Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash – Easy, healthy, delicious vegan recipe for fall. Includes link to a detailed tutorial on how to peel and seed butternut squash.
One of my favorite things about autumn is the abundance of seasonal squash in the market. Butternut squash is a particular favorite in our family. It’s naturally sweet, low in calories, and full of vitamins A and C. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it. In this very simple recipe (which I included in my own Rosh Hashanah menu this year), I tossed butternut squash cubes with olive oil, maple syrup and seasonings to create a sweet, salty medley of flavors. The cinnamon and cayenne give it a little spicy kick– just enough to make it interesting. It may seem like a lot of squash, but when roasting the pieces tend to shrink up a bit. It’s so delicious, you’ll be glad you made the extra. If you’re only making dinner for two, you can easily halve the recipe if you wish, but I could honestly eat half the recipe by myself in one sitting. It’s that tasty.
You don’t need to pay a premium for pre-peeled and seeded butternut squash, though it certainly is convenient. It’s not that hard to prepare a butternut squash yourself. Check out my All About Butternut Squash tutorial for details and more recipe ideas. The post also talks a bit about the history of squash, because my inner food nerd loves to share these kinds of things.
This recipe is vegan, pareve, gluten free and really healthy. I’m thinking it might be a great addition to a Thanksgivukah holiday spread, too. Enjoy!
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Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded), about 3 lbs of peeled cubes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 pinches cayenne
Notes
InstructionsÂ
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you are breaking down a whole butternut squash for this recipe rather than buying the prepared, peeled cubes, you will need a large squash (or two smaller squashes) totaling about 3 lbs. 3 oz. in weight to produce the correct amount of peeled cubes. For details on how to prepare squash for roasting, see this post.
- Line 2 baking sheets with foil (optional-- protects baking sheet when the sugars caramelize so it won't be sticky/hard to clean). Spread out the cubes on the baking sheets.Drizzle the squash on each baking sheet of squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp maple syrup (2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp maple syrup total).
- Sprinkle each baking sheet evenly with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne (1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 pinches cayenne total).
- Toss the squash on the sheets with clean hands to coat evenly.
- Roast the sheets of squash for about 30 minutes, switching the baking sheets on their racks halfway through cooking, till the largest piece of squash is tender all the way through. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and turn on the broiler.
- Take turns placing each baking sheet under the broiler for 1-2 minutes longer to caramelize (the squash should be golden brown-- careful, it will brown very fast-- don't let it burn!). Serve warm.
Janet says
This is my favourite way to roast butternut squash! I do roast at a slightly lower temperature to avoid burning and found that at the lower temperature it was suitable for a soft minced dysphagia diet. Will this recipe work with frozen butternut squash and what adjustments should be made? Thank you.
mir says
I made this yesterday and it was delicious!
I sliced the squash to 1 ” pieces instead of cubing it and flipped it halfway through to caramelize both sides.
It was a hit at the party.
Thanks
Tori Avey says
Glad to hear it!
Rhonda Birenbaum says
Delicious!! I am making Tori’s roasted eggplant and the roasted root vegetables tomorrow!
Alison Dakin says
Hi Tori, I am not a vegan yet I am a vegetarian….my husband is neither. This is an awesome recipe. I added roasted walnuts for fun. Thanks and YUM!
Alison from Canada
Raymond Legg says
This recipe sounds amazing, I’m trying it out tonight! I do have a question that I hope you can help me with. Recently, my family(myself included) made a lifestyle change; we’ve gone “all natural/organic”, as well as started a diet based on calorie intake. So far, every cooking/recipe site I have visited has failed to tell me how much a “serving” is. Some sites(yours included) tell me how many total servings are in the dish (ie: 6 servings at 144 calories per), so with this information I can guesstimate. But I have yet to see one recipe that tells me “90 calories per serving, 1 serving = 1/2 cup”. Is there a general rule of thumb as to how much a “typical” serving is?
Tori Avey says
No there is not a rule. Calorie calculation is a newer feature for sites like mine, and I am working through my recipes to determine what an exact serving size is for all of my recipes. Understand that this requires me cooking the recipe again and measuring out an actual serving. With close to 1,000 recipes on my site, it takes some time. Those that have been updated will show serving size in the recipe notes.
Maggie Kennedy says
WOW that was Devine.
Deb Etzinger says
This is sooooo good. Easy to make and simply delicious. I’ll be making this again very soon!!