Imagining a main dish for the holidays can be difficult when you’re planning for a plant based meal. I would have always thought of vegetables as a necessary side dish but not the main event. SO… I love that this butternut squash tray bake is so pretty and festive that it really feels like the star of the meal.
Boosting it up with all the protein from festive lentils, serving it with traditional cranberry sauce, a scrumptious starter like our savoury puff pastry pockets, and finishing the meal off with personal de-constructed pumpkin pie parfaits… means you have one satisfying holiday meal on your table!
Highlights Of This Butternut Squash Tray Bake
This butternut squash tray bake is ready in 1 hour and 20 minutes max. No need to cook a turkey all day!
- 50 – 60 minutes in the oven.
- The squash is glazed with a sweet and salty miso maple butter to set it apart.
- All the other roasted vegetables are simply tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
- And the whole squash can be used! Even the peel!
Serving this tray bake with quick and thrifty festive lentils, ensures you are adding a good dose of protein to the meal. They are ready in 15-20 minutes and cane be made ahead of time and reheated when you’re ready to serve!
I love blending and thinning out my quick cranberry sauce to use as a sweet and tart drizzle for this tray bake. You could also whisk up a quick gravy!
Ingredients For This Tray Bake
Another great thing about this recipe is that you can adapt the quantity to suit how many you are serving. To serve 6 we use:
- 1 butternut squash
- A bunch of beets with the greens (or 4-5 loose)
- .5 pound of brussels sprouts (about 2 cups sliced)
- And 3-4 parsnips
The seasonings for this recipe are pantry friendly:
- Miso paste (for saltiness)
- Maple Syrup (for sweetness)
- Vegan Butter
- Salt
- Pepper
- And Dried Thyme
Preparing Butternut Squash
- Make sure to wash your squash well since you can roast and eat the peel! (Purchasing an organic squash can ensure you are limiting any pesticide exposure).
- Carefully slice the peel away from the squash using a knife or vegetable peeler.
- Trim the base end of the squash and trim the stem end OR keep the stem on for looks!
- Slice the squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
- Pick the seeds out of the membrane, (toss the membrane in your vegetable scraps bag for homemade veggie broth!) wash the seeds, and let them dry.
- With your squash peeled and cleaned, lay two wooden spoons or chopsticks on either side of one half of the squash and make thin parallel slices all the way down the squash. The spoons will act as a barrier so you don’t slice all the way through the squash.
- Repeat with the other half and admire your hasselback effect.
- Prepare the glaze by melting the vegan butter and stirring in the miso paste and maple syrup.
- Lay the squash on a prepared baking sheet and baste with the glaze. Make sure to get in between the cuts.
- Toss the raw peeled and quartered beets in a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
- Add the beets to the tray and roast in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Roasting Times
The butternut squash and beets will need 45 minutes to 1 hour to roast so I like to roast them for 30 minutes and then add the remaining vegetables.
The brussels sprouts and parsnips only need 20- 30 minutes to roast so you can either add them to the tray after the initial 30 minutes of roasting time OR prepare them in a separate tray and add them to the oven for the last 20-30 minutes.
Since our oven is quite small I tend to use two separate trays. If you are making a smaller portion or have a larger oven and larger trays… keep this a one tray bake!
Squash Skins And Peel
We love roasting our butternut squash skins and using them as a crispy garnish for our Curried Butternut Squash Soup!
Simply the cleaned skins and seeds in a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and any other desired seasonings, and roast them for 15 – 20 minutes.
You can roast them alongside your tray bake OR if you would like to make them ahead of time… I suggest roasting the skins and seeds and then turning off the oven and leaving the skins and seeds in the warm oven to cool. This makes them extra crispy!
Recipe Cost For This Butternut Squash Tray Bake
This festive holiday tray bake costs approximately: CAD $17.32 for all the vegetables including the sauteed beet greens.
Serving this tray bake with the festive lentils and a full batch of our cranberry sauce brings the cost to: CAD $19.46.
Considering this meal serves 6 and a traditional turkey or roast would cost us $20 – $30 for just the meat… this is a pretty thrifty and beautifully festive meal!
Let us know in the comments below if you will be laying this butternut squash tray bake in the centre of your holiday table! AND… if you have leftovers, make a beautiful Roasted Vegetable Salad or this “cheesy” leftover squash sandwich!
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Beautiful Hasselback Butternut Squash Tray Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A beautiful and festive butternut squash tray bake for your holiday table! Hasselback squash in a miso maple butter glaze with roasted veg!
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash*
- 3 ½ tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp melted vegan butter
- 4–5 beets, peeled and quartered (or 1 bunch plus the greens)*
- 2 cups brussels sprouts, sliced (roughly .5 lb)*
- 3–4 parsnips, peeled and halved or quartered (roughly 1 lb)*
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
Consider serving with:
Beautiful Beet Greens
Festive Lentils
Easy Holiday Cranberry Sauce
Or a Quick And Savoury Gravy
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Clean and carefully peel your butternut squash. You can slice a bit off the base of the squash and keep the stem on for looks if you’d like (or slice the stem end as well). Reserve the peel!
- Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. I love to use the whole squash and garnish this dish with crispy squash peel and seeds. I find that smaller and thinner pieces of peel crisp up better so I tend to slice any larger pieces in half lengthwise. Separate the seeds from the membrane, wash them, and allow them to dry.
- Hasselback the squash by placing wooden spoons or chopsticks along the sides and making thin, parallel cuts all the way down your squash. The spoons will work as a guide to help your knife from sliding all the way through the squash (see photos in the blogpost for reference).
- Combine the maple miso butter by melting the butter and whisking in the miso paste and maple syrup.
- Place the squash flat sides down on a parchment lined baking tray. Baste all over and between the slits with the miso maple butter. Brush peeled beets in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Spread the sliced beets around the squash and roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the brussels sprouts and parsnips. Keep in mind that once peeled parsnips will start to change colour so try not to peel them too early or place them in cold water after peeling. Slice off the hard end of the brussels sprouts and slice them in half lengthwise. Slice your parsnips into halves or quarters depending on size. Toss in a drizzle of oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
- After 30 minutes. Baste the squash with more miso maple butter, turn the beets and add the parsnips and brussels sprouts to the tray. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 – 30 minutes.
- Baste the squash one more time with 15 minutes remaining in the cooking time and add the squash peel and seeds to your oven. I like to roast them in a separate tray, drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle a bit of salt.
- To serve, carefully transfer the squash and other vegetables to another tray if desired. Sprinkle with crispy squash skins and seeds and consider serving with sauteed beet greens, festive lentils, and a cranberry dressing (I like to blend and thin out our cranberry sauce into more of a drizzle but feel free to dollop it on like a traditional cranberry sauce).
- Reheat leftovers in the oven or consider reimagining them and using them for a festive roasted vegetable salad bowl or leftover holiday sandwich!
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $19.46 with the optional serving suggestions. CAD $17.32 for the roasted vegetable tray bake and sauteed beet greens, $1.39 for a full batch of our cranberry sauce, and $0.75 for the festive lentils! (A traditional turkey or roast would likely cost $20 – $30 for just the meat so we find this to be a pretty thrifty festive main dish!)
If you are unsure about consuming the squash peel; purchasing an organic squash and washing it very well are two ways to limit pesticide exposure. If you want to roast the skins and seeds ahead of time, consider leaving them to cool in the turned off oven. This ensures they get extra crispy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: American
Gabriel
Made this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious. The colours and flavours are exquisite and the presentation is a 10+
Kathryn Alexandre
It is such a colourful tray bake! I hope you had the happiest Thanksgiving and thank you so much for making it part of your meal!