Butternut squash

treehopper1987
treehopper1987 Posts: 505 Member
I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.
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Replies

  • onehurt
    onehurt Posts: 143 Member
    All I do is to cut it in sections and microwave it with a little water and add some butter to it and eat... Really good if you have some chicken gravy to put on it too... Real simple and you don't need to add any brown sugar to make it sweeter.

    Mark
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    I do what Mark does, cook and add a little butter. I love it that way. I've also made "fries" out of it and they turned out pretty good, kind of like sweet potato fries.

    However, I did try to make a hash out of it once (using the squash in place of potatoes) and I found it too sweet.
  • Snoozypaws3000
    Snoozypaws3000 Posts: 133 Member
    These are lovely and you don't need to peel the butternut.

    http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pastry-cake/butternut-squash-muffins

    I don't normally bother with the topping as they are nice and moist without....and obviously lower in calories
    I only use half the oil [I add the other half as apple sauce to keep the cals down] and I also replace a third of the sugar with Splenda
  • I like to bake it. Scoop out the soft pulp, & mix with onion, season all, garlic to taste, and an egg and some bread crumbs. Put back in the shell and bake till set. Add cheese on top if you like and bake till bubbly. Awesome. It's a family favorite
    .
  • Aliciaaah
    Aliciaaah Posts: 379 Member
    I LOVE butternut! I feel the opposite! Everything I use it in turns to gold!
  • Spelda is really unhealthy. :sad: Try Stevia instead.
  • I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.

    You don't have to make it sweet. I love it baked with a little butter, salt and pepper. Another way is to boil it like you would potatoes and then scoop it out of the skin and prepare it like you mashed potatoes with out the milk.
  • AussieNikki
    AussieNikki Posts: 168 Member
    I love it too! One of my favourite veggies.
  • karennh65
    karennh65 Posts: 27 Member
    Boil, mash, butter, salt & pepper.................that is the BEST as far as I am concerned. I've had it roasted, wasn't impressed. Had it with maple syrup...yuck.
  • clynch1968
    clynch1968 Posts: 45 Member
    i cut it in half, take out the seeds, cover in plastic wrap & microwave 15min. it looks sort of deflated when it is done. then scoop out the flesh & throw out the skin. salt/pepper is all i need. so low cal. delish.
  • sarah6336
    sarah6336 Posts: 108 Member
    I love squah. I found a savory recipe on foodnetwork.com. I tweaked it to use no oil. Make sure you use a large sharp knife to cut the squash... Cut it up into chunks after spliting it and removing the seeds. Toss in a bowl with crushed garlic & ground sage & 1 c water. Place squash on a baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes at 400. Pour the left over water down the drain.
  • 58Rock
    58Rock Posts: 176 Member
    I make "fries". Cut into 4 or 5 inch long by 1/2 inch srips. Coat with a little olive oil/salt pepper and bake on high heat (45) for about 15 mins. Then eat them like franch fries. It only takes five minutes to peel and cut.
  • evelina90
    evelina90 Posts: 19 Member
    Anybody tried streaming the squash?
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    You can buy it already cut up and ready to go....I never buy it and cut it up myself

    But I make this all the time...if you think it might be too sweet (I don't think it is with the peppers added), leave out the Agave syrup or reduce it, but I LOVE this soup and it's very filling and low in calories. 151 calories 6 grams of fat for 2 cups of soup

    Also, try my Butternut squash recipe (it's very "rich" tasting but not fattening):

    I clean and cut into strips a whole red bell pepper
    Chop a whole Medium sized Onion
    Heat my pan (gallon size) with 2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Throw in the pepper, get it "blackened"
    Add the onion
    Add 4 cups of diced butternut squash (you can buy this already diced in the grocery -- and it's usually 4 cups)
    Add 2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
    Add 2 Cloves of Garlic
    After 5 minutes, add in 3 cups of water and let it boil
    Cook just until the squash is tender (may only take another 10 minutes)

    Cool down, add 2 TBSP of Raw Agave Syrup
    Puree using an immersion blender or let cool enough to add to a regular blender a little at a time and puree

    It usually makes 5 - 2 cup servings and is 151 calories; I add a salad to go with it to have some "raw" veg; you can also toss on some fresh sprouts and either sunflower seeds, flax seeds or hemp seeds to give some "crunch" to the soup
  • treehopper1987
    treehopper1987 Posts: 505 Member
    Does it always have a "sweet potato" taste?
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    oh i adore it,,, and so does the whole family, they beg me to make my soup...
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.

    Oh my gosh I LOVE it. I just cut it up and steam it or bake it, then peal the skin off. One of my most favorite foods. :)
  • BCSMama
    BCSMama Posts: 348
    I like to bake it. Scoop out the soft pulp, & mix with onion, season all, garlic to taste, and an egg and some bread crumbs. Put back in the shell and bake till set. Add cheese on top if you like and bake till bubbly. Awesome. It's a family favorite
    .

    That sounds really good! Gonna have to give it a try.
  • bonifachi
    bonifachi Posts: 50 Member
    I like to bake it. Scoop out the soft pulp, & mix with onion, season all, garlic to taste, and an egg and some bread crumbs. Put back in the shell and bake till set. Add cheese on top if you like and bake till bubbly. Awesome. It's a family favorite
    .

    I actually blogged something really similar to this...it's so easy and SO yummy. I'm actually gonna have it tonight for dinner
    http://emmaandthebeanstalk.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/good-fast-food-the-slow-and-planned-version-stuffed-roasted-squash-and-other-things-delicious/
  • You can buy it already cut up and ready to go....I never buy it and cut it up myself

    But I make this all the time...if you think it might be too sweet (I don't think it is with the peppers added), leave out the Agave syrup or reduce it, but I LOVE this soup and it's very filling and low in calories. 151 calories 6 grams of fat for 2 cups of soup

    Also, try my Butternut squash recipe (it's very "rich" tasting but not fattening):

    I clean and cut into strips a whole red bell pepper
    Chop a whole Medium sized Onion
    Heat my pan (gallon size) with 2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Throw in the pepper, get it "blackened"

    now THIS sounds good...I made a crockpot recipe that used sweet potatoes and apple and butternut squash..way too sweet..kind of baby food-ish..I threw it out ;(
    Add the onion
    Add 4 cups of diced butternut squash (you can buy this already diced in the grocery -- and it's usually 4 cups)
    Add 2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
    Add 2 Cloves of Garlic
    After 5 minutes, add in 3 cups of water and let it boil
    Cook just until the squash is tender (may only take another 10 minutes)

    Cool down, add 2 TBSP of Raw Agave Syrup
    Puree using an immersion blender or let cool enough to add to a regular blender a little at a time and puree

    It usually makes 5 - 2 cup servings and is 151 calories; I add a salad to go with it to have some "raw" veg; you can also toss on some fresh sprouts and either sunflower seeds, flax seeds or hemp seeds to give some "crunch" to the soup
  • gigiangelique
    gigiangelique Posts: 233 Member
    I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.

    Butternut squash is a fruit so thats why its sweet. I make soup and use a good spicy broth and low fat cheese to make it savory. sometime i make it sweet with cinnamon and a hint of olive oil on a pan
  • whoops I wrote in the middle of this quote..I meant to say this recipe sounds good..the one I used was waaaaay to sweet..I will try this one!
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    Have you tried the warm butternut squash and chickpea salad from Casa Moro (google it-- a lot of bloggers have posted the recipe)? The sweetness of the squash is tempered by the chickpeas, garlic, cilantro, and red onion. And a smoky tahini dressing ties it all together.
  • lesliefb
    lesliefb Posts: 88 Member
    I don't like it sweet either. Also don't like sweetened sweet potatoes. I much prefer both seasoned with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. You can parboil it (boil it til it's just a wee bit less than fully cooked), then sautee with spinach, garlic, onions. Us a splash of chicken broth if it gets too dry and you don't want to add butter or oil. It's sooooo tasty.
  • smiley245
    smiley245 Posts: 420 Member
    Love butternut squash, Planted seeds in the spring and produced a load of em :)

    My favorit way to have it is soup. I make it with cumin. I find the spicy hit of the cumin balances out the sweetness of the squash.

    Chopped up as fries is great too. Mashed my kids aren't big fans but will eat it if I do a mix of potato and squash,(1/2- 1/2) with some butter, milk salt and pepper.
  • treehopper1987
    treehopper1987 Posts: 505 Member
    I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.

    Butternut squash is a fruit so thats why its sweet. I make soup and use a good spicy broth and low fat cheese to make it savory. sometime i make it sweet with cinnamon and a hint of olive oil on a pan

    Well most "vegetables" are actually fruits, it's more of a term used to describe edible plants.



    I don't like sweet potatoes either, which is why I think I don't like butternut squash.
  • Danam48
    Danam48 Posts: 129 Member
    I have an old school crock pot and I can drop a whole squash and nothing else into it before I go to bed. Set it on low and in the morning I can open up the crockpot and the squash is soft to the touch. Slice it open and scoop out the goodness..done deal. Salt, butter and pepper is how I like it best. It is really satisfying!
  • JustineMarie21
    JustineMarie21 Posts: 437 Member
    Pre heat oven to 400 degrees
    Cut the squash in half and spoop out the seeds. Put halves cut side down in a roasting pan with some water covering the bottom then put tinfoil over top and bake for 30-40 minutes.(till soft enough a fork can easily peirce through). While its cooking sautee onions,mushroom and garlic till tender. Take squash out when done and sprinkle with salt, pepper, allspice, garlic powder, a little chili powder and parmasean cheese. Then fill holes with onion/mushroom mixture and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy:)
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    I think I'm giving up on this vegetable. I want to like it, but every recipe I've made with it has been unsuccessful and I feel it is too sweet. Also, I feel it is way too much work to cut and fix.

    Butternut squash is a fruit so thats why its sweet. I make soup and use a good spicy broth and low fat cheese to make it savory. sometime i make it sweet with cinnamon and a hint of olive oil on a pan

    Well most "vegetables" are actually fruits, it's more of a term used to describe edible plants.



    I don't like sweet potatoes either, which is why I think I don't like butternut squash.

    I think butternut squash isn't quite as sweet as sweet potatoes. However, if you don't like sweet potatoes, it makes sense that you don't like squash. They are similar.
  • all i do is cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and add olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it in the oven!! yummo!!