American Easy

Roasted Butternut Squash

Name: Roasted Butternut Squash
Prep time: PT15MINUTES
Cook time: PT30MINUTES
Total time: PT1HOUR
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lb butternut squash (halved lengthwise and seeded); 2 tbsp vegetable oil; to taste unit salt; to taste unit black pepper

Tender, caramelized halves with minimal effort

vegetarianvegangluten-freedairy-freesidebakedvegetable-forward

— (0 ratings)

⏱️ 1 hour 15 minutes prep · 30 minutes cook

🍽️ 4 Serves

140 Calories

2g Protein

20g Carbs

7g Fat

Why This Recipe Works

Roasting squash cut-side down traps steam against the baking sheet, ensuring the flesh becomes perfectly tender while the edges caramelize. This simple technique highlights the natural sweetness of the vegetable with almost no active work.

Instructions

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease the foil with half of the oil.

💡 The foil prevents the natural sugars in the squash from sticking and burning on the pan.

Brush the cut sides of the squash with the remaining oil and place them cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until a fork inserted into the center meets little resistance, about 30 to 50 minutes.

Remove the squash from the oven and flip them so the cut sides face up. If the pieces are large, cut them in half to yield four portions.

💡 Flipping them immediately allows steam to escape so the flesh stays firm rather than mushy.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.