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You are here: Home / Tips & Tricks / How to Peel, Chop, & Roast A Butternut Squash

May 13, 2016 18 Comments

How to Peel, Chop, & Roast A Butternut Squash

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An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

A step-by-step tutorial to peel, chop, and roast your own butternut squash. Enjoy the caramelized cubes as a side dish, add to a salad, or puree in your homemade butternut squash soup!An way method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

I may be a little late to the butternut squash party, but I just found out this year that I really like it. I’ve all but conquered my former distaste for the squash family because I’ve started loving butternut squash, I’ve grown to like spaghetti squash, and I’ve even made my peace with regular yellow squash. Yes!

You can buy pre-chopped butternut squash at a lot of grocery stores and I’ve found that at Harris Teeter, packages of chopped squash are actually priced comparably to the whole butternut squashes (weight-wise). At some stores, though (ahem, Whole Foods and Kroger), it’s way more expensive to buy pre-chopped squash and it’s never quite as fresh as chopping it myself, so it may be worth it if I’ve got a few minutes to spare.

The biggest obstacle to actually preparing butternut squash myself is that it’s a little tough to cut, but this method makes it relatively easy. You’ll need a really sharp knife, a vegetable peeler, and a butternut squash.

The bigger the squash is, the better, because if you’re going to put in all of the work to peel it, you might as well get lots of delicious squash out of it! I love adding leftover butternut squash to salads or even eating it cold by itself.

To start, place the the squash on a cutting board. This big guy weighed about 4 pounds.An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

Start on the bigger end and cut off the base of the squash about 1/4 inch from the bottom. You want to make a level “base” so the squash will be able to stand up straight on its own.
An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!Cut about 1/4 inch from the top of the squash, too.An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the squash with long strokes, if possible. You can also stand the squash upright to peel it.
An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!Next, you’ll want to cut the squash in half vertically, and this is where it helps if it has a flat, even base so it’s easier to stabilize.
An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

Now, it’s time to deal with the seeds and stringy pulp. You can scoop the seeds out and roast them just like pumpkin seeds, although butternut squashes really don’t have many.
An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!Use a fork or a spoon to scrape the seeds and pulp out.

butternut squash peel chop roast (9 of 17)Phew! We’ve made it to the easy part. There are two halves of the squash, and you’ll want to cut both halves in half again lengthwise to make them “thinner” halves.

Then, you can stack the two halves on top of each other and cut them into matchsticks, and then cut the matchsticks into cubes that are all approximately the same size. Mine were about 1/2 inch cubes.butternut squash peel chop roast (11 of 17)

If you’re using a big 4 pound squash, you’ll end up with a baking tray full of squash cubes ready to be roasted. You could also steam them if you’re planning to make butternut squash soup.

To roast mine, I drizzled them with a little bit of grapeseed oil since it can withstand high heat better than olive oil can, and then I added a sprinkle of black pepper and salt.
An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!Pop the sheet into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees or until the cubes are starting to slightly firm up and get a little bit crispy, and that’s it. If your cubes are smaller than 1/2 inch, they may cook more quickly.

One way to avoid mushy squash is to turn the oven broiler on for the last two or three minutes of cooking while watching it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn.An easy method to peel, chop, and roast a butternut quash! Easy side dish and DELICIOUS in butternut squash soup!

 My other favorite way to prepare butternut squash is in a roasted vegetable medley. You can experiment with using different vegetables, but it’s important to make sure they all have similar cooking times. I followed the same roasting method a couple of weeks ago and included red onion, red pepper, and broccoli, and too, which was delish.

If you try this roasted butternut squash method, I’d love it if you let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!

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5 from 1 vote

How to Peel, Chop, & Roast a Butternut Squash

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 125kcal
Author: Liv

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash, about 4 lbs
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I use grapeseed oil since it can withstand high heat)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Place the squash on a large cutting board. Start on the bigger end and cut off the base of the squash about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Try to make a level "base" so the squash will be able to stand up straight on its own. Cut about 1/4 inch from the top of the squash, too.
  • Using a vegetable peeler, peel the squash with long strokes, if possible. You can also stand the squash upright to peel it.
  • Next, cut the squash in half vertically. Use a fork or a spoon to scrape the seeds and pulp out.
  • Cut both squash halves in half again lengthwise to make them "skinnier" halves. Then, stack the two halves on top of each other and cut them into matchsticks, and then cut the matchsticks into cubes that are all approximately the same size, about 1/2 inch cubes.
  • To roast, drizzle with grapeseed oil and add a sprinkle of black pepper and salt. Pop the sheet into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees or until the cubes are starting to slightly firm up and get a little bit crispy. If your cubes are smaller than 1/2 inch, they make cook more quickly. Optional: turn the oven broiler on for the last two or three minutes of cooking to make squash crispier while watching them closely to make sure they don't burn.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g

 

Questions for you:
How do you feel about squash? What’s your favorite type?
Do you have a great butternut squash recipe you’d like to share?

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Comments

  1. Kristy @ Southern In Law says

    May 13, 2016 at 2:58 am

    I loveee me some butternut squash šŸ˜‰ It’s pumpkin season here in Aus (being Autumn/Fall) so I am eating all the butternut associated things!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 13, 2016 at 11:20 am

      Mmm! Fall is my favorite season for all of the delicious pumpkin and butternut squash!

      Reply
  2. Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says

    May 13, 2016 at 10:05 am

    I love squash! I like zucchini and summer squash when grilled or roasted and raw with hummus, roasted butternut squash, and I have all sorts of fun with spaghetti squash! Butternut and spaghetti squash are both pretty beastly to cut, but they’re worth it in the end šŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 13, 2016 at 11:35 am

      Agreed that they’re worth it! šŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    May 13, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    Oh wow, I’ve never cut the top and the bottom off first before peeling it, but that makes so much sense! Butternut Squash is the best!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 13, 2016 at 6:49 pm

      I think it helps stabilize the squash a bit!

      Reply
  4. Julia @ Drops of Jules says

    May 13, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    This is such a silly question, but I really have to ask… there’s a difference between sweet potato and butternut squash, right? Do they taste different?

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 13, 2016 at 6:49 pm

      When they’re roasted, they do taste similar to me! Butternut squash is a little sweeter and also on the softer side, while sweet potato can get crispier when roasted and it’s also a more starchy vegetable in general. I love ’em both! šŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Jennifer says

    May 14, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    I love winter squashes but always get nervous about slicing and dicing them! Thank you for this simple process. I love the step-by-step photos šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 15, 2016 at 8:37 pm

      So glad you found it helpful, Jennifer!!

      Reply
  6. Doreen romalino says

    January 20, 2017 at 11:15 pm

    You can pop them in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them before cutting!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      January 23, 2017 at 4:06 pm

      Thanks for the tip, Doreen!

      Reply
  7. Allan James says

    May 24, 2017 at 2:49 am

    I like your knife. The knife looks like the perfect cutter. No doubt! I personally believe that quality sharp knife can be the best tool for kitchen and for cutting the vegetable.

    Reply
  8. H says

    November 10, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely yummy! Thanks for sharing how to carve it.

    Reply
  9. sarah says

    November 30, 2021 at 6:07 am

    Absolutely yummy! Thanks for sharing how to carve it.

    Reply
  10. Carol T Jenkins says

    February 15, 2023 at 12:30 pm

    thanks for sharing the tip. love it

    Reply
  11. Damascus Knife says

    August 15, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    Absolutely yummy! Thanks for sharing how to carve it.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Liv! I originally started blogging to share easy meals I made in my college dorm kitchen. Years later, as an attorney now, my goal is still to share delicious, approachable recipes with simple ingredients. You can most often find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. More...

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