Sweet Roasted Butternut Squash, spicy

This roasted butternut squash is both spicy and sweet and is 100% reliable! It’s a straightforward and lighter side dish that the whole family will love.

What stands out

• Fall Vibes: Squash is one of our favorite fall treats. We love it roasted and tossed on top of a salad or as a side dish. This version is a fun mix of sweet and spicy that evenly captures the flavors of fall. Roasted butternut squash goes evenly alongside pork tenderloin with apples and onions.
• Spicy Sweet: The combination of spicy and sweet is irresistible. We've put this squash in a farro salad with bacon and it’s unbelievable. (Also – if you like spicy sweet, you have to try these spiced pecans!)
• Great on a special day or a normal day: This would also be a great side dish for Thanksgiving if you’re looking to do something a little different. But it’s also great on an average weeknight.

Prepping Butternut Squash

Let’s be real here for a minute.

Peeling and dicing butternut squash may just be the worst kitchen task ever. It takes forever, your hands get that weird film on them, and you can consider yourself lucky if you finish the task with all ten fingers intact. (HINT: You can buy it already prepped from Costco!)

Cooking Tip

We have a full tutorial on how to cook butternut squash that includes step-by-step photos of how to peel and cut if you need some guidance!

Butternut Squash

A few more roasted butternut squash basics

• If you’re looking for a whole butternut squash recipe (for a mash or soup), you can easily cook butternut squash in the slow cooker!
• Learning how to roast squash is straightforward — you can learn some more basics here such as how to roast acorn squash and how to cook delicata squash, or how to cook kabocha squash.

• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• one large butternut squash
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Peel and cube butternut squash. (Disclaimer: we are not responsible for any personal injuries or anxiety attacks.)
2. Place butternut squash cubes onto a large, rimmed sheet tray.
3. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, syrup, cinnamon, cayenne and salt. Pour olive oil mixture over cubed squash and toss with your hands to coat. Spread out squash so that it is in an even layer.
4. Bake for 15-30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cooking time will depend on how crowded your squash is and how big your cubes are. You want the squash to be fork tender (stick a fork in and it comes right back out), but not mushy.
5. Enjoy as a side dish or on a leafy green salad.

Notes

The size of the squash will determine how many servings there are.