Simple recipe for a lightly spiced oven baked butternut squash to use multiple ways
I have a confession to make! I LOVE baked butternut squash. The first time I tried it was as a substitute for meat at a Sunday Roast. My mum had made it with a big dollop of butter in when cooking and just some salt and pepper and I’ve never once looked back. Years later and the butter has swapped for coconut oil and the salt has swapped for my own little blends of herbs and spices but I just find this such a versatile ingredient.
Baked butternut squash slices are a go-to of mine fore meal prepping because a single squash can feed you for four-six meals and can be cooked simply then added into so many other recipes ( which is what I do all the time!).
At the moment I don’t have a lot of examples but as my blog grows and grows I’m sure we’ll start to see 5, 10, 15, 20 etc etc ways with squash! Whoops!
This method of baking squash is my absolute favourite though and you can serve it with salad or chop it up into pasta and rice dishes, curry’s etc etc etc.
All you need to do is slice it up, oil and season it and then bake it in the oven. Simple!
Super Simple Oven Baked Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized butternut squash
- About 1/2 - 1 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- A blend of spices to your taste ( I use a blend of smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and a general purpose seasoning or salt)
Instructions
- The first thing you'll want to do is to wash and then chop the butternut squash. Be careful because they can be very tricky to cut so I like to use a sharp knife and cut of the top and bottom so that it can rest flat on my counter top and then carefully slice down the middle.
- At this point use a spoon to scoop out the pulpy flesh and seeds. ( these can be kept aside to roast separately, the same way you would pumpkin seeds!)
- At this point I'd preheat the oven to 180 degrees
- Then chop the 2 pieces in half again so that I have four portioned slices but you can keep it in half if you'd prefer.
- Before adding any seasonings I like to lightly rub my coconut oil over the pieces. I literally get the amount in my hands and rub them together till it melts lightly and then just rub over the pieces till lightly coated. Alternatively just brush some olive oil over them. ( I had a little extra olive oil left over from a previous recipe when creating this so I just used that)
- In terms of seasonings, it's really up to your personal preferences. I tend to do mine by eye and simply sprinkle a mix of garlic powder, onion power, smoked paprika, general purpose seasoning and a dash of cayenne.
- place on a lined baking sheet and pop into the oven for between 40-50 minutes. To test if they are ready simply stab with a knife. Cooking times can vary so you may need an extra ten minutes even sometimes.
Notes
- To help the squash to cook quicker I like to score the slices multiple times , to help the heat penetrate deeper.
- For an even creamier bake, in the last ten minutes of baking add a small dollop of butter ( Naturli vegan spread works great as a vegan option!) or you can simply omit the coconut oil altogether and use butter instead.
- Once baked you can keep the slices in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days and they can be reheated in the microwave.
Till next Time,
To pin for later!
