Fresh Baked Butternut Squash - A Pictorial How To
By PegCole17
When the weather cools down and fall is in the air, the winter squash start showing up in the produce section of the grocery store. I'll admit, there are some raw vegetables that make me stare and wonder what exactly they are. That's how I felt about fresh Butternut Squash until a few weeks ago.
I've been making Butternut Squash Pie since the 1970s with a recipe that calls for the frozen kind of squash. When I found canned butternut squash, I adapted the recipe for when I couldn't get the frozen kind.
But to actually bake a fresh squash. . . that was still ahead of me. Last week, I finally gathered up my courage and picked up a nice looking Butternut Squash and when I got the thing home and got over my own surprise at having done this, I went searching for a method to properly bake it.
Out of my old cookbooks from the 40s, 50s and 60s, before microwaving and fancy tools came into style, I adapted a recipe for baking Acorn squash that seems to work just fine.
No kidding, I was amazed at how easy it really was to do and have vowed to use only fresh butternut squash whenever I can find it. Here is how to bake it:
First, line a baking pan (13 x 9") with aluminum foil for easy cleanup later.
Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Wash the squash thoroughly and dry it. You don't know where it's been, in the dirt, on the floor or in a truck under a big pile of unwashed vegetables.
Using a cutting board and a sharp knife, carefully cut the stem off the squash.
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Next, carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise. For best results, use a serrated knife and start at the bulbous end. It is difficult to make both sides exactly even as the texture of the vegetable is very tough when raw.
Much like you would with a canteloupe or melon, scoop out the seed pockets with a spoon and set the seeds aside. These can be washed and saved for planting or baked and eaten.
Drop the seeds into a small bowl with a little water and the membrane will wash off and drop to the bowl bottom and the seeds will float. Dry them on a paper towel.
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Now spray the baking pan with a little Pam or lightly grease the foil with a little Crisco shortening.
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a microwaveable dish for 10 seconds and brush the cut surfaces of the squash with the butter.
In a small bowl, combine
1 T Granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered squash and place them on the baking pan cut side up.
Place 1 T Brown sugar in the bowl of each squash half
Add one cup of water and cover the baking pan with a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake the squash for around 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove the foil cover and bake uncovered for another 15 to 30 minutes or until a fork can be easily inserted into the flesh of the squash.
The first squash I baked took nearly two hours to get tender.
Once the squash is done, use a spoon to scoop out each shell and transfer it into a covered container and refrigerate the cooked squash. Using fresh cooked squash instead of canned or frozen definitely gives the pie an improved texture and adds to its holding power in the refrigerator. The pie can be served warm or chilled and is delicious when topped with some whipped cream or Cool Whip. Kids even like it.
I hope you won't wait as long as I did to try this really easy recipe for Fresh Baked Squash. It is delicious served warm from the oven as a side dish and even better when baked into a pie.
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When bananas get spots and the family turns against the poor fruit, there is no reason to throw them out. Or the bananas either. You can use those bananas in this easy-to-make recipe for banana bread. - Butternut Squash Pie Recipe - No Crust
Baking a pie is easy and fun with this simple and delicious Butternut Squash Pie recipe. If you like Buttermilk Pie you'll love this healthy alternative.
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Hello Cygnet
So nice to see you here today and thanks for the great comment. Baked squash really does taste great and is good for you. Hope you are doing well and that your book sales are skyrocketing! Peg
You've given such a tribute to one of autumn's most beautiful delights. LOVE both the pics and the instructive text.
I've been cooking butternut for years in the oven...and so my techniques and ingredients are a bit diff. But your instructions are awesome. I hope more people go out to their local farm markets and buy up this marvelous squash in its prime. Up, useful, and awesome!
Sounds and looks delicious. I will have to try this and I will check out your pie recipe as well. Thanks you.
Hi Sally's Trove - I feel like a dork for not trying it sooner, it was super simple. I'd be interested to know the differences in how you prepare yours. From now on it will be fresh squash for me when I can find it.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comments. You are the cat's meow.
Peg, I slice the butternut and scoop out the seeds exactly as you do, using the same kind of pan and foil cover, adding the 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to the bowl of each half, and bake at 350. Here's what's different...
I don't line the pan with foil because I don't use butter or granulated sugar, so clean-up is a snap.
Cover with the foil and cook in the preheated oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Done!
If someone wants butter on their squash, it's on the table.
My version doesn't have that beautiful brown speckling that yours does, of course, nor the spices and salt, but it's quick and easy, and the squash is so sweet and creamy at the end that we don't add anything to it unless it's going to become a pie. :)
I cook acorn squash the same way. It's a bolder flavor and absolutely delicious. BTW, forgot to mention, I LOVE the doggie's curiosity!
Hi Tebo, Thank you for checking out this recipe and I hope you'll let me know how you like the pie.
Sally, It is reassuring that your method is so much like mine, after all, you've been baking this veggie for years. Yes, for people watching their cholestrol and sugars it would be better to leave off the sugar, salt and butter. But what is a potato-like-substance without the salt? And mounds of delicious butter. (I've been watching too much Paula Dean. She puts butter on butter!) I do love the taste of this squash and now I'll venture out into the more scary vegetables, like Acorn squash.
Tony is among the sweetest, most dedicated pups I've ever known. He follows me everywhere and has to inspect everything I bring into the house. He'll be two in February, my little furry son.
Peg, Your explanations were easy and your pictures were awesome. I marked this up. Thank you! Now, I'm off to check out the recipe for using this in a pie. Thanks so much!
Hello DJ, The orange vegetables are supposed to be very nutritious and good for you. Maybe not with the sugar and butter but certainly delicious that way. So glad to meet you here and thanks for your nice comments.
Your furry son is handsome!
Thank you GmaGoldie. He's a real Mamma's boy too. Sleeps on my legs.
Mmm. Sounds delicious. I cut my butternut squash in half, deseed, then slice into half circles. I put them in the roasting pan alongside potatoes. But I like the idea of doing it with cinnamon and nutmeg. I think the squash family can be difficult to make interesting, but butternut is the one I'm least daunted by!
Thanks for the hub.
Hello Keri. Thanks for stopping in to read and for the added tips on roasting squash. Nice to meet you here.
cygnetbrown 6 months ago
I absolutely love freshly baked winter squash. There's nothing like it on a cold winter day. The vitamins A and C that it contains is also good for good health this time of the year!