Prep Time:10 minsAdditional Time:30 minsTotal Time:40 minsServings:4Yield:4 servingsJump to Nutrition Facts

Prep Time:10 minsAdditional Time:30 minsTotal Time:40 minsServings:4Yield:4 servings

Prep Time:10 mins

Prep Time:

10 mins

Additional Time:30 mins

Additional Time:

30 mins

Total Time:40 mins

Total Time:

40 mins

Servings:4

Servings:

4

Yield:4 servings

Yield:

4 servings

Jump to Nutrition Facts

Jump to recipe

Roasted Honeynut Squashwill become a staple of your holiday gatherings. Roasting enhances the sweetness of honeynut squash, which is loaded with antioxidants and vitamin A. Butter adds a little richness, while sweet, earthy cinnamon adds the holiday feeling to this dish. Keep reading for our expert tips, including how to safely cut the squash.

Tips from the EatingWell Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!

Nutrition Notes

Prepping Honeynut Squash

Each one serves just one to two people (finally a squash we aren’t eating for days!), and they’re so easy to prepare. Here’s how:

Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey

Overhead photo of honeynut squash being sliced in half, using a linen over the knife.

Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and the first shallow layer of flesh for a smoother surface. You can clean the seeds and roast them like you would pumpkin seeds, or discard them.

Overhead photo of honeynut squash seeds being scooped out.

Our favorite way to flavor honeynut squash is with a simple combination of butter, cinnamon, salt and pepper. But feel free to experiment with any flavor profiles that excite you! We just recommend about 1 teaspoon of butter or oil and a sprinkling of seasoning (about 1/4 teaspoon) per squash half.

Overhead image of ingredients from Roasted Honeynut Squash recipe.

Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients2mediumhoneynut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded4teaspoonsbutter¼teaspoonsalt¼teaspoonground pepper¼teaspoonground cinnamon4teaspoonspure maple syrup (optional)

Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

2mediumhoneynut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

4teaspoonsbutter

¼teaspoonsalt

¼teaspoonground pepper

¼teaspoonground cinnamon

4teaspoonspure maple syrup (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Arrange squash halves cut-side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place 1 teaspoon butter in each cavity. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Roast until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup, if desired.

Overhead photo of roasted honeynut squash halves on a platter.

Equipment

Large rimmed baking sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

As long as you eat dairy, yes, this recipe is vegetarian.

You can cook honeynut squash in much the same way you cook other winter squash varieties, but the honeynut has some advantages. Its small size lends itself well to simply halving it before you cook it, and its tender skin is thin and edible, so it does not need to be peeled. You can steam, mash and stuff honeynut squash, but simply roasting it as we do here, with minimal embellishments, lets its naturally sweet and nutty flavor shine.

Honeynut squash can be found in large well-stocked grocery stores and farmers markets from September through December. While some winter squash can withstand long shelf lives, honeynut squash is more delicate and quickly loses its flavor as it sits, which makes it hard to find out of season.

Honeynut squash is a relatively new hybrid version of butternut squash. It has the same shape as butternut squash, but it’s much smaller, about the size of a medium potato. Its skin is bright orange as well as the flesh, which has a sweet and nutty flavor.In 2009, Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill challenged vegetable breeder Michael Mazourek to “breed a butternut squash to actually taste good” so that cooks wouldn’t have to add so much added sugar (like maple and honey) to get a delicious-tasting butternut. Mazourek’s response was this adorable tiny squash: the honeynut squash, which does indeed taste like a sweeter butternut squash.

Honeynut squash is a relatively new hybrid version of butternut squash. It has the same shape as butternut squash, but it’s much smaller, about the size of a medium potato. Its skin is bright orange as well as the flesh, which has a sweet and nutty flavor.

In 2009, Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill challenged vegetable breeder Michael Mazourek to “breed a butternut squash to actually taste good” so that cooks wouldn’t have to add so much added sugar (like maple and honey) to get a delicious-tasting butternut. Mazourek’s response was this adorable tiny squash: the honeynut squash, which does indeed taste like a sweeter butternut squash.

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Nutrition Facts(per serving)114Calories4gFat21gCarbs2gProtein

Nutrition Facts(per serving)

  • Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.

Carrie Myers, M.S.,

Hilary Meyer,

Devon O’Brien,

andLinda Frahm

Linda Frahm