Easy Mashed Butternut Squash

mashed butternut squash in a shallow serving bowl

5 from 1 vote

Easy Mashed Butternut Squash

This simple mashed butternut squash recipe will steal the show as a holiday side dish or at any fall or winter meal! It's perfectly seasoned with warm spices, sweet and savory, and incredibly tasty.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: mashed butternut squash

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

4 pounds butternut squash peeled, seeded & cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg optional

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F and move the rack to the middle position.
Prep the squash. To easily peel the squash, I cut it into quarters and carefully use a knife to cut the peel off since it's very thick. Cut it into approximately 1.5" pieces.
Place the squash on a large baking sheet and toss it with the olive oil. Season generously with salt & pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until it's very tender. I like to toss it halfway through baking for more even color.
Transfer the squash to a pot (I find this to be the most stable thing to use for mashing) and then add the butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mash it using a hand-held potato masher. Really mash it (it takes more effort to get it smooth than with potatoes). Taste it and add more salt & pepper if needed. Once it's nice and smooth, transfer it into a serving bowl.

Notes

If you don't want to peel & cut up the squash into pieces, you can cut it into halves (lengthwise), scoop out the seeds, add a bit of butter to each half (where the seeds were) and roast it for about an hour. You then scoop out the flesh and mash it as the recipe indicates.
You can halve the recipe if 6-8 servings are too much (I usually buy two 2-pound squashes).
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition