Yummy Synergy: 7 Side Dishes to Serve with Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is a squash with a hard shell and orange, sweet flesh. It’s related to other squashes like pumpkin and zucchini.

You can serve butternut squash in many different ways: as soup, roasted in cubes with garlic oil, or baked in slices.

Butternut squash will become softer when cooking it for a longer time (baking and roasting), while it will stay a bit crunchy when cooking butternut squash for a shorter time (like in soup).

If you roast pieces of butternut squash, there are also many different side dishes that you could serve with butternut squash to make the dish complete: potatoes, sweet potatoes, or carrots would be great choices.

But to keep things simple, you could stick to a light salad or some pickles, for instance.

Butternut squash can be used in many different dishes, but the combination of butternut squash with cheese is especially great.

Grill cubes of butternut squash together with a slice of cheese (cheddar, swiss, gouda,) until the cheese melts and you have a tasty side dish.

In this article, we will list several side dishes that you could serve with butternut squash.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Butternut Squash?

Butternut squash is a versatile vegetable that can serve as a main course or a side dish.

If you are preparing butternut squash as the main course, there are many different dishes that you could prepare.

While butternut squash can be eaten like pumpkin, you could also serve it as a soup or puree.

Roasted butternut squash cubes are a great side dish.

If you want to complete the meal, adding potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes would also work well with butternut squash.

There are many different recipes for preparing butternut squash. It can be served as soup or puree.

You could also roast butternut squash cubes with garlic oil or serve it baked in slices.

If you want to keep things simple, a vegetable salad will work great with the side dish you have chosen for your butternut squash dish.

What to Serve with Butternut Squash? 7 BEST Side Dishes

It’s difficult to choose a side dish for butternut squash because there are so many different recipes available.

There are seven other dishes that we will describe below.

Some of these dishes work great as the main course, like the soup, and some make a fantastic side dish for the main course like mashed potatoes, while others are great together with butternut squash as a main dish like the grilled cheese cubes.

1 – Beef Stew

This delicious dish can be prepared with beef and vegetables.

This is a hearty meal that will fill the stomach and is excellent for cold winter days.

If you’re not in the mood for making beef stew, you could also substitute it with other meat like chicken or lamb and still get a great meal.

If you want to serve this as your main dish with butternut squash, you could prepare the beef stew and add the cubes of butternut squash at the same time that you would add potatoes.

That way, everything will be ready around the same time.

The vegetables that work best for beef stew are carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and turnips.

2 – Roasted Vegetables

This dish is very easy to prepare, and you can use lots of different vegetables, but we suggest using butternut squash since it goes perfectly with this meal.

The butternut squash can be cut into cubes and roasted in the oven until it gets a nice golden color.

In addition to being delicious, this dish is very healthy and nutritious because it includes lots of veggies.

This recipe also works well with carrots, celery root, turnips, or garlic cloves.

You can serve these vegetables either hot or cold.

If you want to use them as a side dish for your butternut squash, remember to cut the cubes into smaller pieces and add some olive oil to avoid sticking to each other.

3 – Grilled Cheese Cubes

This is a side dish that will surely impress your friends.

You can use different types of cheese and combine them with bread to decorate the top of butternut squash cubes.

Diced bacon or ham work wonders with this meal, too.

These dishes are simple to prepare, tasty and perfect for winter days when you might not want to go outside and grill.

You can prepare a big batch of these grilled cheese cubes in advance, store them in the refrigerator, and warm one up whenever you need to serve them as a side dish for your butternut squash or any other main course that might require some extra flavor.

You can also add sliced turkey or chicken to create a lighter meal but just as delicious.

4 – Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese are one of the most common dishes that are served around the world.

This Italian dish can be prepared with different cheeses like Cheddar, Swiss, or Parmesan but if you want to give it an extra kick, try using Gouda or Brie instead.

This meal works best as a side dish because it’s rich and delicious but not that nutritious.

If you want to serve this as the main course with butternut squash, make sure to cut the cubes into smaller pieces so they don’t take too much time to cook.

You can add extras like sour cream or black beans if you wish but remember that these will likely reduce the number of servings that you can make.

5 – Lentil Soup

Lentils have a low glycemic index and are rich in protein, iron, vitamin B1, and fiber, which is why they’re perfect for vegetarians or people who want to lose weight.

They’re also straightforward to prepare if you add water, vegetables, spices, and meat to make them taste great.

This meal is perfect for vegetarians because it’s full of protein and vegetables.

Still, if you want to prepare the main course with butternut squash, you can add cubes of this delicious vegetable while the soup is being cooked so that they’ll be ready around the same time.

Lentils are also rich in iron and potassium, making them the perfect meal for vegans or people who follow a low-sodium diet.

6 – Sweet Potato Casserole

This is the perfect side dish for vegetarians, vegans, and people who like hearty meals that taste great without including meat.

This dish contains cubes of butternut squash which will taste delicious when combined with maple syrup, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

This meal is highly nutritious because it’s rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals, but its flavor works well with desserts as well.

It’s an excellent accompaniment for the Thanksgiving table, or you can serve this fantastic dish whenever you need to get rid of some leftovers.

7 – Chicken and Rice

Chicken and rice are meals that everyone knows how to make because it’s easy, delicious and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry.

This dish includes butternut squash cubes which will add a nice flavor when combined with the other ingredients.

This meal is perfect as a main course because it’s quick and easy to prepare, but you can also serve this as an appetizer or a side dish with almost anything else.

The most important thing here is to prepare the meal with low sodium chicken broth to avoid tasting bland.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many recipes that you can prepare with butternut squash.

Remember that it’s an excellent ingredient for vegetarians and vegans, and people who want to lose weight or create lighter meals.

The good news is that you don’t have to make anything complicated like baked butternut squash since there are plenty of side dishes and main courses that you can prepare in minutes.

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