Wonderfully wintry squash is sweet, nutty and ultra versatile. It can be blitzed into a warming soup, added to a comforting curry or roasted to perfection and served as a hearty veggie main. We love this gorgeous gourd in all its forms. Once you’ve mastered the perfect roasting technique, try our best ever butternut squash recipes for mouth-watering meal ideas.
How to prepare butternut squash
There are a myriad of ways to cook butternut squash. You can either roast butternut squash in its skin, halved, or cut into wedges. It can be served stuffed as a stunning main, as a simple side dish, stirred into risottos, pasta or salads, or blitzed into a soup.
By peeling and dicing, the cubes of squash will become more caramelised, with plenty of texture.
Roasting diced squash: for risottos, salads and pasta

Check out our video tutorial on how to cut butternut squash for even more tips and essential info.
Roasting halves or wedges of squash: for serving stuffed, or as a side dish

For more information, read our guide on how to prepare squash.
How to roast butternut squash
Easy method:
- Tip your squash pieces or wedges into a bowl or on a baking tray, and add a little olive or vegetable oil, and toss together with some salt and pepper, so every piece is coated.
- You can add extra herbs and flavourings here if you fancy, like garlic, tamarind, cumin, pomegranate molasses, or chopped sage, depending on what you’re making.
- Tip onto a baking tray (if using a bowl) with the pieces evenly spaced apart, so they roast rather than steam.
- If you’re roasting squash halves, rub with olive oil and season, put cut-side up on a baking tray.
- As a general rule, for small cubes of squash, roast for 25-30 mins at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 until golden and tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Roast wedges for 35-45 mins until tender and half squashes for 1hr 15-30 mins.
If you’ve roasted the squash skin on, either use a spoon to scoop out the softened flesh, or gently peel away the skin once the wedges have cooled a little.
Top 5 roasted butternut squash recipes
1. Roasted squash with pesto & mozzarella
2. Roasted squash risotto with wensleydale
3. Roasted butternut squash soup
4. Stuffed butternut squash
5. Maple-roasted squash with pecans
More ideas for cooking with squash
3 quick dinner ideas with butternut squash
Our top squash and pumpkin recipes
Healthy pumpkin and squash recipes
What’s your favourite way to serve roasted squash? Leave a comment below…