Roasted Butternut Squash (Gluten Free & Vegan)
This is not your regular roasted butternut squash. It’s sweet and savory with garlic and cinnamon to enhance the flavor even more.
Butternut squash may look intimidating in the grocery store, but it’s one of the easiest and most delicious vegetables to prepare. The health-promoting antioxidants that butternut squash provides have increased this vegetable’s popularity in recent years. If you’re looking for a delicious and easy side dish to accompany any weeknight entrée, my Roasted Butternut Squash recipe may be just the thing.
Roasted Butternut Squash with Something Extra
The mild goodness of butternut squash makes it the perfect canvas for that little something extra to wake up the palate. It pairs surprisingly well with more powerful flavors like ginger, chili powder, sage and even bitter vegetables such as mustard greens. The natural sweetness of butternut squash is a delicious complement to savory grilled or roasted meats, and it’s a fantastic compromise for families with kids who could use a few more vegetables on their plate. For more ideas on vegetable dishes that picky eaters will love, try my Cauliflower Gratin Recipe which features a lighter version of the creamy cheesy sauce everyone craves, but with the benefits of a high-fiber vegetable. As tasty as butternut squash is, a too-sweet side dish isn’t always the right match for your meal. In this recipe, the addition of garlic balances the dessert-like taste of squash creating loads of flavor depth everyone will enjoy.
Making Roasted Butternut Squash
This recipe is a mid-week meal dream. It takes about 10 minutes to prep and then the oven does all the work. Serve it with oven-baked chicken breasts or pork chops, or keep it super healthy and serve with high-protein quinoa and a pile of sautéed greens. Make enough for leftovers because my Roasted Butternut Squash is an energy-packed mid-afternoon snack, and it makes a tasty substitute for hashbrowns come Sunday breakfast.
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Roasted Butternut Squash
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side, Vegan, Gluten Free
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is not your regular roasted butternut squash. It’s sweet and savory with garlic and cinnamon to enhance the flavor even more.
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Peel butternut squash, discard seeds and cut into 2 inch cubes. Place in a mixing bowl.
- Add olive oil, sugar, garlic, cinnamon, a pinch of salt and pepper to the mixing bowl and toss until all spices are evenly distributed onto the squash cubes.
- Spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the seasoned butternut squash into the baking dish and arrange in a single layer.
- Place the baking dish on the lower rack of your oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Food.com
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 177
- Sugar: 7.5g
- Sodium: 1mg
- Fat: 8.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2g
- Carbohydrates: 28.4g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Protein: 2.3g
About the Author
Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and author of the Complete Sous Vide Cookbook. She believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she aims to make meal prep easier than ever and help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.
I was specifically looking for a recipe to use the butternut squash I had. It had to be simple though because I didn’t have any herbs or seasoning at home, other than salt, pepper and cinnamon. I just made it and it was so easy! Except cutting and peeling the butternut squash… always a struggle for me…
Instead of garlic I used an onion because I didn’t have garlic. I added one carrot because I needed to use it. Instead of 2 tbsp brown sugar I used 1 tbsp coconut sugar. I don’t like things too sweet/too salty so I am always careful on seasoning.
I am so pleased with the result that I might actually do it again soon even though I don’t like cutting and peeling the butternut squash! 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for sharing your cooking experience about this recipe. I am so glad to hear that you made it the way you like it. Loved the changes you did there. Happy cooking! Cheers ~
I love eating squash coz it has natural sweet and good in my mouth. Can I borrow your recipe and share to my Momma?
Of course! Hope your Momma likes it! 🙂
This is now my go-to recipe for butternut squash!
I’ve definitely been intimidated by butternut squash, but this makes it seem doable (and worth the effort!). I’ll have to give it a try!
Thanks Gina! You can totally do it! 🙂
Yum! I absolutely LOVE roasted butternut squash. One of my favorite garden harvests in the fall 😀
Where were you when I had a butternut squash and a dream last week?! 🙂 Will have to try this recipe next time.
Hahaha…I was making this recipe when you were dreaming. 😀
I love butternut squash! I usually make soup, but this looks like delicious. I am pinning so that I can make later. Thank you!
I would never have thought to substitute this for hash browns, but that’s a brilliant idea. I need to try this!
Yum, this looks so good! Roasted veggies are seriously the best!