These Butternut Squash Boats give the best of both sweet and savory worlds. They have a delicious sweet, caramelized flavor from the roasted butternut squash, plus a hearty savory taste from the meat sauce. Top that all with delicious, melted cheese, and the combination is incredible.
During the summer, I love making turkey zucchini boats. But, zucchini is really only in season in the summer, and it had been a while since I’d made them. So instead, I decided to try out a winter version of the zucchini boats and tried making them with butternut squash.
They’re just as easy to make as the zucchini boats, but with a little longer cook time, since whole butternut squash takes about an hour to roast. But, most of that time is passive time spent in the oven so really, they’re just as simple to make.
When paired with veggies on the side – a salad or other roasted veggies work well, you can roast them at the same time as squash! – they make a perfectly balanced meal. The meal follows the 4×3 method that I discuss with all my clients: 4 things to add to all 3 meals a day in order to make a meal that’s filling, balanced and satisfying.
Notes
- This recipe uses ground beef because that’s what I was in the mood for, but it can be made with almost any protein source. Try it with ground chicken or turkey – the instructions will stay the same. Or, you can use crumbled tofu or tempeh as plant-based protein sources. Both of those will take a shorter cook time.
- I used basil tomato sauce, but any tomato sauce will do. I recommend using a flavored one – it flavors the sauce well without having to add any herbs or spices on your own. If you use a plain variety, make sure to add some herbs like basil, oregano or parsley.
- Depending on how big your squash are, you might have leftover sauce that doesn’t all fit in the squash. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge – it’s basically like a bolognese sauce and tastes great with pasta!
Ingredients
- 2 small butternut squash
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 25 oz. jar tomato basil sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Peel skin off of butternut squash and slice in half lengthwise. Rub each squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (2 tablespoons total). Add salt and pepper and place in preheated oven. Roast for about 1 hour, until soft enough to be pierced through easily with a fork.
- Let squash cool, and scoop out the inside with a spoon, leaving a hollow “boat. Roughly chop the removed inside of the squash and set aside.
- Dice the onion. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add in ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally, until an internal temperature of 160 F is reached. Add in chopped inside of squash, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Add in tomato sauce and stir to combine. Turn heat down to low. Let simmer for a few minutes, until sauce has thickened.
- Add sauce mixture into hollow squash boats. If you have leftover sauce, place in an airtight container in the fridge (it tastes great with pasta!).
- Top each squash boat with about 2 tablespoons of cheese.
- Turn oven on broil. Place squash boats in oven and broil for about 5-10 minutes, until cheese is lightly browned on top.
