Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash
Not only is roasted butternut squash a perfect side dish, it's perfect to add to rice bowls or to top hearty salads. We enjoy it cold and often save some for the following day to add to salad for lunch. If you've got lots leftover, make soup. Throw leftover roasted squash into a blender with a splash or two of stock and blend. This recipe can be used for other varieties of winter squash. Simply substitute other winter squash varieties for butternut squash in our recipe below.
Not only is roasted butternut squash a perfect side dish, it's perfect to add to rice bowls or to top hearty salads. We enjoy it cold and often save some for the following day to add to salad for lunch. If you've got lots leftover, make soup. Throw leftover roasted squash into a blender with a splash or two of stock and blend. This recipe can be used for other varieties of winter squash. Simply substitute other winter squash varieties for butternut squash in our recipe below.
- Carbohydrate 13.7492925057839 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.69153000072367 g
- Fiber 0.172574995040894 g
- Protein 0.0294675000070759 g
- Saturated Fat 0.234131250099924 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (17g)
- Sodium 306.228650001666 mg
- Sugar 13.5767175107431 g
- Trans Fat 0.0475857500195972 g
- Calories 68 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F and line two large baking sheets with aluminum foil.
- Toss squash cubes with olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and the cayenne until well coated. Tumble coated squash onto baking sheets and spread into one layer. Try not to crowd them too much or else they will not brown.
- Bake squash, turning once and rotating pans once, until edges are lightly browned and centers are tender; 40 to 45 minutes. (Since ovens can often run hotter than you have heated them to, check the squash every so often to make sure they are not roasting quicker than expected).
Unlike a standard savory mash that relies entirely on butter and heavy cream for richness, this high-heat preparation uses sugar and spice to build flavor through direct caramelization. Setting the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit creates the necessary thermal transfer required to brown the natural sugars inside the flesh without turning the interior completely to mush. Spacing the one-inch cubes across two separate aluminum-foil-lined baking sheets prevents the pieces from overlapping and releasing moisture that causes steaming instead of roasting. When doubling this batch for a larger crowd, never crowd a single pan or the cubes will fail to develop those crucial caramelized edges.
Winter Squash Substitutions
Acodelta, kabocha, and sugar pumpkin make viable alternatives to butternut squash when utilizing this exact spice profile. Because denser varieties like kabocha contain less moisture, watch the oven closely after the thirty-minute mark to prevent the exterior from burning before the interior cooks through. Cutting substitute squashes into uniform one-inch pieces guarantees even cooking times across the entire pan.
- If the sugar begins smoking before the edges brown, reduce the oven temperature by twenty-five degrees.
- Rotate the baking pans halfway through the forty-to-forty-five-minute cooking window to compensate for hot spots in standard home ovens.
- Store leftover roasted squash in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days before repurposing it into blended soups or cold grain salads.
