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How to Roast Butternut Squash

How to roast butternut squash for the perfect healthy side dish, or to use in your favorite soup.

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Roasted butternut squash is the perfect side dish – easy, healthy and sweetly delicious.

You can use this roasted butternut squash to make your own Roasted Butternut Squash Soup and if you are looking for an amped-up squash recipe, try my Honey & Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash.

roasted butternut squash on a baking sheet

How to Roast Butternut Squash

It isn’t often that that butternut squash gets cooked at home; despite its simplicity and deliciousness, butternut squash has always been considered more of a restaurant vegetable for some reason.

However, with a little bit of preparation and some useful knowledge, you can easily enjoy some butternut squash at home by roasting it.

butternut squash

Roast Butternut Squash Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Medium butternut squash

• Melted salted butter

• Sea salt

How To Make Roast Butternut Squash

• Cut the ends off of the butternut squash

• Peel the squash, cut in half lengthwise, and then remove the seeds

• cut the squash into 1 & ½ inch cubes, and place them on a baking sheet

• Add the melted butter, toss and spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet

• Roast the squash at 400 Fahrenheit for around 50 minutes, turning while roasting for even browning until the squash is tender.

sliced butternut squash

How To Easily Peel Your Butternut Squash

Peeling a butternut squash is never a particularly easy challenge; it isn’t at all like peeling an apple.

There is just something so rigid and frustrating about trying to peel the skin off of any kind of squash, so how do you do it easily to get it ready for roasting?

There are two main tools you can use to peel the squash; either a strong peeler or a sharp paring knife.

To peel it using a peeler, you can either balance the squash standing up and peel it from top to bottom, or you can make your life a bit easier and cut the squash in half first.

By cutting it in half, you create a smooth, even surface on the underside of each half of the squash, which lets you rest it easily on your chopping board.

From there, just drag your peeler from end to end to remove the peel, using a knife to chop off the very end bits that resist the peeler.

To use a paring knife, just slice off the very bottom of the squash entirely and then rest it on a chopping board, and then take a sharp paring knife, scissor down each side of the squash, trying to leave as much actual squash still on there as you can.

Don’t worry if you do lose a little bit every cut – a little waste is fine, but try to avoid hacking off hunks of just flesh rather than skin.

roasted butternut squash on a wooden spoon

How To Avoid Accidentally Overcooking Your Butternut Squash

While this recipe makes for some tasty squash, it does have one problem that is inherent to cooking squash no matter what you do; it can easily become overcooked.

Other vegetables only degrade in quality a small amount with longer cooking, and some even improve over time, but butternut squash sadly gets stringy and terrible when overcooked.

The secret to making sure your butternut squash pieces don’t turn into mush is to be paying really close attention to them and make sure that you remember to turn them frequently while roasting.

By turning the squash, both by rotating the tray and flipping the actual pieces over while they cook, you not only ensure even cooking and some nice browning around the surface of the squash, but you prevent any one side from getting stringy and overcooked.

Looking for more delicious Side Dish recipes? Try these out:

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted Parsnips with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Enjoy!

Love,

Karlynn

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How to Roast Butternut Squash

How to roast butternut squash for the perfect healthy side dish, or to use in your favorite soup.
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • one 3 pound medium butternut squash
  • 6 tablespoons melted salted butter
  • 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Cut off the ends off the butternut squash.
  • Peel the squash, cut in half lengthwise and then remove the seeds.
  • Cut the squash into 1 ½ inch cubes (uniform is best) and place them on a baking sheet.
  • Add the melted butter.
  • Toss and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
  • Turn the squash while roasting a few times to ensure even browning.
  • Roast for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Notes

  • You can add your favorite seasonings if desired
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheKitchenMagpie or tag #thekitchenmagpie!

Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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  1. Mary Bell says

    Hi Karlynn ..just joined your site a couple weeks ago and look forward to it daily .. Love that your recipes are not only tasty but nutritious and easy .. As a Canadian I like that your ideas usually can be in my kitchen or picked up at our local store .. ( many times )using “local” produce .. Good job ..keep it up ..

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