This honey roasted hasselback butternut squash makes an elegant and delicious holiday side dish. In one bite you get you get caramelized squash, creamy gorgonzola, and nutty walnuts. This post has been sponsored by Stella® Cheese. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Beyond Sweet and Savory possible.
As October arrives, I get really excited about menu planning for the upcoming holidays. It’s never too early to start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas! To get you ready for the holidays, I’m thrilled to partner with Stella® Cheese to put together a gourmet worthy dish! I have taken my classic roasted butternut squash up a notch and created a show-stopping side dish of honey roasted hasselback butternut squash with gorgonzola and walnuts. The butternut squash is hasselbacked and roasted to perfection—topped with gorgonzola, herby sage, and toasted walnuts.
To make this dish, you only need a handful of ingredients: butternut squash, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, honey, sage leaves, Stella® Gorgonzola Cheese, and walnuts.
How to Prepare the Squash
Butternut squash is readily available most times of the year and can be found at your local grocery stores. Prepping the butternut squash is quite easy and only takes a few steps. After peeling the skin off with a sharp knife, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.
To hasselback the squash, line a chopstick alongside the long edge of the squash and make regular cuts at ¼ inch intervals. Having the chopstick prevents the knife from cutting all the way through so the slices will hold together at the bottom.
How Long to Roast the Squash
Once you’re done hasselbacking the squash halves, place them in a roasting tray, brush with olive oil and honey, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 50 minutes.
After 50 minutes in the oven, mix the sage leaves with the remaining EVOO, place them in the incisions, scatter some in the pan, and roast for another 10 minutes until the squash becomes tender, browned at the edges, and the sage leaves are crisp. Once roasted, the caramelized squash becomes sweet and buttery and the sage leaves add a nice herby kick.
When ready for serving, just transfer the squash halves to a platter and top with toasted walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola. With its pleasantly mellow and tangy flavor, gorgonzola perfectly complements the earthy, sweet squash. In one bite, you get caramelized squash, creamy gorgonzola, and nutty walnuts.
For the past few years, this honey roasted hasselback butternut squash dish has graced our holiday dinner table and remained a firm favorite. While I regularly roast butternut squash, hasselbacking it adds an elegant touch and makes it a holiday worthy side dish. This side is a stunner, simple to make, so delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to any holiday meals—whether it’s Thanksgiving, a fall dinner party, or Christmas!
For more holiday side dish inspiration:
Honey roasted hasselback butternut squash with gorgonzola and walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, and seeds removed
- 5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsps honey, extra for drizzling
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 24 sage leaves
- ½ cup Stella® Cheese Gorgonzola wedge, crumbled
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
- Place half the squash, cut side down, on a chopping board. Align a chopstick lengthwise on one side of the squash. Using a very sharp knife, carefully slice through the squash to the chopstick at ¼ inch intervals. Repeat with the remaining squash half.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tbsps of olive oil and honey until combined.
- Place the squash halves on the tray—cut side down—drizzle with olive oil-honey combo, and season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 50 minutes.
- Mix the sage leaves with the final tablespoon of olive oil.
- Remove the tray from the oven, place the sage leaves in the incisions, and scatter some on the pan. Roast the squash for 10 minutes or until tender and golden.
- When ready to serve, transfer the squash and sage leaves to a serving platter, scatter toasted walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola over the top, and drizzle with extra honey.
Pat
Made this yesterday with goat cheese instead of gorgonzola. It was delicious!