What is the best way to eat butternut squash?

Butternut squash is a versatile vegetable—there are so many delicious ways to prepare it! See our 15 Cozy Butternut Squash Recipes for Fall for inspiration! In our baked beans recipe, we use a roasted and puréed butternut squash pasta sauce that is delicious!

What seasonings taste good on butternut squash?

Butternut squash has a naturally sweet flavor, so a simple seasoning of salt and pepper does the job! However, warm spices like nutmeg or cinnamon are a nice pairing, as well as browned butter or garlic and sage.

Are you supposed to eat the skin on a butternut squash?

While the butternut squash peel is edible, it is rather tough and bitter. We don't recommend eating it.

Which beans are best for baked beans?

Any white beans will work here! Cannellini beans or navy beans are two of our favorites.

Cozy Baked Beans with Butternut Sauce

Description

A fall-inspired recipe for baked beans with butternut sauce, kale, basil, and burrata cheese. A cozy vegetarian meal your whole family will love. Gluten-free.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups butternut pasta sauce (see notes)
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/2 cup shallots, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
generous pinch red pepper flakes
handful of lacinato kale, big ribs removed, chopped
4 1/2 -5 cups white beans, or cannelini beans (3 x14-ounce cans, drained)
salt and pepper to taste ( I added 1/2 teaspoon each)
burrata cheese, cut into 6-8 pieces
1/4 cup pecorino, grated (adds nice depth)
basil leaves or sage (if using sage, saute with garlic and shallot)
optional additions: grated nutmeg, crispy garlic and sage, and/ or panna gratta.

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Butternut Sauce. Make our butternut pasta sauce; you’ll need half for this recipe, and save the other half for pasta, or freeze it.
Preheat oven to 375
Saute. In a 9-10-inch oven-proof skillet, sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, and sauté one more minute. Add the kale and wilt for 2 minutes.
Combine. To the same pan, add the drained white beans and 2 cups of the butternut sauce, stirring to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Top with the burrata cheese and pecorino.
Simmer and Bake. Bring to a simmer on the stove top over medium heat, then place in the oven to bake, roughly 20 minutes, until cheese is melty and golden. Use your broiler to brown it up.
Serve. Scatter with basil, and serve in bowls like a stew with crusty bread.

Notes

For extra richness, stir in some browned butter before baking. Crispy sage and garlic (like shown here in our pumpkin pasta) instead of basil is delcious too! Herby bread crumbs (pangrattato) would be fabulous too.

Leftovers will keep up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 ¼ cups
Calories: 347
Sugar: 7.8 g
Sodium: 1040.5 mg
Fat: 13.6 g
Saturated Fat: 5.6 g
Carbohydrates: 38.2 g
Fiber: 9.9 g
Protein: 18.9 g
Cholesterol: 32.6 mg