How To Bake Butternut Squash

When harvest brings in the butternut squash, it's time to fire up the oven and bake this delicious vegetable to use in pies or served as a simple, nutritious side dish.  

When the weather cools down and fall is in the air, butternut squash makes an appearance in the produce departments of Texas, the southern states, and other markets like Australia and New Zealand where it's known as butternut pumpkin.

This pumpkin-like fruit was first developed in Stow, Massachusetts, and it's wonderful when used in baking breads and pies or even as a side dish. It's a member of the Cucurbita moschata family.

My family likes butternut squash in a no-crust pie recipe that I've adapted that uses canned, frozen, or fresh-baked butternut squash. Having baked this pie for many years, I never tried it using fresh squash until recently. The difference in texture and taste is amazing.

After years of using the frozen kind of winter squash, I finally embraced my fears of strange and unusual vegetables, picked out a firm, uniform specimen at the produce department, and took it home. Then I began to search for instructions on how to prepare it. Should I peel it? Cube it? What about the seeds?

Inside an old Mirro Ware Cookbook from 1954, I found a recipe for acorn squash, which I adapted and it came out delicious. I was pleased at how easy it was to prepare even on my first attempt.

Here's the Easy Way to Prepare the Squash

1) Line a baking pan (13x9 inches) with aluminum foil. It makes cleanup easier.

2) Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3) Wash the squash to remove any debris. Use a cutting board and a sharp knife to carefully cut the stem off the squash.

4) Firmly grasp the squash and cut it in half lengthwise, starting at the bulbous end using a serrated knife. Use care. It's hard to make both sides exactly even as the vegetable is very tough when raw.

5) Just like a cantaloupe or melon, scoop out the seeds using a spoon and set them aside. These can be washed and saved for planting or baked and eaten.

6) 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. Spread them out to dry on a paper towel.

Spray the bottom of the pan with Pam or lightly grease with vegetable shortening.

• 2 Tablespoons of butter (melted in the microwave for 10 seconds

• Brush the cut surfaces of the squash with the butter

Mix the spices together and sprinkle onto the cut side of the squash.

• 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Put the brown sugar into the cup of the cut squash.

• 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar (optional)

Add one cup of water to the pan.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil

Make small cuts in the top for the steam to escape.

Bake at 350 degrees (f) for 45 minutes to an hour, until a fork can easily be inserted into the squash.

Once tender, use a spoon to scoop out each shell and transfer the squash into a serving dish or covered container and refrigerate the cooked squash until needed.

Fresh-cooked squash improves the texture of my butternut squash pie and adds to its holding power in the refrigerator.

Here's a recipe for crustless butternut squash pie. 

https://vespertinewriter.blogspot.com/2025/08/crustless-butternut-squash-pie-recipe.html

It's delicious topped with whipped cream or Cool Whip. Even Kids will love it.