If you’re looking for a perfect side to compliment the main course of your Thanksgiving dinner, consider making this roasted butternut squash and cranberries dish. Squash is seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder, cranberries burst with flavor from roasting and it’s all topped with a pinch of cinnamon, drizzle of honey and sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese. I realize with that opening you may be scrolling directly to the recipe at this point so I’ll just ramble on a bit with a few ‘yada yada yada’s’ here and there 🙂

At 28 years old, I’ve just now tried butternut squash for the first time and only because it was served with a dinner I ordered out with my family. As a quick side note, the restaurant was 101 Beer Kitchen in Dublin; if you live nearby I highly recommend it for the quaint and rustic atmosphere and good food! Back to the squash…I never realized how similar it is to sweet potatoes! It’s definitely a winter squash to take advantage of while it’s around this season, one that even acts as a substitute for pumpkin. In fact, my Grandma informed me she once baked a pumpkin pie with butternut squash and no one knew the difference! Tricky of her isn’t it? Yada, yada, yada… 🙂

Not only will this dish look beautiful on your Thanksgiving table, it’s packed full of good nutrition for you and your family! Butternut Squash is an excellent source of vitamin A and C and has decent amounts of fiber and potassium! The ‘stuff’ it doesn’t have is good news too….no cholesterol, minimal sodium (we’re talking 6 mg in a cup) and none of those ‘bad’ fats (just a tiny bit of good polyunsaturated fat)! Oh, and the cranberries, of course they’re good for you too. Antioxidant power, Vitamin C and Fiber…check!

The roasting process brings out the sweet flavor of this squash pairing wonderfully with the tart berries. I’ll be making a bigger batch next time, because I didn’t share any with my husband this time…oops! To be fair, leftovers were in the fridge for one day. Snooze ya lose? 😉 I’m done rambling down; let’s get to this easy and delicious recipe!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberries

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1 – 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 – 2 Tbsp honey [or extra, to taste]
• ¼ cup finely crumbled feta cheese
• ground cinnamon, to taste

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly drizzle a baking sheet with half of olive oil.
3. Add cubed squash to the sheet with another drizzle of olive oil.
4. Sprinkle mixture of salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Roast squash for 25 minutes.
5. At the 25 minute mark, pull out the oven rack and add fresh cranberries.
6. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes or until cranberries start to soften and burst, resembling juicy dried cranberries.
7. Carefully remove from oven and sprinkle cinnamon, to taste. Lightly drizzle honey and top with crumbled feta cheese to finish. Best served warm. Enjoy!

 

As always, thanks for reading!!