Roasted chicken meets sweet butternut squash for this sheet pan dinner
There’s nothing better than a delicious butternut squash recipe. Packed with healthy nutrients like fiber, minerals and vitamins, butternut squash is not only easy to prepare, but also extremely versatile. You can mash, roast, or puree it into inviting fall soups.
It’s a great meal prep ingredient too — just dice, roast, and enjoy all week alongside grilled chicken or seared steak, on top of salads and grain bowls, or even mixed into pasta or risotto.
Though commonly thought of as a vegetable, butternut squash is technically a fruit. Cream-colored on the outside with a deep orange interior, it has a sweet, moist, and nutty flavor similar to sweet potatoes.
Choose firm squash with no blemishes or soft spots. Store in a dry, cool spot (not in the refrigerator) for up to a month or so.
To save prep time, look for pre-cut, peeled butternut squash cubes in your supermarket.
If you choose to prepare it yourself, the best way to peel butternut squash is with a vegetable peeler. To make peeling easier, heat the squash in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften the peel.
It’s not necessary to peel squash if you are going to roast it. Trim the ends of the squash and stand it upright. Make sure it is stable, and make one long cut, down the middle from the top to bottom, with a heavy chef’s knife. Scoop out the seeds (you can prepare the seeds like toasted pumpkin seeds). Lay the squash halves cut side down and cut into slices or cubes.
Roasted butternut squash is so good on its own that the only seasonings needed are salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spread the cubed squash in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle it with olive oil and toss it with generous pinches of salt and pepper Make sure to leave a little space between each cube – this way, the squash will get nicely crisp and brown in the oven. Place the baking sheet to a 400° oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the squash is tender and caramelized at the edges.
Roasted butternut squash makes a great side dish on its own, or it can be blended into a warming fall soup.
This recipe is adapted from Dinner in One — Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals, by Melissa Clark.
This story was originally published April 14, 2023 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Roasted chicken meets sweet butternut squash for this sheet pan dinner."