Butternut Squash – Veggie Challenge

There is something so delicious about butternut squash! I thought I’d share my simple way of preparing them.

Turn on the oven to 400 to preheat it.

Prepare the butternut squash:

I find that the skin peel is super hard on butternut squash. So the first thing I do is pierce the skin with three skewer holes and microwave for 2 minutes.

Put olive oil on a cookie sheet. Sometimes I put tinfoil down on the sheet first and then the olive oil. It’s up to you.

While this short microwave doesn’t really cook the squash, it softens up the thick skin enough that I can get a knife into them. I split them down the middle. Place face down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet to prevent sticking. I use olive oil.

Place the butternut squash face down. I usually leave the seeds in place for now. Set the timer for 40 minutes.

When the timer goes off, press a fork into them to see if they are super soft. Mine were just soft, so I cooked them for another 20 minutes, face down.

I flipped them over and removed the seeds. Now it is easy to peel the skin off of them.

Making something from the baked butternut squash:

If you’ve only cooked them until they are soft, it’s easier to cut pieces into chunks. Maybe remove some of the squash from the tray so they are just soft, not super soft, especially if you are using them in a recipe that is not soup.

By cooking the additional 20 minutes, these were fully roasted, very scoop-able and perfect for creating a soup.

I’m planning to make soup from the squash by putting it in my blender with some pumpkin spice seasoning, a little vanilla flavoring and some almond milk. But for now, I think I’ll have one just plain. Delicious.

This doesn’t really count for the #VeggieChallenge because I’ve made these many times since 2007. Up to that point I’d never buy these because I had no idea what to do with them. Now butternut squash is a food staple for me in the months of October and November.

How do you use butternut squash? Do you add it to salads, combine with other squashes or mash it like potatoes? Let me know by leaving a message below.

Happy Halloween and enjoy!