Butternut Squash Recipes to Cozy Up With

The fall harvest and return of roasting weather gets us buttered up for meals that feature butternut squash in all its creamy, caramelized, savory glory. If anything, we love butternut squash recipes for their versatility: You can sear thick slices of squash like steak until they turn crisp and caramelized around the edges but tender and decadent in the center. You can puree cooked squash into soups or turn it into a creamy base for pasta or risotto. Butternut squash softens beautifully as it cooks and lends healthy richness to casseroles or dips.

Similar to pumpkin recipes, butternut squash recipes take both savory and sweet forms. The ingredient shines when drizzled with maple syrup and baking spices. Then again, simply dressing it with a little oil, salt, and pepper lets it roast into an almost buttery dish. With squash season fully upon us, we’re cozying up to these sides, mains, and desserts.

11 Butternut Squash Recipes We Love

Chile Roasted Squash with Citrus Peanut Relish

This butternut squash recipe from Vivek Surti of Tailor in Nashville is simultaneously bright, spicy, and earthy. Roasting the squash under high heat caramelizes the edges while the peanut relish and sweet pepper garnish add fresh pops of flavor.

Butternut Squash Cavatelli

This butternut squash recipe doubles down. Not only are the ingredients in this pasta bound by a decadent butternut squash sauce, but butternut squash also gets used to make the bouncy cavatelli noodles.

Chili Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash soups, all too often, come out bland and watery. Chef Katsuji Tanabe of a’Verde Cocina and Tequila Library in Cary, North Carolina, remedies this by adding roasted chiles and hazelnuts to amp up the flavor.

Glazed Butternut Squash

This quick and easy preparation for butternut squash needs only four ingredients to create a restaurant-worthy side dish. Enjoy on its own or stir pieces into vegetable hash, pastas, or salads.

Delicata Squash and Kale Salad in Warm Chorizo Vinaigrette

Use either delicata or butternut squash in this sophisticated autumn salad. Toasted pepitas and salty chorizo bring out the squash’s savory notes while apple slivers add contrasting bites of sweetness.

Chili Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts Leaves 

Fall’s two favorite vegetables unite in this roasty-toasty side dish. The medley feels seasonal enough for the Thanksgiving table, but it’s also prepared entirely on the stove, saving you precious oven space come Turkey Day.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Galette

For an elegant vegetarian main that emanates fall vibes, this free-form savory galette steals the scene at brunches, dinners, and even as a party hors d’oeuvre. A savory pie shell envelops thinly sliced butternut squash, and a layer of goat cheese adds tanginess to the rich flavors.

Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese with Butternut Squash with Pork Belly

Butternut squash gives this macaroni and cheese a burnished orange color and lends extra creaminess to this bowl of comfort. Garnishing with seasoned smoked pork belly adds unctuous, salty bits throughout.

Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad

This is not your typical desk salad. Candylike bites of butternut squash, sparkling pomegranate seeds, and fresh figs make this salad worthy of holiday gatherings. Even better, you need only nine ingredients to pull it together.

Butternut Squash Recipes for Dessert

Butternut Squash Pie

Move over, pumpkin! Butternut squash makes for a similarly creamy, earthy, and orange (obviously) pie filling. The decadent candied pecans (we like using Zorro Pecans) studding this showstopping pie provide crunchy, sugary pieces to contrast with the savory squash and herbaceous coriander-infused cream.

Butternut Squash and Pineapple Bread Pudding

Take the elements you love from pumpkin bread and pineapple-upside-down cake, and you get pretty darn close to this dessert-ready recipe for butternut squash. Earthy butternut squash plays well with the tropical pineapple chunks, preventing these personal-sized bread puddings from being overly sweet.