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    $5 Dinners | Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals

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    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    September 17, 2009 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 33 Comments

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    Are you intimidated by the butternut squash you see in the produce section? But intrigued at how cheap they are in the fall and winter months?!

    Let me help you learn how to make butternut squash.

    I’m seeing glimpses of fall all around us.

    Red and orange leaves on our neighbors tree.

    Cool mornings.

    Acorn bits all over our yard. 

    Fatter squirrels.

    And pumpkins and mums on the grocery store front patio.

    And I’m having visions of butternut squash on our table in the next few months!

    We all LOVE butternut squash…and this is my favorite way to prepare it. 

    Topped with a little brown sugar and butter, if you like.

    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    How to Serve Butternut Squash 

    Butternut squash makes for a fantastic side dish…

    Steam-baked and mashed. 

    Cubed and roasted. 

    Spiralized and sauteed. 

    It’s a great complement to many meals and it’s low-carb to boot. 

    ALSO.

    This steamed and mashed version makes a great baby food…as is for an older baby, or pureed with a bit of water for younger baby!

    How to Select Butternut Squash

    Look for a squash with no marks on its skin, no soft spots, and it should feel “heavier than it looks.” 

    They range in size, so choose one that will work for your family. 

    Any extra squash can be used in homemade macaroni and cheese or for baking!

    You can freeze cooked or raw squash, if you don’t use it all in just a single meal/recipe.

    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    My favorite way to cook butternut squash is to “steam-bake” it to perfection.

    This requires a hefty knife and cutting board to lop off the stem, and cut it length wise. It’s almost a “machete” style cut to get it through the middle of the squash. 

    Take your time and be careful cutting it! 

    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    Once it is cut in half lengthwise, you can lay it flat into the base of a rectangular baking dish.

    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    Add about 1/4-inch of water and then tightly add foil over the top.

    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    Bake in the oven as directed below and it will “steam-bake” to perfection. 

    You can scoop out the seeds after cooking, then mash and flavor to taste.

    Simple, nutritious and delicious!

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    How to Bake Butternut Squash

    This homemade steam baked butternut squash is perfect for side dish and baby food purees.
    Prep Time10 minutes
    Cook Time1 hour
    Servings - 4 servings

    Ingredients 

    • 1 large butternut squash
    • water
    • 2 Tbsp brown sugar optional
    • 2 Tbsp butter optional

    Instructions

    • Cut off the stem on top of the butternut squash and then slice in half lengthwise.
    • Place in 9×13-inch glass baking dish with 1/4 inch of water in the base of the dish.
    • Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
    • Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Scoop out seeds and discard. Scoop out flesh into serving bowl.
    • Serve mashed butternut squash as is, or add a little brown sugar and butter to sweeten it up.

     

    See more $5 Dinners Cooking Tutorials here

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    Filed Under: How To Cook, Side Dish Recipes Tagged With: butternut squash, Cooking Tutorial Techniques

    Comments

    1. jan says

      September 17, 2009 at 10:34 am

      easy way to cut. I cut off the long end and cut that in half, then cut the short round part like an easy acorn squash without ridges. Hope this helps someone else who’s ‘knife-challenged.’

      Reply
    2. donna says

      September 17, 2009 at 11:28 am

      How do you select them and what do they taste like?

      Reply
      • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

        September 17, 2009 at 12:24 pm

        Tastes like squash…I don’t know how else to describe the taste! A bit of brown sugar helps the taste too. You want the squash to feel heavy, to have no soft spots or marks on the skin.

        Reply
        • Bobbie says

          October 30, 2009 at 11:31 am

          @Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom,
          I’ve always compared it to a “grainy” sweet potato when made with brown sugar or maple syrup. Little bit more bitter than a sweet potato though

          Reply
      • Kayla says

        November 16, 2009 at 1:31 pm

        @donna,

        You should select a squash with a long neck. This means it was vine-ripened longer. It also gives you more meat (the seeds are in the bulbous bottom, so you want the long, skinny ones!)

        Reply
    3. lauren says

      September 17, 2009 at 11:31 am

      I’ve been looking for a recipe to do this! I need one confirmation though, the squash goes face up in the baking dish, right?

      Reply
      • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

        September 17, 2009 at 12:22 pm

        I put it face down.

        Reply
    4. Becky H says

      September 17, 2009 at 12:38 pm

      I can’t wait for squash! I bake it this way too. My son loved this when I made baby food. Also, some cinnamon is good with this as well. 🙂 Thanks Erin!

      Reply
    5. Shandra says

      September 17, 2009 at 2:24 pm

      does it taste simular to yellow crookneck summer squash?

      Reply
      • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

        September 17, 2009 at 5:17 pm

        Not really. It has an entirely different texture…and taste too. All I can say is just give it a try!!!

        Reply
    6. Donna W says

      September 17, 2009 at 3:09 pm

      I planted three hills of squash in my garden this year. I’ve given away literally dozens, and I still have dozens of them left. You can do anything with squash that you do with pumpkin; my husband thinks butternut squash pie is better than pumpkin pie. I found the recipe for butternut squash soup on the Internet, and that’s a hit around here also.

      I remove the seeds of the squash that will fit in my microwave, and they cook fast that way.

      Reply
    7. B. Keefer says

      September 17, 2009 at 4:07 pm

      I love acorn squash. Love the smell of it cooking in the oven. A touch of brown sugar (Splenda brown sugar sub works just as well) and butter is a must! The butter really adds flavor. Mmm. I can’t wait.

      Reply
    8. Anne Weir says

      September 17, 2009 at 4:21 pm

      This is a much more efficient method of cooking butternut squash — or any hardshelled squash. Attempting to peel a squash is madness. Ungainly, awkward, and dangerous. Good for you to get the word out.

      Reply
    9. Will Travel by Foot says

      September 17, 2009 at 4:51 pm

      Mmmmmm – I love butternut squash! I’ve made it the same way, but I also like to peel it and dice it up to roast in the oven. Earlier this year I made a butternut ravioli with sage cream sauce that was delicious!

      Reply
    10. ginny says

      September 17, 2009 at 5:17 pm

      If you have a nesco you could cook a lot of butternuts at once,Clean out of skin, mash and put in freezer bags, freeze and enjoy all year round.

      Reply
    11. Amy L says

      September 17, 2009 at 9:03 pm

      Any chance you have a yummy, healthy and semi frugal butternut squash recipe?
      I REALLY like that kind in the carton but for $3 when I eat it all at once usually its just not a good option. 🙂

      Reply
    12. Kimber says

      September 18, 2009 at 9:02 am

      I love acorn & butternut!!!!! I slice them in half, scoop out all the seeds and rinse them. Then I will do one of 2 things. 1. stab the inside with a forks a few time and then add a dab of butter. Then add salt, pepper & garlic & herb seasoning to taste. Then bake them in a pan covered with foil for 30 or so mins depending on size until soft at about 350 degrees. 2. cut in half clean then out and stuff then with a chicken rice stuffing I make out of rice-a-roni and sausage and bake until soft about 30 to 40 mins, yummy! Oh I also cut it up and bake it in a garlic & herb mixture, yummy also!!!
      I do not like the sugar in my healthy squash!!!!

      Reply
    13. Patti D says

      September 18, 2009 at 12:07 pm

      Ok, now I would like some of these recipes!
      The chicken rice stuffing, the butternut ravioli and sage sauce; the butternut pie; Any and all welcome!
      My question is what is the best way to freeze them?

      Reply
    14. Treva says

      September 18, 2009 at 9:13 pm

      I normally stab mine a few times and just throw the whole thing into the oven for 30-45 minutes. It softens up and makes it much easier to cut in half. If it still needs some bake time I will put it in a dish (I use stoneware) with water and finish it off. I, too, like mine with just brown sugar — YUMMY!!!

      The best part about squash is that right now it’s 69 cents/pound at my Kroger in Indiana. Wait a bit longer and it’ll be cheaper than that. You can get a lot of yummy goodness from 1 squash and very little $$.

      Reply
    15. Diane says

      September 20, 2009 at 7:01 am

      I cook butternut squash in the pressure cooker when time is short; it takes about 15 minutes start to finish. On days when the sun is shining, I cook it in my solar oven; not sure about the minimum time. I leave it out there for about 6 hours. It’s very good this way. One more thing, the butternut squash that I grow in the garden will store in a cool closet all winter. Yours should too if the squash is bought fresh.

      Reply
    16. Robin says

      September 20, 2009 at 10:48 am

      I agree with Patti D! Please link to some of these recipes! We’re getting tired of the same old & my boy friend just had a tooth removed so squash would be absolutely perfect!

      Reply
    17. amy burger says

      September 20, 2009 at 3:47 pm

      Does anyone know if cubed and roasted squash holds up in the freezer? I like to roast cubed squash w/ onion, olive oil , salt and pepper and then serve it with pasta. I was wondering what the texture was like if you froze it.

      Reply
    18. Leah Adamowicz says

      September 21, 2009 at 8:54 pm

      Thanks Erin for posting this! I had butternut squash spring up in an old compost pile this year and produced 7 beautiful squash. I used a store bought one last year to make a butternut squash casserole (as a replacement for sweet potato- which is what I think it tastes like but a more creamy texture!) at the Thanksgiving Day dinner table… Well those seeds took root and I had a wonderful surprise in the garden this past spring! I didn’t want to go through the fuss of peeling dicing and mashing like last time. We will be noshing on a baked one like this for dinner tomorrow! Thanks again!

      Reply
    19. Tasha (Steps to Simple Living) says

      November 13, 2009 at 6:41 pm

      I had never purchased butternut squash since I did not know how to cook it in a healthy way. My husband I tried your recipe tonight and LOVED it!
      5point yum factor from us both. We did add a little butter but was just as good without.
      Thank you so much for sharing this.
      Tasha

      Reply
    20. Andrea T says

      September 20, 2010 at 1:13 pm

      Eat the skin of baked and roasted butternt squash as well as the seeds ! Scrumptous ~~

      Reply
    21. Kathy Schell says

      April 9, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      I found out about your cookbooks by looking on the internet on how to cook butternut squash. I would like to know how much your cookbooks are and what kinds of books do you offer, and how much are they. I collect cookbooks.

      Reply
    22. Charlotte says

      June 13, 2012 at 1:11 pm

      I planted butternut squash by mistake this year. Enjoyed your suggestions on how to cook and store. My plants are healthy and are producing a large quanity. We’ve never eaten it be-
      fore. Thanks for the tips.

      Reply
    23. Dee Johnson says

      January 31, 2013 at 12:20 am

      R Greene (or anyone else who can answer my question), I have wanted to do this, but was concerned I couldn’t roast the seeds if I already cooked them. Can the seeds still be roasted after the squash is cooked this way? Thanks!

      Reply
    24. Lisa says

      February 27, 2013 at 4:25 pm

      Love butternut squash in many ways! Just this week I baked some and made a Butternut Thai Curry Soup and I pureed some to make some Butternut Squash Sandwich Bread- so good!

      Reply
    25. Brad says

      July 22, 2018 at 8:11 pm

      Sounds great. I’m going to try it this way tonight.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Chili with Winter Vegetables | Recipes | One Dish Dinners says:
      December 11, 2011 at 4:23 pm

      […] How to Bake a Butternut Squash […]

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      November 4, 2012 at 5:11 pm

      […] How to Bake Butternut Squash. […]

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    3. Butternut Squash Waffles says:
      November 14, 2013 at 10:19 am

      […] get the puree, I use this method from 5 Dollar Dinners, where I cut the squash in half and place it in a glass dish flesh side down with about an inch of […]

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    I’m Erin Chase…

    Also known as the
    $5 Dinner Mom.

    I have a little problem. I cannot make a meal that costs more than $5.
    It’s a fun challenge,
    and my pocketbook
    thanks me.
    Want to join me?

    Learn more here!

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