Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to peel a butternut squash before roasting? ›

You don't have to peel it before roasting. That's right. You do not have to suffer through peeling an entire slippery butternut squash if you're going to roast it. The skin is perfectly safe to eat, and it's hardly noticeable after a nice roast in a hot oven.

How does Gordon Ramsay cook butternut squash? He first tosses the butternut squash in oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper and then cooks it in the oven at 400°F for about 25 minutes.

Method. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Wash and dry the whole squash, then place on a baking tray. Pierce once or twice with the tip of a sharp knife, then bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until golden and very soft.

Squashes behave very differently when cooked in the oven or on the stovetop. Generally, a squash that is roasted in the oven is going to have a much softer texture, one that can get mushy if mixed with other ingredients, but making it ideal for a purée, soup, or being mashed.

Food Safety and Storage

Scrub winter squash with a vegetable brush under cool running water before cooking or cutting. Do not use soap. Do not wash squash before storing. Keep squash away from raw meat and meat juices to prevent cross-contamination.

As the veggies hit the boiling water, volatile acids are released into the water and are carried away in the steam. When the pot is covered, the steam and the acids it contains are forced back into the water. Once there, the acids react with the chlorophyll in the vegetables, turning them an unsightly shade of brown.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Halve the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh nutmeg and roast until just tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Most recipes say to either bake or roast butternut squash—but what's the difference? While both cooking methods will turn the tough, raw gourd into a soft, sweet ingredient, roasting butternut squash is the more common process for achieving browned, crispy edges and a creamy interior.

How do you know when butternut squash is done roasting? ›

Butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes, should be perfectly roasted after about 25 to 35 minutes in an oven heated to 400 degrees F. When it's done, the squash should be lightly browned and easily pierced with a fork.

The key to avoiding watery butternut squash is to roast it rather than steam it. Steaming butternut squash causes the vegetable to absorb more water and doesn't impart much flavor. Roasting the squash prevents this and caramelizes the vegetable's natural sugars, adding another layer of flavor to your dish.

While butternut squash skin is edible and it can even turn nice and crisp when roasted, many people prefer to peel it first so it's easier to eat. Butternut squash skin is smooth and thin and the best way to peel it is by using a sharp vegetable peeler.

The most likely cause for a bitter taste in squash is due to an environmental stress of some sort, most likely a wide temperature flux or irregular irrigation. Either of these will create an excess of cucurbitacins to concentrate in the fruit.

Butternut squash is delicious and packed with vitamins. Choose firm squash that feel heavy for their size. You don't even need to remove the skin; just make sure you wash it well as it goes soft when cooking.

Some squash skin is edible, while other types of squash have tough skin that can be removed before cooking. Remove the skin of butternut, hubbard, buttercup, and turban squash. If you enjoy the taste, leave the skin on acorn, spaghetti, kabocha, and zucchini squash.

Peel with a vegetable peeler: Holding the squash in one hand, use a sharp vegetable peeler in the other hand to peel off the outer layer of the squash. You can also secure the squash standing upright and peel it in downward strokes with the peeler.

And the good news is that you don't even have to cut into a butternut squash to tell if it's ready to eat or not. You can tell if your butternut squash is ripe by the color and texture of the outer rind. If there are any green spots, it's definitely not ready to cook.