Vegetables Squash + Gourds Butternut Squash Our 26 Best Butternut Squash Recipes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on July 23, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree There are several seasonal ingredients we gravitate toward in the fall, including apples, pumpkins, cranberries, and the star of this recipe collection, butternut squash. Soft and creamy when cooked, with the ability to taste sweet or savory depending on the preparation, it's a versatile food we keep coming back to. You can add it to macaroni and cheese, make it into soup, and even use it to create a version of chicken-less Parmesan. Read on for those dishes, as well as other butternut squash recipes we love. 01 of 26 Butternut Squash Casserole with Leeks, Prosciutto, and Thyme © Alexandra Rowley This luscious squash-studded savory bread pudding is the ideal accompaniment to roasted meats and poultry. You can also cut it into large squares and serve it as a main course with a green salad on the side. Get the Recipe 02 of 26 Winter Squash Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage © Stephanie Meyer. "This classic northern Italian combo of sage, Parmesan, gnocchi, and brown butter is one of my top five desert-island dishes," chef Andrew Zimmern writes. For ease of preparation, the uncooked gnocchi can be made up to a month ahead and frozen. Get the Recipe 03 of 26 Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash © <a data-cke-saved-href="http://mattbites.com/" href="http://mattbites.com/" class"="external">Matt Armendariz Cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper bring warmth and spice to this simple, tender roasted squash dish. Get the Recipe 04 of 26 Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash © ANDREW PURCELL Chicken quarters roasted with golden squash and sage are nice for a chilly autumn evening. To help the squash brown evenly, be sure to spoon off the fat from the roasting pan after removing the breasts. The butternut squash can be swapped out for your favorite winter squash. Get the Recipe 05 of 26 Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage © Fredrika Stjärne This five-ingredient dish could not be easier to make. The classic, delicious combination of squash and sage is tossed in olive oil and simply seasoned before it's roasted to lightly browned perfection. Get the Recipe 06 of 26 Mashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash © Frances Janisch This dish calls for equal parts Yukon Gold potatoes and butternut squash, fabulously enriched with half-and-half and butter. The key to an ultra-fluffy texture is to use a ricer, but you can also pass the potatoes through a food mill or fine-mesh sieve, or very gently mash by hand. Get the Recipe 07 of 26 Mushroom, Butternut Squash, and Gruyère Tart © Anson Smart This sweet, savory, and cheesy tart is perfect for fall and winter. Baked squash is combined with sautéed mixed mushrooms and shallots, then tossed in a creamy blend of crème fraîche, egg yolks, and Gruyère before it's baked on a puff pastry crust. Get the Recipe 08 of 26 Gingered Butternut Squash Soup with Spicy Pecan Cream © John Kernick Chef Dean Fearing loves the holiday feel of butternut squash, especially when it's combined with ginger, as it is for his smooth, gently sweet soup. He tops it with lightly spiced whipped cream flecked with chopped pecans for contrast, flavor, and some all-important crunch. "I think everything should have a little bit of crunch to it," he says. Get the Recipe 09 of 26 Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Butternut Squash © Tina Rupp Sweet butternut squash is the perfect counterpoint to spicy hot Italian sausage in this warming winter pasta. Get the Recipe 10 of 26 Baked Butternut Squash and Cheese Polenta Quentin Bacon This crusty baked polenta is swirled with mashed butternut squash, onion, pine nuts, and smoked Gouda cheese. It's excellent served with sautéed mushrooms, braised greens, or tomato sauce. Get the Recipe 11 of 26 Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Pancetta © Maura McEvoy Feel free to exchange bacon for pancetta and any type of winter squash for the butternut used in this simple and satisfying risotto. Get the Recipe 12 of 26 Butternut Squash-Polenta Gratin © Lucy Schaeffer Sweet puréed squash comes together with nutty polenta in this warming gratin. The dish can be assembled without its topping and refrigerated up to five days in advance before baking. Get the Recipe 13 of 26 Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta © JOHN KERNICK In this recipe, butternut squash is first buttered, seasoned, and roasted with pancetta slices draped over the top to infuse flavor. The finished soup is pureed until creamy smooth and served with the crispy crumbled pancetta for textural contrast. Get the Recipe 14 of 26 Lentils with Butternut Squash and Merguez Sausage © Fredrika Stjärne This dish from chef Mourad Lahlou of Aziza in San Francisco comes together in four steps, and since the sausage is cooked separately, it's a meal you can serve to both vegetarians and meat-eaters at the same time. Get the Recipe 15 of 26 Lamb and Butternut Squash Tagine with Apricots Victor Protasio Savory lamb, salty olives, and ras el hanout (a North African spice blend of coriander, cumin, and a range of warm spices) are balanced by sweet butternut squash, apricots, and a touch of honey. Get the Recipe 16 of 26 Risotto Nero with Squash and Burrata Chris Court Chef Nancy Oakes of San Fransisco's Boulevard makes this gorgeous risotto with Venere black rice, a naturally black short-grain rice. The glossy grains are especially striking served with the golden butternut squash puree and creamy white burrata. Get the Recipe 17 of 26 Coconut Chickpeas with Winter Squash Johnny Miller Starchy, slightly sweet plantains are a natural addition to winter squash. Here, New York chef JJ Johnson simmers both, along with canned chickpeas, in coconut milk that's been steeped with aromatics. The result is creamy, fragrant, and so comforting. Get the Recipe 18 of 26 Roasted Butternut Squash with Curry Leaves Greg DuPree "A sprinkling of marash chile flakes and curry leaves with coconut oil add a bit of heat and an intoxicating fragrance," says cookbook author Nik Sharma about this delicious side dish, "while the black mustard seeds add a hint of nuttiness." If you can't find marash chile flakes, Aleppo pepper can be substituted. Get the Recipe 19 of 26 Golden Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash Puree © Kate Winslow The neck of the butternut squash is easy to peel and cube, making it perfect for easy pasta dishes. This recipe is a great way to use up that pesky bottom half as well — the halved squash is simply baked until soft, and then the flesh is scooped out and mashed so it can be used in the sauce. Get the Recipe 20 of 26 Curried Squash Galette © David Malosh With a super-flaky crust (the secret: frozen grated butter) and a lightly spiced sweet-savory winter squash filling, this rustic galette from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple makes for a perfect vegetarian meal. Get the Recipe 21 of 26 Butternut Squash and Pork Soup with Fish Sauce and Tender Herbs Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In Vietnam, kabocha squash is simmered with pork to make a soup called canh bi do thit heo. This riff on that classic dish swaps in mild butternut, which holds its shape well and absorbs the rich flavors of the broth and pork while cooking quickly. Get the Recipe 22 of 26 Roasted Butternut Squash with Chorizo-Spiced Kale Photo by David Malosh / Prop Styling by Amy Wilson / Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero With its earthy sweetness and dense texture, butternut squash makes a hearty vegetable steak. At Chaval in Portland, Maine, chef Damian Sansonetti highlights its complexity with his chorizo spice mix; he blooms the blend of cumin, Pimentón, and coriander in oil to release their aroma. Get the Recipe 23 of 26 Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan Jennifer Causey To make this fantastic vegetarian Parmesan, cookbook author Raquel Pelzel first roasts seasoned half-moons of squash. The squash gets layered with marinara and three cheeses, then baked until it's tender and golden. To finish, Pelzel sprinkles the dish with crisp homemade breadcrumbs. Get the Recipe 24 of 26 Winter Squash with Savoy Cabbage Gratin and Garlic Crema Constantine Poulos San Francisco chef Matthew Accarrino looks to cornstarch to thicken the creamy milk-based roasted garlic sauce here. It's a rich but nutritious combination of winter squash with cabbage, all topped with crunchy hazelnuts. Get the Recipe 25 of 26 Squash Gratin with Poblanos and Cream © Con Poulos Los Angeles chef Julie Robles makes this cheesy vegetarian gratin in individual dishes with a topping of candied pumpkin seeds. Our simplified version here is for one big gratin garnished with plain toasted pumpkin seeds. Get the Recipe 26 of 26 Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash with Herbed Millet and Tahini Dressing © Emma Galloway This is the perfect make-ahead meal or dish to take along to a gathering. The squash and tahini sauce can be made a day ahead, while the millet will store happily for a couple of hours. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! 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