As a simple yet elegant spin on a fall side dish, this maple cinnamon butternut squash with baked apples and crispy kale is just as pretty as it is delicious. It's the best for a holiday gathering or a weeknight meal. And as an added bonus, you can make it in under an hour too!
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📋 About the Recipe
- The perfect side dish for celebrating all the fall season has to offer with seasonal produce, like butternut squash, kale, apples, cranberries, and pomegranate. And if you're loving all these flavors together, you will love my butternut squash stuffing and sautéed butternut squash too!
- Maple cinnamon butternut squash is slightly sweet, yet savory. It pairs well with nearly any main dish.
- With the addition of baked apples and kale chips, it has both a soft and crispy texture that balances each other well.
- It's a simple dish that's hearty and beautiful enough to serve to guests for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, along with my apple, avocado, and arugula salad, roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts, and garlic mashed potatoes.
- It's also quick and easy to throw together last minute with the use of only 1 sheet pan!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Butternut squash - if you're new to the world of squash, butternut is the best one to start with. It has a mild, slightly sweet taste and is very easy to prepare. Simply peel it with a vegetable peeler, slice it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and stringy pulp, then dice it.
- Apples - when apples roast, their sugars caramelize and they become sweeter. They provide both sweet and tart flavors to this fall dish.
- Kale - as the kale roasts, it turns into kale "chips." These chips are perfectly crispy to provide a nice crunch that helps to balance out the softer squash and apples.
- Maple syrup - maple syrup gives a subtle sweetness. Make sure to use pure maple syrup, instead of fake syrups with high fructose corn syrup, for the best flavor.
- Cinnamon - cinnamon provides a warm, fall spice. When balanced with the chili powder, it keeps this dish savory without making it overly sweet.
📓 Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
2. Roast butternut squash and apples: peel and dice the apples and squash.
Add apples and squash to a bowl with olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat.
Spread apples and squash out on the prepared sheet pan, leaving space between each piece. Reserve the bowl with any additional seasonings and oil remaining at the bottom. Set it aside.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
3. Toast kale and pecans: Add kale to the reserved bowl and massage it around with your hands to coat lightly in the oil and seasonings remaining in the bowl.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Top the apples and butternut squash with pecans, thyme leaves, and kale.
Place back in the oven and cook for about 8 minutes, watching carefully until the kale turns crispy but not burnt.
4. Serve: Remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Add dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and feta over top. Scoop into a large serving bowl and serve warm.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
Instead of maple syrup: you can also use brown sugar.
Leftover chopped apples, dried cranberries, and pecans? Use them up in homemade cranberry pecan chicken salad!
❄️ How to Store
To store: Allow roasted butternut squash, apples, and kale to cool completely before scooping into an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
To freeze: Allow roasted butternut squash, apples, and kale to cool completely before scooping into an airtight container and storing in the freezer up to 6 months.
To reheat: When ready to eat, dump the squash mixture back onto a sheet pan and heat it in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through.
🔍 FAQs
The ripeness of butternut squash can be determined by 3 different things:
Color: The skin should be dark beige and dull. Butternut squash that has green patches or is shiny is underripe.
Feel: The squash should feel solid. It should be hard with no mushy spots. If you knock on it with your fist, it should sound hollow. It should also have it’s stem intact to help keep it fresh longer.
Weight: Butternut squash should feel heavy for its size. When you lift it, it should feel hard and dense.
Butternut squash has a great neutral flavor. It is slightly sweet, but also savory. It tastes fairly similar to pumpkin but not as pungent.
Similar to pumpkin, its flavor pairs really well with other fall herbs and produce, like apples, onions, cranberries, garlic, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary.
💭 One More Tip
Make sure to use a sheet pan large enough to space out the squash or use 2 sheet pans instead. Leaving space between the pieces of squash allows the air to circulate around them to help them roast.
If the chunks of butternut squash are touching or there is minimal space for air to circulate around them, they will steam and turn mushy instead of browning and turning slightly crispy.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash with Baked Apples and Crispy Kale
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized butternut squash
- 1 honeycrisp apple can also use gala or granny smith
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 kale leaves
- ½ cup chopped pecans raw and unsalted
- 5 stems fresh thyme leaves only
For Garnish
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
- Peel, remove the seeds, and dice the apples and squash.
- Add apples and squash to a bowl with olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat.
- Spread apples and squash out on the prepared sheet pan, leaving space between each piece. Reserve the empty bowl with any additional seasonings and oil remaining at the bottom. Set it aside.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
- Use your hands to rip the kale into bite-sized pieces. Add kale to the reserved bowl and massage it around with your hands to coat lightly in the oil and seasonings remaining in the bowl.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Top the apples and butternut squash with pecans, thyme leaves, and kale.
- Place back in the oven and cook for about 8 minutes, watching carefully until the kale turns crispy but not burnt.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Add dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and feta over top. Scoop into a large serving bowl and serve warm.
Storage
- To store: Allow roasted butternut squash, apples, and kale to cool completely before scooping into an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator up to 5 days. To freeze: Allow roasted butternut squash, apples, and kale to cool completely before scooping into an airtight container and storing in the freezer up to 6 months.To reheat: When ready to eat, dump the squash mixture back onto a sheet pan and heat it in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through.
Notes
- You can use any slightly tart apple for this recipe. I used honeycrisp apples for both their flavor and texture.
- If you don’t like dried cranberries, you can substitute them for golden raisins or dried cherries instead.
- Make sure to use a sheet pan large enough to space out the squash or use 2 sheet pans instead. Leaving space between the pieces of squash allows the air to circulate around them to help them roast.
Nutrition
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Rebecca Fowler says
How does this recipe work without the kale? Do you still suggest to add the other toppings over the squash and apples? Thank you.
Alana Lieberman says
Great question. You can definitely leave out the kale. However, I would only cook it an additional 5-8 minutes, watching carefully so the pecans toast but don't burn. The kale adds a touch of moisture to help protect the pecans while cooking, without it, they're more susceptible to burning. Kale also adds a nice crunch to the overall mixture, but would also be fine left out too as long as you watch the pecans carefully.
Iris says
I served this as a maindish/side dish in a vegan Shabbat dinner last night, adding the pomegranate seeds at the last minute for a cool crunch. It was delicious and added nice color to the spread. Thank you.
Alana Lieberman says
So happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Eric says
Never thought I’d enjoy a healthy dish like this but it is an absolute must try!! Highly recommend for all!
Alana Lieberman says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for giving it a try 🙂
Julie Feinbaum says
Love this recipe! My entire family loved it. Will be making it again for sure.
Alana Lieberman says
So happy to hear! It's definitely a fall favorite 🙂
Kari says
Such a delicious healthy recipe! The flavors were so good. Thank you!
Alana Lieberman says
So happy to hear! Thank you for giving it a try!
Deb says
Soooo yummy!!!!
Alana Lieberman says
Thank you! It's definitely a fall favorite 🙂
Debra Rosteck says
Absolutely loved this recipe. I will definitely make it again. Spoon yummy.
Alana Lieberman says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Kristen says
I make this recipe all the time, it's that good! I like to sub dried cranberries for dried cherries 😀
Alana Lieberman says
Cherries sound like a great addition! Thank you!