Easy Roasted Butternut Squash

My whole family loves this roasted butternut squash recipe. We toss the squash with a bit of brown sugar and spices so it caramelizes in the oven and becomes super flavorful! This is genuinely one of the best ways to cook butternut squash!

This is absolutely one of my favorite butternut squash recipes! It’s super simple to make, tastes incredible, and has been a hit with almost everyone I’ve served it to (including Adam, who isn’t the biggest winter squash fan!). The secret is our simple combination of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper!

When we aren’t making this delicious butternut squash, we’re making a batch this roasted butternut squash soup, which I highly recommend!

Key Ingredients

• Butternut Squash: When choosing a butternut squash, look for one that feels heavy for its size and is firm to the touch. You can also give it a gentle knock. A hollow sound indicates a good squash. I also prefer ones with the stem still attached, as it usually means the squash is fresher. Feel free to substitute butternut with other winter squash like kabocha and honeynut squash.
• Oil: I typically use olive oil or avocado oil for this recipe.
• Brown Sugar: While butternut squash has some natural sweetness, I like to enhance it with a bit of brown sugar. Not only does it add flavor, but it also helps the squash caramelize beautifully in the oven. Maple syrup is a great substititue.
• Spices: I like adding spice to elevate the squash’s flavor even further. My favorite combination is cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper, creating a warm, savory note that makes the roasted squash taste delicious. On this note, Adam isn’t really the biggest fan of winter squash, but he loves this roasted squash with cinnamon and cayenne!

How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash

This is such an easy recipe for butternut squash. Once I start seeing it at the market, I make it often! The first thing to do is to cube the squash. Cutting up winter squash, especially butternut squash, can be tricky, but we are here to help! Watch me do it in our video, or follow these easy steps:

Decide if you want to peel the squash. I do, but it’s not required. You can eat butternut squash peel. To peel butternut squash, you’ll need a heavy-duty vegetable peeler. Now, to make things easier, cut the squash in half, separating the thinner end from the round end. Cut the thinner end into 1-inch thick slabs, and then cut those slabs into cubes.

You’ll need to cut the wider end in half, scoop out the seeds, and then cut into cubes. And that’s it! Remember, you can watch me do all of this in our video!

Toss your squash with oil, brown sugar, and spices, then spread them onto baking sheets. I use two since I like to leave some space between the squash cubes so that they caramelize and brown. (I do the same when making sweet potato fries.)

I use a hot oven to roast butternut squash, preheating it to 425°F. If you are roasting something else that needs a slightly cooler oven, you can roast the squash around 400°F with good results! I do this when I make our rosemary roasted chicken, which I love served with this roasted butternut squash!

More ideas for serving are this roasted pork tenderloin with apples, our easy skillet pork chops, and this moist and juicy turkey meatloaf. I also love this squash for the holidays and have made it for Thanksgiving dinner many times! Here are some more Thanksgiving recipes for you to browse.