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Ideas for Butternut Squash please

(51 Posts)
Aely Sun 17-Aug-25 17:49:22

Today I brought back a massive Butternut Squash from my allotment. It weighed 3lb 12oz. As it has been such a difficult year for growing anything, I don't want to waste it. Anybody got any ideas for meals using this monster in different ways? Does it freeze well if I cut some of it it up for later in the year? I've never grown one this big before.

GrannyGravy13 Sun 17-Aug-25 17:51:31

Soup

Curry

Pickle

Aely Sun 17-Aug-25 17:55:59

Is there a simple recipe for making the soup? The ones I found on t'internet look complicated and take hours. I have to admit, I love tinnned Butternut soup but it doesn't seem to be avaailable a lot of the time, so making my own would be good.

growstuff Sun 17-Aug-25 17:56:13

Yes, they freeze well, although they go a bit soft. I don't like to roast frozen butternut squash, but it's fine for soup or curry.

growstuff Sun 17-Aug-25 18:00:50

Aely

Is there a simple recipe for making the soup? The ones I found on t'internet look complicated and take hours. I have to admit, I love tinnned Butternut soup but it doesn't seem to be avaailable a lot of the time, so making my own would be good.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roasted_butternut_squash_10281

I must admit I don't always bother roasting it first (because I'm stingy and don't want to use my oven) - the flavour is possibly not quite so good, but it's still tasty.

If you don't like ginger, you could add some other spice. I'm afraid my soups are usually made with whatever I have and always end up a bit different from the last batch.

Norah Sun 17-Aug-25 18:11:20

Freeze in cubes. Soup. Risotto. With pasta. On pizza. Roasted.

Retread Sun 17-Aug-25 18:23:42

Cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds. Fill the hollow with a tomato and onion sauce and black lentils. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast. Crumble feta on top towards the end. Or fill with left over bolognaise and grate cheddar on top. Half is enough for a meal for me,

Jamie Oliver uses it as a layer in bolognaise.

I take the peel off with a potato peeler, or I leave it on, it’s amazing how it all but disappears once cooked.

Retread Sun 17-Aug-25 18:37:22

There are recipes for it stuffed with rice too:

www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/stuffed-butternut-squash-with-feta/

Grandmadinosaur Sun 17-Aug-25 19:03:19

Being a bit of a #lazygran I sometimes buy the ready prepared slices of BNS you can buy in the supermarket. I cook these in my air fryer as an alternative to potatoes.
Leftover ones I add to salads - lovely with feta cheese and walnuts.
Cut them into smaller slices and add to other veggies in a stir fry.
Nice added to beefy type casseroles.

Baggs Sun 17-Aug-25 19:55:23

Chop, boil, mash with coconut milk. Eat with whatever you think will go with it. We like it with stir-fried pork, onions and pine nuts.

Make soup with it as the main ingredient and add whatever else (e.g. leftovers in the freezer) you've got kicking about. Summer soup – some o' this and some o' that 😉

M0nica Sun 17-Aug-25 20:32:31

Chop and freeze. It freezes very well and use over the winter in soups casseroles and stews.

craftybrat Mon 18-Aug-25 15:48:28

growstuff

Yes, they freeze well, although they go a bit soft. I don't like to roast frozen butternut squash, but it's fine for soup or curry.

Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite soups.

peel and cube squash and put into a large soup pot. Add the following ingredients.

1 large or 2 small onions diced
2-3 potatoes cubed
1-4 cloves of garlic (To your taste)
1 can of chicken stock (if your squash is really big maybe more)
salt and pepper to taste. I like a tiny bit of chili pepper too
1tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
Pinch of ginger

Cook low and slow until everything is very soft. Good in a crock pot. When everything is soft either blend until smooth or emulsifier until smooth add a tiny bit more water if to thick.

I like mine with a bit of sausage sliced thin and a small spoon of sour cream.

OKAY now I need to find one of these

62Granny Mon 18-Aug-25 19:13:48

They are nice in Currys , Thai & Indian , lovely with pasta , boiled and mashed with Blue cheese then mixed through pasta. ( use a bit of pasta water to loosen it if it too thick. Also I love it roasted and mixed with Rocket, dressed with olive oil and balsamic as a different salad. If you have a glut of tomatoes as well you can roast them both for Soup . Loads of recipes on BBC Good Food page.

yogagran Tue 19-Aug-25 13:46:39

I just cut it into chunks with a few other bits and spices and bung it in the soup maker, half an hour later there's a delicious soup ready!

Dogsjj Tue 19-Aug-25 14:36:53

What is the easiest way to peel Butternut squash? I have very arthritic hands and last time I was nearly in tears. Thank you for any suggestions.

LeslieL Tue 19-Aug-25 14:39:59

Dogsjj
Buy frozen chunks!

grandMattie Tue 19-Aug-25 15:14:15

What I was brought up with was loads of squash.
One favourite dish is to fry onion, with/out bits of bacon, add a tomato or two or a tin, then gently add the squash in cubes. A tiny bit of water, stew gently until soft.
Serve with rice.
What I do with what’s left, is to make a cheese sauce, oven, eat… scumptious!

grandMattie Tue 19-Aug-25 15:15:55

Dogsjj

What is the easiest way to peel Butternut squash? I have very arthritic hands and last time I was nearly in tears. Thank you for any suggestions.

Butternut squash skin gets very soft if cooked without salt. If roasted, a membrane peels off; if stewed (salt added after cooking), it just disappears.

KnittyNannie Tue 19-Aug-25 15:40:46

I find the easiest was to peel a butternut squash is to prick it with a fork several times and then microwave it for six or seven minutes. It is then easy to peel.

Binijo Tue 19-Aug-25 15:56:05

I sometimes make mine into ‘chips’ and cover them with a spot of curry powder or mixed herbs. Salt and cook in oven. Delicious!

Retread Tue 19-Aug-25 16:01:50

Dogsjj

What is the easiest way to peel Butternut squash? I have very arthritic hands and last time I was nearly in tears. Thank you for any suggestions.

I find that it's very easy to peel with a potato peeler. The peel is actually quite thin.

But perhaps even a potato peeler is difficult with arthritis.

Bazza Tue 19-Aug-25 16:01:53

I would suggest the compost. Not a fan!

Applegran Tue 19-Aug-25 16:26:40

I make butternut squash soup in my soup maker, with onions fried first, seasoning , and sometimes add a few red lentils (very few - they do expand!) and it makes really nice soup. You don't have to have a soup maker - but it helps. It would freeze.

arum Tue 19-Aug-25 16:32:48

Cooked butternut freezes very well. Can use it for soup, pumpkin fritters, pumpkin loaf. Cubed butternut is lovely cooked with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar, eaten as a veg.

4allweknow Tue 19-Aug-25 17:40:42

It does freeze well. Mistakenly bought instead of sweet potato, I know how can that happen, so I chopped up and put in freezer. I have roasted some.