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Roasted Brown Sugar-Five Spice Butternut Squash


I went to Costco this past week.  I swear they take all of my money.  Okay, I do give it to them willingly, but geez it’s impossible to control myself there. The meat…it’s fabulous. The produce…it’s perfect. The goodies, gadgets and everything else…gotta have it. 

I came home with loads of sugar snap peas, apples, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, rib-eye steaks, lamb chops, gigantical shrimps, lump crab, already-peeled hard-boiled eggs, bulbs for the garden, garden pots, spring cleaning supplies, dog treats, Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook (I have to make those donuts), regular almonds, sliced almonds, pinenuts, crackers, spreads, cheeses and deli meats, fresh white socks, new Spring colored towels… OMG the list goes on and on. I begged my husband to go by himself…”leave me at home, I’ll give you a list”. I know the damage I do there. He took me anyway. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

My checkout guy said, “Hey, this is better than gambling. At least you get to go home with lots of stuff.” Umm, yeah, that’s one way of looking at it. Thanks for the analogy?? It was a strange conversation that quickly turned to him also having psychic abilities. Okay…bye Mr. Checkout Man, I’ll make sure to not come in your weird line again.  Bub-bye.  It was odd, just take my word for it. 

Anyway, what I also consider a major score at Costco is already peeled and cubed butternut squash. And as an aside, I have never had a local grocery store that carries fresh butternut already cut up.  Not to mention those same stores have never carried it frozen either. I would buy it frozen…I think. I absolutely hate cutting up raw butternut. It scares me. I just know the knife is going to flip and cut off something or scar me forever. Bad. I’ve watched videos, I’ve tried…I don’t like it. I’ve done the whole hand-knife-cutting-stitches thing….it wasn’t fun.


So I got this butternut home and before I even put all my Costco loot away, I started in on it. Melting butter and sugar and five spice….heavenly. Just heavenly. Husband not amused that as he was lugging in the 50 loads of merchandise I couldn’t live without, I was completely distracted by getting this in the oven. Oops. 

   


I love butternut squash so much I want to serve it as an appetizer….I wonder what people would think?

Print Recipe

Roasted Brown Sugar-Five Spice Butternut Squash

Recipe from: Created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com | Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • In a small sauce pan, melt butter and sugar over low heat. Once mixture is smooth, add five-spice and salt until fully incorporated. Remove from heat.
  • In a large bowl, toss butternut with melted butter mixture. Spread out squash evenly on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until squash is easily pierced with a fork. (If you have a convection oven it will take less time to achieve the same results).

Comments

  4. Dear Cathy….I have a spice drawer to end all spice drawers….with practically every spice known to man except…”Chinese 5 spice powder!” What is this & if I am to try this recipe where do I find this spice? Thank You for your help….Betty

    Reply

  5. Chinese Five-Spice powder is a very popular and easy to find spice. It’s in the spice aisle of your regular grocery store. You could also make your own.

    From about.com 

    1. Grind roasted peppercorns and 8 star anise in a blender or pepper mill.
    2. Strain the blended seasonings.
    3. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds.
    4. Grind the seasonings until very fine.

    I think it’s just easier to buy it.

    Reply

  9. Umm this post made me laugh, because the same thing always happens to me at Costco and I also just bought the same cubed squash. And of course I needed a delicious recipe for it, so lo and behold I find your blog! And this recipe looks amazing!!

    Reply

  11. Just made these, they are in the oven smelling fabulous. I made them as “fries” instead of cubes. I used coconut oil instead of butter, but I wouldn’t suggest it. The spice mixture ‘broke’ and I had little sugar/spice crumbles that I sprinkled over the whole pan before I put it in the oven.

    Reply

  12. I bought 2 lbs at Costco and plan on making this tonight (even though it’s 85 degrees right now! I can’t wait till cool weather) There are only 2 of us and hubby isn’t keen on squash, so wondering if I roasted the whole 2 lbs, do you think I could use what’s left to make a little bit of soup or MUST the squash be boiled in the chicken broth? If that’s so, I will do half roasted and the other half for soup. Seems like I could save some time and effort using left over squash and the spices on the roast squash appeal to me in a soup anyway. What do you think?

    Reply

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