Cinnamon roasted butternut squash
Sweet, golden cubes of squash with a little maple and cinnamon, made easy with the pre-cut kind so there’s no wrestling a whole squash.
- 40 min total
- 5 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.33 a serving
- 140 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb 4 oz cubed butternut squash
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Each serving has about 140 calories, 1 g protein, 20 g carbs and 7 g fat, and costs about $1.33 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No cubed butternut squash? Butternut squash works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F and line a large with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Cut any squash cubes bigger than 1 inch in half so they all cook at the same speed.
the squash on the pan with the oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and pepper, then spread it out in one layer.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
30 to 35 minutes, flipping once halfway, until at the edges and soft all the way through.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 32 min
Dolly’s tip: Poke a cube with a fork. If it slides in with no push, they’re ready.Serve hot. To make ahead, roast up to a day early, chill, and reheat at 400°F for 10 minutes.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
