How to Cut and Cook Butternut Squash

I've been all about squash lately.  Acorn squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash... all winter squashes are pretty much my favorite vegetables right now.

They are healthy, taste delicious roasted for a vegetable side dish, or there are so many uses for winter squash in recipes such as these: butternut squash enchiladas, spicy sausage spaghetti squash bake, squash and cheese, or sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash.  Plus, winter squash really is easy to pick out and easy to work with. 

A good little bit ago I did a "How to Cook Spaghetti Squash," but today I'm doing a "How to cut and cook butternut squash."   

I've learned that there are far too many people afraid of cutting, peeling, and dicing butternut squash.

Today, I want to calm or ease those fears so you will pick up a butternut squash and roast some goodness.  

How to... Cut and Roast Butternut Squash

Recipe/Tutorial: Alohamora Open a Book 

Active Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 45 minutes

Servings: approximately 8 cups of diced butternut squash

Ingredients: 
1 medium butternut squash (2-3 lbs)
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 small red onion, diced (optional)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. 
3. Spray pan/cookie sheet with an olive oil spray if you have it.  
4. Using a large knife cut your butternut squash at the base of the neck where the round part meets the cylinder part of the squash.  This will leave you with a cylinder section, aka the neck, and a round section, aka the head, of squash to work with.  
5. Using a vegetable peeler, I like the Oxo peeler best,  peel the skin off of the two parts of the squash, the neck (long cylinder part) and the head (the round part with seeds in the middle).
6. Wash the peeled squash and place it on a large cutting board
7. Chop the neck, cylinder section, into slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Then chop those slices into approximately 1/2 inch cubes. 
8. Cut the head, round part, of the butternut squash in half.  Use a spoon to remove the seeds and discard. 
9. After removing the seeds dice the head of the squash into approximately 1/2 cubes as well   I like to again cut slices and then cubes.
10. Place the butternut squash cubes in a medium to large bowl.  If you like red onion, which roasted with squash it is amazing, add your diced red onion to the bowl as well.  
11.  Drizzle your squash and red onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
12. Using a large spoon stir the squash in the bowl to evenly distribute the olive oil and salt and pepper. 
13. Spread the squash out in a single layer onto the prepared cookie sheet.
14. Bake your butternut squash cubes at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes until tender and a fork can pierce them.
15. Enjoy! 
16. Store leftovers in a covered dish in the refrigerator. 

Happy Roasted Butternut Squash eating!