Learn how to bake tender flavorful butternut squash halves in the oven the easy way! Whether you want to season your baked butternut squash with savory or sweet toppings, it's a Whole Lotta Yum!
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You will love this Butternut Squash Oven Recipe
Baked butternut squash halves in the oven is a sweet, tender, and healthy dish that's perfect for fall. Its rich, nutty taste goes great with a variety of seasonings, whether you want to make it a savory or sweet version!
- Perfect Texture: Say goodbye to mushy squash; our method ensures a delightful, fork-tender result every time.
- Learn our squash slicing hack! Cutting the raw squash is always the hardest part, learn our simple hack for making this step easier!
- Easy to Follow instructions and tips!
- Versatile: Our recipe gives you both sweet or savory seasoning ideas
- Super healthy!
This is literally the best roasted butternut squash recipe! Learn how to make it perfectly the very first time and customize it with a variety of flavors.
It's also totally delicious roasted and then turned into our butternut squash soup with curry and coconut or pureed with butter and cream to make mashed butternut squash.
Baked Butternut Squash Ingredients
Baking squash halves in the oven just requires the squash and simple basic seasonings you probably have on hand.
We show you how to make roasted butternut squash simple with just butter (or oil), salt, and pepper, you can try our sweet version with a touch of maple and balsamic, or savory with garlic and herbs added!
The recipe calls for a total of 4 tablespoon of butter and olive oil. It is totally fine to cut this back in half or even more! We make the full-fat recipe when we're craving indulgent fall comfort food or for holidays, but come January, we might be adding all of the seasonings but just using a drizzle of oil!
- butternut squash
- butter
- olive oil extra virgin
- fine sea salt
- coarse ground black pepper
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Supplies You'll Need
- Rimmed baking pan like a large sheet pan or a 9x13 pan
How to Cook Butternut Squash in the Oven
There's just a couple of basic steps to cook butternut squash in the oven! You remove the seeds and membrane, cut it into halves, cubes, or slices, season the squash and bake.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2: Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the inside.
Step 3: Lay the squash on a baking sheet and spread the squash halves with softened butter and a drizzle of olive oil.
Step 4: Sprinkle the top of each half with the salt and pepper.
Step 5: Place 1 tablespoon of butter inside each squash cavity. You can skip this for a lighter dish!
Step 6: Roast for 45-60 minutes, or until the squash flesh can easily be pierced with a fork. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the squash you're using.
Recipe Tips
- Butternut squash vary greatly in weight, length, and width. You can either buy one large squash to share with multiple people or you can buy multiple smaller ones.
- Slicing the raw squash halves is often the hardest part! A quick tip to make this easier is to first microwave your squash whole for 2-3 minutes to soften up the exterior. This makes it much easier to cut! Proceed with the rest of the recipe.
How to Serve This Baked Butter Nut Squash Recipe
Whether you're serving our baked butternut squash recipe as a side dish as written in the recipe, or using it in another recipe like to make a warm fall salad or pureed for a soup, you'll love these creative uses for cooked squash or leftovers.
- Serve it as a side dish with roasted, air fried or grilled meats such as chicken, pork or beef. Some of our favorite pairings are with:
- Purée: Use the baked butternut squash in squash soup, to make baby food (make it without oil) or use it as a base for pasta sauce like combining it with Alfredo sauce.
- Salads: Add it warm to a salad like we did with our roasted beet salad or make a grain bowl like our vegan Mediterranean bowl.
- Side dish: Make mashed or pureed butternut squash with butter, cream, and seasonings to serve as a side dish.
- Main Dishes: Add to a casserole of use them in tacos or burritos
- Pasta Dishes: make a ravioli filling
- Breakfast: Puree the squash and use it in protein pancakes or smoothies.
How to Store Baked Butternut Squash
- Store: Let the roasted butternut squash cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- How to Freeze Butternut Squash: Let the baked squash cool completely to room temp. Place cooled squash pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until solid (about 1-2 hours). This prevents the pieces from sticking together. Once frozen, transfer the squash pieces to freezer-safe bags or containers, removing as much air as possible.
- Reheating Butternut Squash: You can microwave the leftover roasted butternut squash recipe on medium meat for 2-3 minutes. To reheat in the oven, preheat your oven to 350 F. Place defrosted squash on the baking sheet and bake it for 15-20+ minutes or until it's heated through, flipping after halfway. how long to reheat it depends on whether you're cooking squash halves, slices, or cubes.
Butternut Squash Oven FAQ's
You can actually roast butternut squash both with the skin or without it. Leaving the skin on makes the prep work easier and the skin can become tender enough to eat when roasted. Yes, it's edible!
If you prefer, you can peel the squash before roasting, especially if you're baking squash cubes or slices, or you can just scoop out the flesh once it's cooked to puree it for other recipes.
Overcrowding the pan: This can cause the squash to steam rather than roast. Make sure the squash pieces are in a single layer with some space between them.
Too much oil or liquid: Use just enough oil to lightly coat the squash pieces. Excess moisture can prevent proper caramelization.
Oven temperature is too low: Roasting at a higher temperature (around 400°F or 205°C) helps to evaporate moisture quickly and caramelizes the squash.
The squash was particularly moist: Some squashes have more moisture than others. If you suspect this is the case, you can try patting the cut squash with paper towels before roasting.
The roasted butternut squash is done when it has turned a golden brown color and is fork-tender. This means that when you insert a fork or knife into a piece of the squash, it should go in easily without any resistance. The roasting time can vary based on the size of your squash pieces, but typically takes between 25-40 minutes at 400°F (205°C).
More Squash Recipes
If you loved our roast butternut squash recipe you'll love our other squash recipes too!
- Honey roasted carnival squash
- Maple roasted butternut squash and Brussel sprouts
- Air fryer spaghetti squash
- Acorn squash in the microwave
- Pressure cooker spaghetti squash
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📖 Recipe
Butternut Squash (Baked in the Oven)
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- ½+ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Sweet Option
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon balsamic syrup
- sprinkle of cinnamon
Savory Option
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the inside.
- Lay the squash on a baking sheet and spread the squash halves with softened butter and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Sprinkle the top of each half with the salt and pepper.
- Place 1 tablespoon of butter inside each squash cavity. You can skip this for a lighter dish!
- Roast for 45-60 minutes, or until the squash flesh can easily be pierced with a fork. The baking time will very depending on the size of the squash you're using.
Sweet Option
- To make butternut squash flavored with maple (or honey) and balsamic, combine the maple and balsamic glaze together and drizzle it on the squash in the last 15 minutes of baking. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the squash too and finish baking the squash until it's fork tender.
Savory Option
- Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and dried garlic on the squash when you add the salt and pepper.
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