We love this roasted butternut squash recipe. We toss the squash with a touch of brown sugar and spices so it caramelizes in the oven and becomes super flavorful!
This is absolutely one of my favorite butternut squash recipes! It’s super simple to make and has been a hit with almost everyone I’ve served it to (including Adam, who isn’t the biggest squash fan!). The secret is our simple combination of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper!
Once I start seeing butternut squash at the market, I make this recipe recipe often! When we aren’t making this recipe, we’re making a batch this roasted butternut squash soup, which I highly recommend!
Key Ingredients
- Butternut Squash: When choosing one, look for one that feels heavy for its size and is firm to the touch. You can also give it a gentle knock. A hollow sound indicates a good squash. I also prefer ones with the stem still attached, as it usually means the squash is fresher. Feel free to substitute butternut with other winter squash like kabocha and honeynut squash.
- Oil: I typically use olive oil or avocado oil for this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: While butternut squash has some natural sweetness, I like to enhance it with a bit of brown sugar. Not only does it add flavor, but it also helps the squash caramelize beautifully in the oven. Maple syrup is a great substititue.
- Spices: I like adding spice to elevate the squash’s flavor even further. My favorite combination is cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper, creating a warm, savory note that makes the roasted squash taste delicious. On this note, Adam isn’t really the biggest fan of winter squash, but he loves this roasted squash with cinnamon and cayenne!
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Roast Butternut Squash
Tip 1: How to peel butternut squash (optional). Decide if you want to peel the squash. I prefer to, but it’s not required. You can eat butternut squash peel. To peel it, you’ll need a heavy-duty vegetable peeler.
Tip 2: How to cut butternut squash safely. Cutting winter squash can be tricky. To make things easier, cut the squash in half, separating the thinner end from the round end. Cut the thinner end into 1-inch thick slabs, and then cut those slabs into cubes. You’ll need to cut the wider end in half, scoop out the seeds, and then cut into cubes. To make things extra easy watch our step-by-step video below!
It is completely optional but we love roasting the squash seeds. Just save your seeds and follow our roasted pumpkin seed recipe.
Tip 3: Don’t overcrowd your squash. Toss your squash with oil, brown sugar, and spices, then spread them onto baking sheets. I use two since I like to leave some space between the squash cubes so that they caramelize and brown. (I do the same when making sweet potato fries.)
Tip 4: Bake in a hot oven. I use a hot oven to roast butternut squash, preheating it to 425°F. If you are roasting something else that needs a slightly cooler oven, you can roast the squash around 400°F with good results! I do this when I make our rosemary roasted chicken, which I love served with this!
Serving Suggestions
We love serving our squash with roasted pork tenderloin with apples, our easy skillet pork chops, or this juicy turkey meatloaf. I also love this squash for the holidays and have made it for Thanksgiving dinner many times! Here are some more of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes for you to browse.
More Squash Recipes
- Parmesan Roasted Delicata Squash
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Roasted Acorn Squash
- Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
Easy Roasted Butternut Squash
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This cinnamon roasted butternut squash turned Adam into someone who likes winter squash! The squash tastes incredible and caramelizes nicely in the oven, thanks to cinnamon, brown sugar, and cayenne.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Dash cayenne, optional
Directions
1Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Line two large baking sheets with aluminum foil or silicone baking mats.
2Toss the butternut squash cubes with olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne until well coated.
3Tumble the squash onto baking sheets and spread into one layer. Try not to crowd them too much, or they will not brown.
4Roast the squash, turning once and rotating pans once, until the edges are lightly browned and centers are tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Check the squash occasionally to ensure they are not roasting quicker than expected.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Roasted butternut squash can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
- How to roast butternut squash seeds: You can roast squash seeds like pumpkin seeds! Remove pulp and fibrous threads from the seeds. Simmer the seeds in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Toss the seeds with olive oil and lightly season with salt. Roast them in a 325°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Can I use parchment paper instead of foil lined? Why one over the other?
Yep! It’s totally up to you.
Thank you
Tried this out , it was delicious!
Hi Cici, I like to thaw it overnight in the fridge and then spread out onto a baking sheet and bake in a 350F oven until heated and crisped up again (10 to 15 minutes should do it).
I wanted a simple recipe for roasting squash and this was perfect! The spices were just right and it turned out delicious!
Love love love!! baked butternut squash recipe
Looking forward to your recipes and cook book! Thank you!
I’ve never liked butternut squash until I found this recipe – it’s totally addicting! Love how it caramelizes and becomes so sweet. This is my go-to recipe, and I always make sure I have plenty of butternut on hand. So happy I found this recipe!
These recipes look great!
Really good! Just the right amount of sweetness.
It was absolutely perfect.
Made this tonight to go with the pork tenderloin and apples. Excellent flavor. I allowed mine to get crispy on the edges and I could have eaten them all like popcorn. Delicious. I did go ahead and mix this recipe in with wild rice and pecans, a little butter (fake butter) and salt to try out for a potential gluten free thanksgiving side dish. A definite thumbs up. Thank you much for the recipe!
Great recipe. Very happy and the taste very good. Second recipe for sugar cookies I have tried and you don’t disappoint.
Delicious! Parchment worked great.
GREAT recipe. Have cooked it twice now, had no cayenne so used crushed red pepper flakes this time. Actually worked well. This will remain a favorite and I’m glad to know parchment paper will work. I always worry that a bit of foil will find its way into someone’s mouth! Also thanks loads for showing how to prep squash. I’ll be trying more of your recipes, for sure!
Made this tonight and thought it was very good. I took your advice and used two cooking pans. (No wonder my squash never really roasted before…they were too close together! Light bulb!). I did one pan with the cayenne pepper and one without. I liked it with the cayenne, adds a nice layer of flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the useful tips too. 🙂
Would like to prepare in the morning and reheat for late afternoon serving.
Any ” prepare ahead ” tips? Thanks, C
This keeps well in the fridge. To reheat, place the squash onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven until warm.
Made this, Joanne and it was super good! We did not use aluminum foil as written in this recipe; but instead used parchment paper. Love the tip you included on how to easily cut butternut squash. It truly made things easier when following this recipe; there was no need to search for some trick and tips because you included how to cut squash up already. Thank you!
I use your recipe to roast my butternut squash. I think I used a bit more cayenne than you intended. It was delicious with a definite bite. Oh, did I mention, I don’t cook so this was really outside the box. Enjoyed it so much that I am making it again – right now
Made this – in combination with some roasted potatoes and sweet (not bell) red pepper. This squash was the hit of the evening.
Made as directed but 425 was too high for my oven. I set 20min to turn and it was done already. For the second batch I turned the oven down to 400 and cooked for 30min without turning. They came out perfectly! I’ll definitely try this again, it was delicious!
Any thoughts on how I would adjust this if using frozen cubes of butternut squash? Thank you -Carrie
Hi Carrie, You might actually get away with tossing the frozen cubes into the oven. If this prevents the squash from browning around the edges, you can thaw them first, pat dray and then mix with the other ingredients.
Real good!
Made as written (less the cayenne) for Thanksgiving. It was a hit! Very yummy.
Well 425 degrees is too hot and it set off the smoke detectors. I turned the heat down to 375 and it seemed to roast a lot better
Hi…I love this squash but have always served it like mashed potatoes or soup!! I want to make it your way and want to make it today and take it to a friend’s house tomorrow…any ideas on how to reheat it…or does it have to be served right away? Hoping to hear from you soon!!
Hi Linda, To reheat the squash, throw it into a hot oven for a few minutes to warm and crisp up.
This is great as written. Just made it the second time. The first time I brought pre cubed butternut squash, the second time I imposed on my husband to peel and cube the squash. Both Turned out were great but the latter was just a touch better.
I made this tonight, and it was absolutely delicious! We were roasting chicken at 375, so we roasted the butternut squash for one hour. It was perfect.