Easy Sautéed Butternut Squash (in 20 Minutes)
A delicious savory squash side dish that's ready in under 20 minutes, and makes a great addition to the dinner table.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash about 1 to 1 ½ pounds
- 1 ½ tablespoons neutral oil alt. ghee
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Peel your squash and cut it in half, then scoop out the seeds & squishy bits from the middle. Next cut it into ½" cubes, as uniform in size as possible or else they'll cook unevenly. If using pre-cut squash, just make sure your cubes are cut to ½" and pretty similar in size, otherwise the timing indicated in the recipe will need to be increased (for larger pieces of squash).
- Once done, drizzle your oil into a large lidded pan and turn on medium low heat, warming the oil for one minute before adding your squash cubes in a single layer and putting on the lid (a little askew to let any steam escape). Raise the heat to medium and then cook for 6 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir the squash, then lower the heat to medium-low, sprinkle on the garlic powder and salt, and stir thoroughly. Cook for 9-12 more minutes, stirring ocassionally to avoid burning. Your squash should be fork-tender and lightly browned, and then it's ready to enjoy.
Notes
Sweet Sauteed Squash: for a more sweet sauteed butternut squash, replace the garlic powder with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, which will enhance the natural sugars in the squash and increase the amount of caramelization on the outside.
Reduce Moisture: I like to wipe the lid halfway through the initial cooking portion, to limit the amount of water dripping back into the pan and getting a nice roasted squash flavor throughout the dish.
Caramelized Squash: for that beautiful sear across the whole dish, make sure to leave your butternut squash sauteeing for a couple of minutes in between each occasional stir, otherwise you'll interrupt the browning process too much.