Roasted butternut squash is a staple in our house, something we eat once a week during the Fall and Winter, whether as a side dish, thrown onto a salad, made into a soup or even added to a breakfast scramble, but this recipe is our all time favorite. Keenan actually requests this dish on a regular basis because as he says, “It’s yummies!” Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples and Walnuts is sweet with a hint of savory, and it pairs nicely with pork. It’s simple to prepare and super easy for a hectic weeknight dinner.
Being that my family is Diamond Walnut Grower, I love to add walnuts to this dish for added crunch, nuttiness and nutrition, but pecans would also be good. I love how the nuts become roasted with cinnamon, a little bit of brown sugar and butter!
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 2 gala or granny smith apples (cut into small chunks)
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts (roughly chopped)
- 2-3 Tbsp cinnamon (depending on how much you like cinnamon)
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- pinch of freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Add squash, apples and walnuts to a 9 X 13 glass baking dish.
- Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle throughout dish, on top of the squash mixture.
- Add cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Mix well until squash, apples and walnuts are thoroughly coated.
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take off foil after 30 minutes and bake for an additional 30-45 minutes (uncovered) until browned, and squash and apples are soft.
Notes
If you follow the Paleo diet, you can sub the butter for coconut oil and the brown sugar for coconut sugar. I've made it using both coconut oil and coconut sugar, and it turned out just as good.
Questions:
What is your favorite way to eat butternut squash?
Do you prefer sweet or savory side dishes?
Made this last night as one of the sides to go along with a pork loin and it was delicious. Thank you, I will be making it again. I made the paleo version with coconut oil and coconut sugar. Everyone enjoyed it. NOTE: There is a typo on your total time by 10 hours. My other sides were spinach strawberry salad and green beans. All paleo.