How to roast whole butternut squash for making soups, salads, casseroles and healthy side dishes. This method is so easy!

why roast a whole butternut squash?
Roasting a whole squash makes quick work of cooking a very large vegetable that is notoriously difficult to cut and peel.
Roasting the whole squash is not only easier, it’s preserves the nutrients and flavor much better than boiling.
Use this method for soups, casseroles, or any time you will be mashing or pureeing butternut squash.
You can also peel the skin off and chop the squash for other recipes.
how to roast a whole butternut squash, step by step
- Put your whole squash on a lined baking sheet. You can use parchment paper, foil, or a silicone mat. This simply helps with cleanup because the sugars in the squash will caramelize and stick to your pan as it roasts.
- Roast at 400F until you can pierce the thickest part with the tip of a knife and it slides in easily. Note that the thickest part of a butternut squash is the neck, not the ‘hollow’ bulb area.
- Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and stringy parts.
- Scoop out the flesh. The skin will also peel off easily at this point.
why we love this cooking method for winter squash
Basically, this method is the best for several reasons.
- It’s super easy, and there’s something so satisfying about thrusting a whole squash into the oven and closing the door ~ it’s a hands-off process that ignites our primal cooking instincts!
- Nutrition-wise this is the best method of cooking, there is minimal loss of nutrients.
- It’s safe! Cutting winter squash is actually a bit dangerous because it’s such a dense vegetable. This eliminates all the risk.
how to use your roasted butternut squash
One of my favorite ways to use cooked butternut squash is in my butternut squash casserole with an irresistible brown sugar streusel topping. I roast a ginormous squash so we’re sure to have leftovers.
butternut squash soup
We have to make this classic squash soup every year, at least once! It’s so silky and delicious.
whole roasted squash can be cubed, too
As long as you haven’t over-roasted your squash you can slice it into cubes for salads, etc., like this Kale and Butternut Salad with Maple Spiced Pecans.
more winter squash
- How to Cook Any Type Of Winter Squash
- Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti Squash
- How to Roast Squash Seeds ~ five ways!
- Chili Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Whipped Kabocha Squash with Vanilla Bean and Nutmeg
- Whole Roasted Kabocha Squash with Chipotle Butter
How to Roast Whole Butternut Squash
Equipment
- foil or parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb butternut squash
Instructions
- Sert oven to 400F
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. This is going to help a lot with cleanup, since the sugars in the squash are going to caramelize during roasting, and they are sticky!
- Put the squash on the pan and put in the oven. No worries if the oven isn't fully preheated, that's fine.
- The roasting time will vary according to how large and heavy your squash is. A small to medium squash put into a cold oven should be checked at 40 minutes. If the tip of a sharp knife doesn't slide into the thickest part of the squash easily, then keep roasting and testing.
- Slice the roasted squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. You can scoop out the flesh, or flip the halves over and peel off the skin, which should remove easily.
- Your squash is ready to use in your recipe of choice.