Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

This simple squash recipe is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish to serve alongside the turkey. Guests will enjoy every bite as it's full of great seasonal flavor, but you'll love it more thanks to the simple prep required as well as how inexpensive it is to make a lot of this for a crowd.

Dress this side up however you'd like - perhaps with onion or the addition of nuts - but keep it simple! The natural flavors of this side deserve to shine.

Our recipe below will serve between 4 and 6 guests, but it's easy to boost these measurements to feed a larger gathering.

Ingredients

1 Whole Large Butternut Squash
1/4 Pounds Butter
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper
1 Pinch Salt
1 Pinch Pepper

Directions

With a vegetable peeler, peel each squash, then cut each in half length wise. Scoop out seeds from the center using a large tablespoon, and then cut each piece into 1-inch cubes. Place all the cubes into a deep bowl for tossing. Set aside.

Next, in the microwave, melt your butter and brown sugar. Start with one minute then work in 15 - 30 second intervals to combine the two ingredients until they come together and resemble a caramel mixture.

In the bowl of squash you set aside, toss the butter-brown sugar mixture with the vegetable cubes to coat evenly. Place the squash on a greased rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with the cayenne pepper, salt and ground black pepper. You can also mix these ingredients into the butter-sugar mix when you remove from the microwave, but in this way the flavors will be a bit bolder.

Roast the squash until it is fork tender. You'll want to check the squash at 30 minutes on 350 degrees, then for the last 10 to 15 minutes turn the heat up to 450 and bake until golden brown and fork done.

How to Serve

Hot

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Serves

4 - 6