Maple Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

For Thanksgiving I made a butternut squash dish that was roasted with cinnamon and honey.  I was determined to make it ahead of time, as I did many other dishes.  My question was, could I freeze the cubed squash and roast it later?  I had to do some research but I did have success!  Sadly, it still wasn’t easy to peel and cube the darn stuff.  But it was frozen and would save me much time later.

I’ve mentioned before that I try to time my squash roasting around the appearance of my P.S.  His arm is much stronger than mine when whacking a squash in half.  Slicing a butternut squash, peeling and cubing it was not something I was looking forward to.  He was on his way out the door the day I chose to prep the squash, but I did get him to slice it for me.  I was left to peel and dice.  Ugh.

Slice, remove seeds, peel and cube squash. Lay out in a single layer on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Freeze.

An hour later, I finally had my pile of butternut cubes and a sore arm.  When I see those bags of peeled and diced squash in the produce section of the grocery store next time, I might rethink buying a whole squash.  Whatever the price, it might be worth it.  Especially since I have an arm that likes to get all sore and achey at random times.

My next question was, can I freeze it without losing quality?  Should it be blanched or something?  I’d always roasted squash before freezing it and had no idea what was the best way to handle it.  A quick search of the web and I had my answer.  Yes, go ahead and freeze it as is!  Wikihow suggested spreading the cubed squash in a single layer on a sheet pan to freeze it, then placing it in a zippered bag to store it.

Place frozen squash in a zippered freezer bag and freeze until needed. Thaw for several hours at room temperature before roasting.

I obediently froze the squash cubes on a parchment lined sheet pan, then placed it in a bag to store until needed.  I didn’t have much room in my freezer so I ended up putting it in the bag when it wasn’t quite frozen.  I crossed my fingers I wouldn’t have a huge lump of squash to hack apart later.  But I was lucky and the squash remained separated and tumbled out nicely when I went to roast it.

Place squash in large bowl, mix glaze in a separate bowl. Pour glaze over squash and stir to coat.

I let the squash sit in a bowl and thaw for several hours, then poured in the glaze and stirred it to coat.  I spread it on a foil covered sheet pan, sprinkled more cinnamon over the pieces and roasted it in a 400°F oven until the cubes were just fork tender.  I’d reheat it the next day in a crockpot so I wanted it a bit firmer to account for the further cooking while heating.  I did turn on the broiler to brown it a little more for both flavor and color.

Spread squash on a foil covered sheet pan and sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired. Roast at 400°F until fork tender, about 20 minutes. If extra browning is desired, broil until further browned.

For the glaze I’d followed a couple of recipes.  I wanted to use honey as well as maple syrup.  Cinnamon would give it a final touch of flavor.  The recipe I mostly followed also included pecan pieces and I nixed them.  My family is picky about when they will eat nuts.

Everyone did love the squash without the nuts; I had very little left over.  My squash-loving P.S. happily finished it off the next day.  From making it ahead of time to roasting it quickly, this dish is a holiday treasure.  It reheated well in the lined crockpot and was delicious.

Place in lined crockpot and reheat on low for 2 hours before serving

Honey Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

• Servings: 10-12
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A sweet squash dish with the flavors of maple syrup, honey and cinnamon.

• 6-7 cups butternut squash; peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + extra for sprinkling if desired
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare squash. If prepared ahead of time, freeze on a parchment paper covered sheet pan then store in a zippered freezer bag. Thaw at room temp for several hours before roasting.

In a large bowl add the squash. Mix rest of ingredients in a separate bowl then pour over squash. Mix well with spoon or fingers.

Spread squash on a foil covered baking sheet and sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired. Roast at 400°F for 20 minutes or until fork tender.

Tip: if extra browning is desired, broil until browned and caramelized. Watch closely, it burns easily!

Freezing Squash Advice from Wikihow

Roasted Squash recipe adapted from Diethood