Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe (Oven Baked) (2024)

Why This Recipe Works

Easy – Making this best butternut squash really couldn’t get any simpler. Peel, cut, bake. That’s it!

Readily available – Even if it isn’t fall, you can still find butternut squash year-round in almost every major grocery chain. This butternut squash recipe is delicious any time!

Pantry staples – You probably have all the spices you need for this baked squash dish right in your spice drawer right now. Just pull out the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings, that’s it!

Multiple uses – Roast once, eat all week! I like to eat the squash as a side of course, but you can also eat this best butternut squash on top of salad greens, in veggie quesadillas, mixed with other roasted veggies, or on top of pasta with alfredo sauce. (For a healthier alfredo sauce you can try my Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce.) It’s very versatile!

Here’s How You Make It

The hardest part about making this dish is preparing the squash, which I discuss a little further down.

1. First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Then, peel the squash and cut it up into 1-inch cubes.(Photos 1-4)
2. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the squash cubes and toss the squash to thoroughly coat it in the oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, the herbs, and garlic powder. (Depending on your seasoning abilities, you can leave the cubes as-is or give them another roll around with your fingers or a spoon to make sure the squash is all evenly coated.) (Photos 5-6)
3. Transfer the squash to the oven and let it bake for 20-25 minutes or until the roasted butternut squash is tender and starts to brown on the edges, then pull it out and serve right away or top with melted butter and honey mixture (see note, below).(Photos 7-8)

What Is the Easiest Way to Cut a Butternut Squash?

As I mentioned, cutting the squash is the trickiest part. Here’s the easiest way to peel, core, and dice a butternut squash :

1. Peel the squash with a peeling tool (like the one you’d use for carrots), and peel it all the way around. Watch what you’re doing and position your hands carefully, they get slippery as the peels come off.
2. Cut the squash down the middle lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and stringy insides and throw those away or compost if that’s what you do with your organic scraps.
3. Cut the squash across in 1-inch sections.
4. Chop sections into 1-inch cubes.

How to Freeze and Reheat

Freezing butternut squash is a cinch. I do this one of two ways:

1. Freeze it raw. Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes and place them on a baking sheet, then pop them into the freezer. Once they’ve frozen solid, then add them to a Ziploc baggie or another freezer-safe container.
   
2. Freeze it cooked. If you want to freeze this butternut squash after you’ve roasted it, then follow the same directions as above. Simply let the diced, cooked squash cool to room temperature, freeze the pieces on a baking sheet, and then place in a freezer-safe container. One note here: when you thaw cooked, frozen squash it will be soft. This is best used for a soup or a mash.

Is Butternut Squash a Healthy Carb?

If you are watching your carb intake, then it’s natural to wonder if butternut squash falls into the “healthy carb” category. While butternut squash falls into the category of “starchy vegetables” (like potatoes), they aren’t all bad. Squash is high in fiber, which can help you feel fuller, longer. It’s also a great source of vitamins A, C, B, potassium, magnesium. I’d consider this a pretty healthy carb, wouldn’t you?

Do You Have to Cut Butternut Squash Before Cooking?

While you don’t HAVE to cut and peel a butternut squash, I would recommend it. Seems like it would be chewy and weird and an impediment to what you’re trying to do which is to eat the soft, delicious squash and not deal with picking hard squash skin out of your teeth.

However, you can eat the skin if you wish. You’ll have to increase the roasting time though on the squash cubes to make sure the skin gets less tough and easier to eat. Sometimes the squash is coated in (edible) wax to keep it fresher, longer. You’ll want to try to get that wax off before cooking if you can. But if not, there’s no harm in eating it.

If you’re going to roast it whole with the skin on, you should cut it in half and use a spoon to scoop the seeds out, season, then roast flesh side up in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet.(I use this method when preparing my favorite butternut squash soup as well!)

Is Butternut Squash Considered a Winter Squash?

Butternut squash is a squash that’s part of the winter squash family, which also includes acorn, carnival, gold nugget, kabocha, autumn cup, buttercup, delicta, and spaghetti.

More Tasty Dishes Like This

Make this roasted butternut squash recipe and then come back for more roasty-toasty fall favorites like this Roasted Cauliflower Soup, these Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and these Oven Roasted Dill Potatoes.Looking for more? Try these favorites:

• Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
• Easy Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
• Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce