Friends, this Sautéed Butternut Squash is my new favourite thing. And what I want you to do is drop everything right now and make this so it can be your new favourite thing too. Trust me. Go!
I came up with this recipe as a side dish idea and then I went and took it way beyond side dish level and piled it high on top of a crispy toasted piece of sourdough that I slathered with creamy whipped ricotta cheese. And then! Then I drizzled it with extra honey and showered it with spicy red pepper flakes.
O. M. G. It is so good.
Sure, you could make just the squash and serve this as a side dish – and everyone would seriously love you because it’s so delicious just as it is – or, you could do what I did here and just eat the whole batch yourself. I think you know the right thing to do here. I won’t tell.
Cooking the squash this way gets it all soft and buttery, but with crispy brown edges and so much flavour. The butter gets browned and nutty, the honey amplifies the natural butternut sweetness, the cinnamon gives it dimension and the chili flakes just make it absolutely pop. I’m not sure I’ll eat it any other way now.
Anything special you need to know?
* You can use maple syrup instead of honey because spicy maple butternut squash is also heaven.
*You can leave off the red pepper flakes, but I promise you… sweet AND spicy butternut squash is absolutely delish.
*For bonus points I recommend whipping the ricotta first… just throw it in the food processor and whiz it up until it’s super smooth. It only takes a few seconds. (good info on whipped ricotta here)
*I would double of even triple this recipe if serving as a side dish, but because it’s pan fried and you want it to brown well you don’t want to crowd the pan, so make sure you use a large skillet.
Recipe-ish…
Sautéed Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups butternut squash cut into 1/2” cubes
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp honey plus more for serving
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add in the squash cubes.
- Sauté until softened and browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the butter and let cook 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the honey, cinnamon and apple cider vinegar. Season with salt.
- Make the toast and top each piece with ricotta.
- Pile the squash on top of the toast and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes. Drizzle with more honey.
Let me know what you think!
If you like this Sautéed Butternut Squash Recipe then I think you’ll love my Recipe for Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Paneer It’s my other new favourite way to eat squash. 😉
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