Hasselback Butternut Squash with Brown Butter Sage

A delicious holiday side dish that you can enjoy all year round. This Hasselback butternut squash recipe that has brown butter sage is made with fall produce and fall spices! It's a delicious, sweet and savory side dish and is absolutely a simple dish to make!

Hasselback Butternut Squash:

This Hasselback butternut squash is the perfect side dish for a holiday gathering or any weeknight dinner. The winter squash is seasoned perfectly with aromatic brown butter sage and rosemary, then finished up with parmesan cheese, walnut pieces, bacon bits and roasted sage leaves.

What Does this Hasselback Butternut Squash Taste Like:

This roasted Hasselback butternut squash has a great texture and a nice amount of sweetness.  I like that in this recipe it balances the sweetness with a mild saltiness and spices due to all of the supporting ingredients used.

The roasted squash is so tender, sweet and is very creamy. It has the perfect amount of glaze. And to balance out the soft texture and sweet flavor, we are going to serve the Hasselback squash with a generous amount of bacon bits, parmesan cheese, and walnut pieces. These toppings will enhance the flavor of the dish, and bring it’s taste to the next level. The final result? Sweet, salty nutty, and aromatic!

Butternut Squash:

This winter squash has a nutty and sweet taste similar to pumpkin. It can be eaten raw but is commonly baked or roasted. The skin is very tough but will soften as you bake or roast them.

For this recipe, we are going to cut the butternut squash in half vertically, remove the seeds and then peel the skin. I leave the stem on for presentation purposes only. If you are going to serve this for guests or small children, I highly recommend removing the stem prior to cooking as you don’t want to forget later and have someone accidentally bite it.

Raw butternut squash has a tough texture. For this reason, we need to roast the squash in the oven at 425F for about 15 minutes before slicing it.

Don’t wait, give this easy side dish recipe a try tonight! Or try one of these following recipes:

• SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE – CHEESY AND HEALTHY
• ELOTES MEXICANOS – MEXICAN CORN SALAD
• EASY KETO CREAMED SPINACH – SO CHEESY!
• SKILLET FRIED CORN – BUTTERY!
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN
• CAULIFLOWER STUFFING (LOW CARB AND HERBY)

Brown Butter:

This brown butter will act as a glaze. It's made of unsalted butter that is melted on the stove and seasoned with maple syrup, apple cider, sage, rosemary, and paprika.

Feel free to use any other fall spices to flavor the butter. As an alternative, you may use a small amount of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Sage:

In this recipe, I used a combination of dried and fresh sage. This herb is never actually eaten raw. The earthy taste of sage creates a nice contrast with sweet and acid flavors.

I used dried sage to make the brown butter, but also add some fresh sage leaves to the baking sheet for about 3-5 minutes before the cooking is done. The roasted browned butter sage is so delicious and is perfect to garnish the squash, too.

How to Make This Hasselback Butternut Squash:

This recipe is perfect for even for beginners in the kitchen and only uses simple ingredients that you can find in your pantry or local market. There are 5 important steps to follow:

1.      Roast the butternut squash for 15 minutes to soften the flesh.  That way you can slice the squash thinly, but still, keep it intact. Don't forget to season the squash with salt and pepper before roasting.

2.      Make the glaze by melting the butter and by adding the seasoning; sage, rosemary, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and paprika.

3.      Slice the squash and brush it with the glaze.

4.      Cook the squash in the oven and baste it every 15 minutes.

5.      Cook the squash in the oven until tender. On average, it should take about 45 minutes.