pieces, you can easily cut into strips of your desired size. For the more rounded parts, just do your best to cut into strips, knowing that they won’t be perfect.
Once you have your squash cut into the desired size strips, just dice into smaller pieces.
Transfer your cubes onto a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, and bake at 375°F for 40-60 minutes, until tender, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
You’ll know these are done when they are fork tender.
These can be used immediately on salads, bowls, etc. or you can store them in your refrigerator to use throughout the week. They taste great warmed or cold! Brian threw together a quick salad with some of my prepped dinosaur kale, quinoa, red onions and a delicious tahini dressing.
Time To Get To Roasting!
Now that we’ve shown you a few easy methods for roasting your squash, we hope you’ll get inspired to use this amazing, versatile fall ingredient.
Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with recipes, but Brian also came up with two new recipes while we were filming the video using ingredients that were just hanging out in our fridge. I promise, we will share these recipes with you soon!
There are so many ways to use this amazing squash, and we can’t wait to hear about your favorite ways to use it!
Be sure to check out the video here and leave us a comment to let us know what you want to see next in our Plant-Based Basics series!
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