Roasted Butternut Squash & Brussels Sprouts
Slightly sweet butternut squash is the perfect pairing for earthy brussels sprouts, making it the ultimate fall side dish.
Last week, I wrote about my relationship with butternut squash – the high maintenance, tough skinned veggie that I wasn’t eager to get involved with but now finds its way into my shopping cart every fall and winter.
Once I figured out the secret to prepping butternut squash with ease, I began experimenting with recipes that only made me even more fond of it, like this week’s recipe.
Since we’ve spotlighted brussels sprouts before and now butternut squash in our Ingredient Spotlight series, it only made sense that we featured these two powerhouse ingredients together. I love roasted brussels sprouts, and the slight sweetness of butternut squash is a perfect pairing for our earthy sprouts.
If you’ve done your prep earlier in the week of the vegetables, this can be made into a quick easy weeknight side dish to a protein (such as seared and roasted pork chops or chicken breast). Tossed with a grain and a dressing, it can easily become a hearty and nutritious entree.
Prepping Smarts
- Chop your veggies ahead of time, so when it comes time to cook, all you have to do is toss on a sheet pan and into the oven! Watch how to prep butternut squash and chop onions with our videos below.
- If prepping ahead of time, place all chopped veggies into airtight containers / bags. Since they’ll just be tossed together, they can all be placed into one container instead of separate ones.
How to Chop Butternut Squash
There's no need to wrestle with butternut squash anymore once you see how easy it is to prep this vegetable.
How to Chop & Dice an Onion
Learning how to dice an onion correctly will save you so much time in the kitchen.
Equipment Smarts
- Sheet pan – its wide surface area allows the veggies to be spread out more, caramelizing and roasting all the pieces instead of steaming them
For more kitchen and equipment and tool smarts, visit our Essential Kitchen Cookware and Tools
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb brussels sprouts
- 1/2 butternut squash (save the rest for another one of our recipes)
- 1 small white onion
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
Instructions
Prep
- Brussels sprouts – Trim stems and remove outer leaves. Wash and slice in half. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Butternut squash – Warm in microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes to soften skin. Slice in half and remove seeds. Peel off outer skin, and chop squash into 1/2 inch cubes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Onion – Chop into 1/4 inch squares. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Make
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line sheet pan with parchment paper and place brussels, squash, and onion on sheet pan.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme, and mix altogether with your hands directly on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, taking it out midway to shake the pan and redistribute ingredients.
- When done baking, remove from oven and sprinkle with more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!
Note:
This blog post was originally published in February 2012 and has been updated with new and helpful resources.
Get more helpful cooking tips and resources by signing up for our newsletter below. We send out weekly emails that will help you improve in the kitchen and live a healthier life, so join our community today and start cooking smarter!
