Maple Roasted Butternut Squash with Bacon Crumbles
It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. and I have all things turkey, cranberry and pumpkin on the brain! But what about butternut? It seems to not get as much attention as pumpkin and that’s just a cryin shame. Roasted squash is just divine and my favorite way to eat this humble little veggie!
I also want to mention that there’s just nothing better than adding bacon crumbles to, well….everything! But especially butternut squash! I love the flavor of caramelized butternut chunks mixed with herbs and crisp salty bacon pieces!
I first created this side dish for a holiday party and now I’m adding it to the blog because it has stolen my heart. It’s the perfect side dish to bring to a Thanksgiving meal, or really any meal for that matter. I hate showing up to a party with a boring vegetable side dish, that’s just the worst! This side dish is easy enough to make and everyone seems to absolutely love it!
I added in some maple syrup to help give it a little more punch of sweetness, but feel free to leave it out if you’re doing a Whole30. If you make this recipe, I’d love to know what you think in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 2 large butternut squash
- 12 oz. pkg of bacon
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp herbs de provence
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets.
- Cut 2 squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, discard and remove stem.
- Pierce each squash half with a fork, rub a little oil on each and place cuts down on lined baking sheet. Cook for 20 min on top rack.
- Place bacon on a lined baking sheet and place on bottom rack, cook at the same time as the squash until crispy, about 15-20 mins.
- When bacon is done, set aside to cool and crumble. Remove squash from oven and let cool down a few mins. before handling.
- When squash is cool enough to touch, remove skins (carefully slice off with a knife). Cube squash into uniform bite sized pieces (about 1").
- Add cubed squash back onto baking sheet, add oil, maple syrup, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Cook an additional 30 mins. until squash is caramelized and roasty toasty!
- Remove from oven, add to a large serving bowl and add crumbled bacon into the squash bowl and mix well.
