Roasted Honey Cinnamon Butternut Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do I need to peel butternut squash before roasting? ›

Learn how to roast butternut squash the EASY WAY without any prep work. No pre-peeling, chopping or deseeding (yes really!). Just whole-roast it in the oven until soft and tender. Use for creamy butternut squash soup, ravioli filling and incredible muffins!

In a large bowl mix the cubed squash, garlic cloves and ginger with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the spice mix. Season with salt and pepper and scatter in a single layer in a roasting tray. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes until tender all the way through.

Honeynut squash has a similar shape and flavor to butternut squash but averages about half the size and is sweeter. It has two to three times more beta-carotene than butternut squash. Honeynut squash can be roasted, sautéed, puréed, added to soups, stews, and braises, and has enough sugar content for desserts.

Like delicata squash, honeynut squash has thin, edible skin. There's no need to peel it! Slice each squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Next, make a quick dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place squash cut-side down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast until almost completely tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn cut-side up and roast until very tender and beginning to dry out a bit on top (but not brown).

To begin, cut off the top stem and bottom end of your squash and discard. Then cut the squash in half where the small, cylinder shape and round, bulb-shape meet. Use a sharp knife (or a sturdy vegetable peeler) to carefully remove the skin. Alternatively, the skin can stay on because it's edible when roasted!

Acorn squash: It has less vitamin A than butternut but provides even more fiber (9 grams per cup) and potassium (896 mg).

Acorn squash is milder in taste and slightly more fibrous in texture than butternut squash: Its sweet, nutty flavor is additionally muted by the watery character of its flesh. Still, most recipes that call for acorn squash can be made with another members of the squash family, such as Hubbard or butternut.

Acorn squash is nutrient dense and definitely worth eating more of! Acorn contains less beta-carotene than butternut, but similar amounts of folate + vitamin C.

Method. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Wash and dry the whole squash, then place on a baking tray. Pierce once or twice with the tip of a sharp knife, then bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until golden and very soft.

How to hack butternut squash? ›

Microwaving the squash will make it much easier to peel. Simply slice off the top and bottom, poke the squash all over with a fork and microwave it on high for about 3 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, peel the squash. The softened flesh will make peeling (and slicing) way easier.

Can You Eat Butternut Squash Skin? It's important to note that while many people choose to remove butternut squash skin (and this is best practice for soup making, where you want smooth results), you can 100% eat roasted butternut squash skin. Slice butternut squash into crescents and roast it with the skin on.

“Some (winter) squash have really delicate skins and they become tender when cooked. You can bake them and eat the whole thing.” Winter squash are harvested from late summer through late fall, then allowed to “cure” in a dry, low-humidity environment, about 70° to 80°F, until the skins are completely dry and hard.

I typically cut mine into 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch cubes for roasting, but the size/shape of the cut is totally up to you. Once your butternut squash is cut, you can either cook the squash immediately. Or you can refrigerate it in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze it in a sealed container for up to 3 months.