Our Most-Saved October Recipe Is So Good, Reviewers Say There Are Never Any Leftovers

Simple ingredients cooked well is the secret to great meals—but that makes cooking sound easier than it is.

Finding dinner recipes or sides that you love and consistently want to make can be a challenge. If you’re in the mood for a simple, seasonal recipe, I would like to recommend our most-saved recipe of last October: roasted butternut squash.

The recipe has thousands of saves and is great to make when fall is in full swing. It lets the squash shine, which is why this recipe is so great to make when this vegetable is in season.

How to Roast Butternut Squash

This recipe only uses three ingredients, plus some oil to bring everything together. All you need is some squash, garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Of course, there are so many more seasonings and spices to use if you want to adapt the recipe to your personal taste (such as cinnamon, rosemary, paprika, or even honey or agave).

Peel the squash, then slice in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from the center of the bulb, and cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Mix with oil and seasonings, then place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 25 to 35 minutes. The squash should be tender and lightly browned.

If the skin of your squash is too tough to peel, poke holes in the skin and place it in the microwave for a minute or two, then give the peeling process a go. The skin should be softer and easier to work with.

Tips For Picking the Best Squash

To make the best recipe possible, you need the best squash. The recipe only uses a few ingredients, so the quality of the squash matters. Here are a few tips on picking the best squash:

• Similar to watermelons, if you give a squash a knock and it sounds hollow, it is ready and ripe. If there is a dull sound that comes back, it might be under or overripe, and it would be best to avoid that squash.
• A ripe butternut squash should feel heavy for its size. If you don’t know what a squash should weigh, pick up several and see which one feels the heaviest.
• Avoid squashes with deep cuts or bruises. The skin of a squash is on the tougher side, so some minor scrapes or blemishes won’t impact the vegetable.
• Look for squashes with a tan exterior. Unripe squashes could be green or yellow and aren’t ready to cook yet. Hard, dry stems are also an indicator of a ripe squash, so if they feel soft or show molding, look for another squash.

Community Tips and Praise

This recipe is a community favorite. It has received glowing reviews by home cooks and over a thousand 5-star reviews. For example:

• “This recipe ROCKED! I made it as a side dish for steaks and it was a hit!” says reviewer nburton5. “I was recently asked by my mom to just make this as a main course for dinner. It was just THAT good.” 
• “Delicious recipe. My only suggestion would be to pierce the skin of the squash and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes,” says reviewer busynana. “Peels very easily with a potato peeler using this method.”
• “Not sure I'd roast butternut squash any other way after making this basic, non-fussy recipe,” says reviewer naples34102. “Winning recipes almost always begin with fresh ingredients and a little seasoning to enhance and complement. This is a winner. Easy to prepare, quick to roast, easy to serve and eat, pretty on the plate, and delicious. I simply added a little fresh chopped parsley to pretty it up.”