Vegan Butternut Squash Recipes are Tops for Fall and Winter

Butternut Squash, which is plentiful in fall and winter, is a versatile vegetable that's colorful, delicious, and easy to prepare. 

Look below to see a butternut squash recipe roundup with delectable recipes, easy to follow cooking tips, and colorful serving ideas that will appeal to everyone in your crowd.

Butternut squash is a naturally sweet vegetable. It can be steamed, roasted, broiled, stuffed, sautéed, and pureed. 

It has a smooth texture, that adds depth to many sweet and savory dishes, and can replace pumpkin in nearly any recipe. In fact, in Australia and New Zealand it's known as butternut pumpkin. 

Butternut Squash grows on vines and varies as to its shape, weight, and size. Peak harvest time is after the cool weather of fall sets in. That's why these varieties have become known as “winter” squash.”

Butternut squash has a hard outer shell that is beige/tan. When kept intact, butternut can be stored in a cool basement, pantry, or similar place for several weeks. 

Squash contains important antioxidants including Vitamin A and C. It also has iron, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorous.

Please note: this post is intended for entertainment and information only, and not provided as medical/nutritional advice.

Butternut squash is eye-catching, with bright golden orange flesh. It's a complex carbohydrate, and one cup of steamed butternut squash has only 63 calories.

Squash is a high fiber food, packed with alpha-carotene and betta-carotene. Eating recipes that contain butternut squash may help reduce the risk of getting certain kinds of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration.

See Tempting Butternut Squash Dishes, authored by some of the best food savvy bloggers around.

First up is the real food blogger at Gluten Free A-Z Judee Algazi. Her post "1-2-3 Easy Butternut Squash" provides ideas for prepping and roasting butternut squash to make it a snap to cook, peel, and cut.

Photo Credit Judee Algazi

The next recipe, "Harvest Vegan Butternut Squash Salad" appears below. It's an original from yours truly Nancy Andres, the wellness blogger at Colors 4 Health. 

 

Photo Credit Nancy Andres at Colors 4 Health

Serve this colorful starter dish for anything from a weeknight dinner to a festive holiday meal.

 

Ingredients:

4 cups assorted fresh organic salad greens (washed and spun or patted dry)

2 cups of a medium sized butternut squash or may sub ready-to-use cubed squash

1 cup Brussels sprouts (approx. 8-10 sprouts or may sub a cup of shredded Brussels sprouts)

1/2 cup dried tart cranberries (the kind that's sweetened with juice)

1/4 cup raw pistachios, or pecans, or walnuts, or omit for a nut free version

1 small organic red pepper washed and cut into 1/4 in strips  

1 large organic apple washed but not peeled

Dressing

4 Tablespoons runny Tahini (leave jar or tin out of refrigerator to soften)

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves fresh garlic

1/2 in. chunk of fresh ginger

1/2 cup fresh water or 1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup of fresh herbs of your choosing 

 Salt and Pepper to Taste

What to do:

1. Look for a medium sized butternut squash that has solid beige/tan skin and no soft spots. The squash should be hard and feel heavy to hold for its weight. Select Brussels sprouts that are small, tender, and not wilted. 

2. Roast the butternut as suggested above by Judee Algazi (washed, unpeeled, in a pan in a 425 degree F oven for about 45 min-hr.). This step can be done early in the day or the day or night before. 

At the same time roast the Brussels sprouts. For detailed prep and cooking directions for Brussels sprouts see "Favorite Fall Fruit and Vegetables." If you want to substitute shredded sprouts, follow cooking directions on package. 

Once both vegetables are thoroughly cooked, refrigerate them.

Peel or cut off the skin of the butternut after it cools. Then cube butternut by making pieces bite sized or approx. 1/2 in. You may substitute ready-to-use peeled and cubed butternut squash to save time. 

3. Place cleaned greens into a salad bowl or platter and add butternut, Brussels sprouts, dried tart cranberries and/or pomegranates, nuts or seeds, red pepper slices, and herbs and spices.

4. Blend salad dressing ingredients in a blender, food processor, or use a whisk. Pour on salad and mix well. 

5. Right before you serve this harvest salad, slice an apple into 1/2 in. slices and mix that in. 

Once apples are cut, they quickly turn brown from air exposure. Dressing will coat the apple slices and prevent this fruit from turning so quickly. For best eye appeal, eat all the apple slices the same day you cut apple.

This recipe serves 4-6 people as an appetizer. Add chickpeas or other legumes and/or whole grains to this harvest salad and serve as a one dish salad meal. Feel free to omit the apple and add 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (called arils) instead. 

Double the recipe, and this salad is perfect to share at a potluck or party.

Photo Credit Nancy Andres at Colors 4 Health

Our third recipe comes from the food blog Love and Lemons. It's a creamy, comforting recipe from Jeanine and Jack aptly called "Butternut Squash Soup."

 

Photo Credit- Love and Lemons

 

Next up is a winning and filling recipe "Vegan Butternut Squash Chili", from Kathy Carmichael at Kathy's Vegan Kitchen.

 

Photo Credit Kathy's Vegan Kitchen

Carol Murphy the blogger at Comfort Spring Station hails from Tampa. She presents a scrumptious dish, "Stuffed Butternut Squash" for all to relish.

Photo Credit Carol Murphy

The next recipe is from Alyssa at Simply Quinoa, an online destination that provides ideas to create a healthier life. Cornbread can be a fun accompaniment to any of the dishes above. See "Butternut Squash & Sage Cornbread" now.

Photo Credit Alyssa at Simply Quinoa

Hope you enjoyed our Butternut Squash Recipe Roundup. We sure are happy to have shared it.

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Do you think you will eat more of it, now that you know dishes made from butternut squash can be healthy, easy, and fun to prepare? Please let me know.

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