Winter Squash Casserole (2024)

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Winter Squash Casserole, with tender chunks of butternut and kabocha, sage butter sauce, and pure maple syrup, is the perfect cold weather side dish recipe.

When I’m craving roasted winter squash, I usually go for something simple like baked butternut squash. But if you’re looking for a side dish recipe that’s more rich and hearty, this version is a great choice!

How to make this recipe:

1. The first thing I did was cut each of my squashes in half, scooping the seeds out (photo 1), and placing them face down on a parchment lined baking sheet (photo 2). I then baked them for about a half hour. The goal is to soften the squash to make it easier to peel and chop, but not fully cook them.
2. Once the par-baked squash was cool enough to handle, I used a peeler to remove the skin and then I chopped the flesh into 1-inch cubes (photo 3).
3. Here comes the casserole portion of the recipe. I whisked together some flour with a bit of corn starch, pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper. I lightly coated the squash in this mixture and discarded whatever wasn’t used. Add the lightly coated squash to your parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Prior to give the squash it’s final roast in the oven, you’ll make the maple sage brown butter sauce. Yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds. Pour this over the coated squash, give it a toss, and then complete the roasting.

Cooking tips:

I have found you’ll get the best results when making my winter squash casserole, if you do the following.

• When cutting a winter squash, insert a very sharp chef’s knife into one side and use a rocking motion to work your way around the squash. They are very hard and you must be very careful not to accidentally cut yourself!
• A large spoon works great to scrape out the seeds. I feed the seeds and the pulp to my chickens.
• We found that using a large peeler works better than a paring knife when removing the skin from the squash.
• You’ll get a better crispy outer layer on your squash if the pieces are completely spread out and in a single layer. To do this, you might have to cook the winter squash in batches or on separate baking sheets.

Winter squash recommendations:

Wondering what kind of winter squash works best?

First of all, let’s get our squash straight. Summer squash, like zucchini, is completely different in flavor and texture. You can absolutely make a summer squash casserole, but it is an entirely different recipe than my winter squash version.

• One of the most familiar winter squashes is butternut. It’s everyone’s favorite and I’ve made a ton of recipes using it. Some of my favorites include Butternut Squash Risotto,Butternut Squash Soup,Savory Parmigiano Reggiano Butternut Squash Cake,Butternut Squash Leek Stuffing, andHomemade Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce.
• Another favorite of mine is an acorn squash. I use it to make aStuffed Acorn Squash with sausage and all sorts of other yummy filling.
• Spaghetti squash is considered a winter squash, but I wouldn’t use it in this casserole recipe because the texture is too stringy.
• Other winter squash varities you might consider using depending on availability: delicata, hubbard, pumpkin, kabocha (this is one that I used and the flesh is similar to pumpkin), or turban.