Our 28 Best Butternut Squash Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated August 26, 2020
Credit: Johnny Miller
There are several seasonal ingredients we gravitate toward in the fall, including apples, pumpkins, cranberries, and, of course, 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 Parmesan. Read on for those dishes, as well as other butternut squash recipes we love.
Start Slideshow

1 of 28

Butternut Squash Casserole with Leeks, Prosciutto and Thyme

Credit: © Alexandra Rowley
Go to Recipe

This luscious squash-studded bread pudding is the ideal accompaniment to roasted meats and birds, or cut it into large squares and serve as a main course with a green salad on the side.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 28

Butternut Squash Glazed Tart

Go to Recipe

This simple tart requires just eight ingredients, including butternut squash, all-butter puff pastry, cream cheese, cinnamon, and apricot preserves. 

3 of 28

Winter Squash and Savoy Cabbage Gratin with Garlic Crema

Credit: Constantine Poulos
Go to Recipe

San Francisco chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR looks to cornstarch to thicken the creamy milk-based roasted garlic sauce here. It’s a rich but healthy combination of winter squash with cabbage, all topped with crunchy hazelnuts.

Advertisement

4 of 28

Winter Squash Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Credit: © Stephanie Meyer.
Go to Recipe

“This classic northern-Italian combo of sage-Parmesan-gnocchi-brown-butter is one of my top five desert-island dishes,” Andrew Zimmern writes.

5 of 28

Butternut-Squash-and-Sage Wontons

Credit: © Tina Rupp
Go to Recipe

"Wonton wrappers are terrific for making ravioli when you don't have time to make homemade pasta," says Jill Donenfeld. The wontons here, filled with mashed butternut squash and roasted garlic, get nicely crispy when sautéed in a touch of oil, but they're also delicious simply steamed.

6 of 28

Spice Roasted Butternut Squash

Credit: © <a data-cke-saved-href="http://mattbites.com/" href="http://mattbites.com/" class"="external">Matt Armendariz
Go to Recipe

Cumin, coriander and cayenne bring warmth and spice to this tender roasted squash.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 28

Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash

Go to Recipe

Chicken quarters roasted with golden squash and sage are nice for a chilly autumn evening. To help the squash to brown evenly, be sure to spoon off the fat from the roasting pan after removing the breasts.

8 of 28

Braised Pine Nuts with Butternut Squash

Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
Go to Recipe

In this risotto-like dish, the pressure cooker's intense heat penetrates the pine nuts' outer membranes and makes them soft inside.

9 of 28

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
Go to Recipe

Squash and sage are a classic—and delicious—combination.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 28

Mashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash

Credit: © Frances Janisch
Go to Recipe

For ultrafluffy potatoes, Grace Parisi presses them through a ricer. To achieve a similar texture, pass the potatoes through a food mill or a fine-mesh sieve. If you choose to mash them by hand, be gentle; otherwise, the potatoes will turn gluey.

11 of 28

Mushroom, Butternut Squash & Gruyère Tart

Credit: © Anson Smart
Go to Recipe

This sweet, savory, and cheesy tart is perfect for fall and winter.

12 of 28

Gingered Butternut Squash Soup with Spicy Pecan Cream

Credit: © John Kernick
Go to Recipe

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 whipped cream flecked with chopped pecans for a number of reasons: "Usually holiday soups have a dollop of cream—adding pecans gives it a dollop of flavor. And crunch. I think everything should have a little bit of crunch to it. "

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 28

Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Butternut Squash

Credit: © Tina Rupp
Go to Recipe

Sweet squash is the perfect counterpoint to spicy sausage in this warming winter pasta.

14 of 28

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cilantro Cream

Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
Go to Recipe

Cooling, cilantro-flecked sour cream brings tang to this sweet roasted squash.

15 of 28

Baked Butternut Squash and Cheese Polenta

Credit: Quentin Bacon
Go to Recipe

This crusty baked polenta is swirled with mashed butternut squash and smoked Gouda cheese.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 28

Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Pancetta

Credit: © Maura McEvoy
Go to Recipe

Feel free to swap any type of winter squash for the butternut used in this simple and satisfying risotto.

17 of 28

Butternut Squash–Polenta Gratin

Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
Go to Recipe

Sweet puréed squash comes together with nutty polenta in this warming gratin.

18 of 28

Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta

Go to Recipe

This creamy soup gets a jolt of texture from supercrispy pancetta.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 28

Roasted Winter Squash and Onion Turnovers

Go to Recipe

The filling for these turnovers also makes a terrific side dish on its own.

20 of 28

Vinegar-Glazed Butternut Squash Pasta Salad

Credit: Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
Go to Recipe

Laura Rege combines some of fall’s best flavors in this rustic whole-wheat pasta dish. For the best results, seek out a great-quality unrefined hazelnut oil, which imbues the whole dish with a lovely nuttiness.

21 of 28

Lentils with Butternut Squash and Merguez Sausage

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
Go to Recipe

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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 28

Lamb and Butternut Squash Tagine with Apricots

Credit: Victor Protasio
Go to Recipe

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.

23 of 28

Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan

Credit: Jennifer Causey
Go to Recipe

“The idea for this Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan occurred as I was making butternut squash schnitzel,” Raquel Pelzel writes. “Cut into planks, dipped in egg, dredged through panko, and fried, this was more or less the base layer for parm, except I used squash instead of eggplant (or chicken).”

24 of 28

Risotto Nero with Squash & Burrata

Credit: Chris Court
Go to Recipe

Nancy Oakes 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. 

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 28

Coconut Chickpeas with Winter Squash

Credit: Johnny Miller
Go to Recipe

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.

26 of 28

Roasted Butternut Squash with Curry Leaves

Credit: Greg DuPree
Go to Recipe

“A sprinkling of marash chile flakes and curry leaves with coconut oil add a bit of heat and an intoxicating fragrance,” Nik Sharma writes, “while the black mustard seeds add a hint of nuttiness.”

27 of 28

Golden Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash Puree

Credit: © Kate Winslow
Go to Recipe

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 here the halved squash is simply baked until soft, and then the flesh is scooped out.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

28 of 28

Curried Squash Galette

Credit: © David Malosh
Go to Recipe

With a superflaky 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 a perfect vegetarian meal; serve it with a green salad.

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

By Food & Wine