It’s good to be home.
Sketchie agrees, after a fun (but tiring) visit with his two furry cat friends. Luckily, grandpa put up with his antics yet again. I won’t go into the multiple accidents he had, but I’ll just tell you that I have an amazing, patient, and kind father-in-law. He deserves many of his favourite baked goods when we visit over Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. And possibly a 6-week spa getaway.
After a few rants and raves once home, Sketchie finally settled into his old digs, but unfortunately didn’t get the memo that we’re still on Pacific time. I have no idea how much coffee I consumed this weekend, but let’s just say my old friend, Bodum, is back to stay!
Back in Ontario, it’s clear that summer has come to an end. Trees are starting to change colour and my robe and slippers have appeared for the first time in months. I was so acclimatized to the amazing heat we had in B.C., I temporarily forgot all about this fall stuff. With bronzed skin for the first time all summer, I came home only to cover it up with sweaters and pants. The summer clothes are in a rejected, useless heap in front of the washing machine.
Since the weather was fitting, I consoled myself with grocery shopping and a healthy dose of fall produce. It’s good to be back in the kitchen, if anything!
This weekend was all about squash…and cookies…and coffee beans. Actually, cookies were the first thing I made, not that that should come as a surprise to anyone. You’d think I’d be aiming for healthier fare after vacation, but I had one thing on my mind: recreating the amazing cookie as big as my head. That recipe will be coming soon, but since it’s Monday and we’re probably trying to eat a bit healthier, I have a vegetable recipe for you today. Don’t worry though, I don’t do boring vegetables.
This recipe is inspired by the roasted butternut squash recipe I made back in 2009. It’s incredibly simple to make using only about 15-20 minutes of prep while the oven does the rest. This time, I made an almond pecan parmesan “cheese” and added Lacinato kale for green power. The result is a comforting fall side dish that will warm you to the bone.
Roasted Butternut Squash with Almond-Pecan Parmesan
Yield
4 side servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This comforting and nutritious side dish will warm you to the bone! The Almond-Pecan Parmesan lends a crunchy contrast to the buttery and lightly sweet squash. Finely chopped kale provides a boost of green power. Trust me when I say that it's so good you'll want to enjoy this dish as a main course.
Ingredients
For the roasted squash:
- 1 medium/large butternut squash (2 to 2 1/2 lbs.)
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (37 g) stemmed and roughly chopped kale
For the Almond-Pecan Parmesan:
- 1/4 cup (40 g) whole almonds
- 1/4 cup (27 g) pecan halves
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) nutritional yeast
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and lightly grease a large casserole dish with oil.
- Peel the squash. Thinly slice off the bottom and top and then slice through the middle lengthwise to make two halves. Remove seeds with a spoon. Chop the two halves into 1-inch chunks and place into the casserole dish.
- Add the minced garlic, parsley, oil, and salt into casserole dish and toss until combined with the squash. Do not add the kale yet.
- Cover the casserole dish with tinfoil (with a few holes poked) and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 45 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, pulse the Almond-Pecan Parmesan ingredients together until coarsely chopped.
- After cooking, remove the squash from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C). Remove the tinfoil. Stir in the chopped kale and sprinkle the Parmesan all over the squash. Bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, uncovered, until the nuts are lightly toasted. Watch closely so you don’t burn the nuts. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Status: Warm with a happy belly.
Note that as of today, 8/19, there is a pop up ad for tyson chicken at the bottom of this page….. Which somehow seems really wrong here.
Hi, Thanks for the heads-up! It’s challenging for us because we can’t see ads that display in other countries so I appreciate your comment. We block hundreds of advertisement categories (from meat to fast food to diet and weight loss ads…and SO many more!), but occasionally our providers let them slide through due to poor categorization. Anyway, we will look into this and try to find the ad to remove it. Thanks so much!
This looks incredibly delicious! One week ago my best friend came my house to met me. So that time I was very exited. Then instantly I remembered you and the recipe I cooked which I saved. Both me, my husband and my friend were felt very happy to eat and I promised her again I will make it. So thank you Angela for share such a beautiful recipe. Thank you so much.
Hi Angela,
I love your cooking and your cook books! We have enjoyed and shared so many of your recipes. I am wondering if I can make this the day before thanksgiving and heat it up the next day after the turkey comes out? If so, what temp. would you recommend reheating it at. Thank you! Les
Hey Leslie, I haven’t tried this myself, but I think it’s a great idea (and a time-saver is always a good thing on the big day!). This is what I would probably do if I was going to try it out:
The day before: Bake the squash covered, as directed (I think it mentions up to 45 minutes, but you may want to bake it for a bit less time to account for the reheating time the next day). Then I would take it out of the oven and let it cool and then pop it (covered) in the fridge overnight.
The next day I would let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes just so the dish isn’t super cold when going into the oven.
Then I would toss it with the kale and bake it for 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove it from the oven, and sprinkle on the parmesan. Bake it uncovered as directed. I’m not positive that the squash would be heated through with these reheating bake times, but I would suggest checking a couple pieces to make sure they are heated through. Does this make any sense? I hope so! :) Let me know if you try anything out. Happy Thanksgiving!
PS- I have a Thanksgiving panzanella recipe coming to the blog tomorrow, which coincidentally, is also make-ahead! Sounds like we’re on the same wavelength.
Thank you Angela for your reply, that is great. I’ll give it a try and see how we do. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Les
please sign me up – following plant based eating for the past 6 months, interested in trying new recipes
This recipe is genius. The butternut squash on the counter had sadly expired, so we used a huge garnet yam. It worked perfectly. I followed your lead from Instagram and sautéed some kale on the side (with a few shiitakes). We served it with quinoa cooked with red pepper flakes. Dinner was heavenly. The pecan/almond “parmesan” was such a great addition. This is an awesome fall dinner!!
Hey Christine, I’m so glad it was a hit! I’ll have to try it with yam…what a good idea.
I am 5 years late to the party but I made this recipe last night and it is incredible! :D I have sent the link to everyone I know and I plan on making it over and over again :) I love how easy it was.
Hey Anna, Oh that’s GREAT news!! I’m so happy that you discovered this recipe at long last. It’s in our regular rotation until spring, for sure. :)
I’m so glad I was able to find this again on pinterest! I lost my recipe from last year, and this was absolutely my favorite recipe for fall/winter. Absolutely delicious. Bonus that it’s vegan (I am not a vegan but I limit meat and animal products). If you haven’t tried this, you absolutely must. So happy it will be on our Thanksgiving table!
Hey Tish, Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! I’m so happy to hear this. Have a lovely Thanksgiving!
How would you use frozen precooked butternut squash? Do you just cook it like in the recipe? I’m afraid it will overcook but understand that it needs baking to blend the flavors. Also, your cookbook and blog is my fave! thanks!
Hey Mary, Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and books. :)
Frozen pre-cooked squash is a tricky one. I threw some into soup the other day and realized it turned to mush within minutes. I’m not sure if it would work for this casserole or not? If you try anything please let me know how it goes.
I am so excited to try this, but I’m the only kale-ivore in my house. We have brussel sprouts still poking out of the snow and I’m planning to add some of those. Roasted brussels are a fave- especially with salt and oil. So, the question is at what point should I add the brussels? I’ve got it all prepped and ready to go for tonight’s meal- yum, I hope!
Hey Alison, I love my brussels nice and crispy and browned so I would probably add them in with everything else, at the beginning. That said, the butternut may make them soggy. Another idea would be to pan-fry the brussels and simply stir them into the completed dish.
How much parmesan?
Hi Shannon, I use the entire amount in the recipe, but sometimes I like to double it too. I’ve found you can never quite have too much of it. :)
I made this for Chrismas and I everyone loved it! Thank you for your response however I still don’t see where it says the total amount of parmesan in the recipe so I am not sure how to double it :)
Hey Shannon, I’m happy to help always! In the recipe ingredient list you’ll see “For the Almond-Pecan Parmesan” — this is the vegan parm recipe. You can double the amounts called for if desired. As written it makes about 1/2 cup.
The title of this recipe is slightly different in the cookbook. It is Fall Harvest Butternut Squash with Almond-Pecan Parmesan on page 209. I have made this recipe at least 3 or 4 times. I like to serve it with a vegan loaf or I add it to baby greens with quinoa to make a hearty salad. It is so delicious either way!!! Thank you Angela for another great recipe.
I just made this for the first time tonight. I used most of a bunch of kale – way more than 1 cup, and I put it in with the squash from the beginning because I wasn’t paying attention. Then since we aren’t vegan and I wanted it as a one bowl dinner I stirred in some roasted turkey breast before I added the nut topping. (I don’t love cheese and my husband doesn’t love nutritional yeast, so we compromised – I made it as written and told him to top his bowl with some fresh grated parm.) All told, it was AWESOME! I just licked the serving spoon clean :) We will definitely be making this again, maybe as a side at thanksgiving??
Hey Jen, Thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you both loved it :)
This recipe is FANTASTIC! It has become a family favorite. We always make a double batch!
I request this one when I go to my mom’s home for dinner almost every chance I can! I’m going to give it a whirl myself tonight. Fingers crossed it’s as good as hers!
Such an easy and yummy side dish!