Golden, lightly caramelised and flavoured with cinnamon, this South African-style roasted butternut is a tasty side dish. A little brown sugar and a light seasoning of salt and pepper bring out the natural nutty flavour, making this roasted butternut a simple dish that's sure to become a family favourite!
Roasted butternut is one of my all-time favourite side dishes! I love its natural nutty sweetness. While simple roasted butternut with olive oil, salt and pepper is absolutely delicious on its own, I think this South African-style butternut takes it up a notch!
The butternut squash is cut into cubes and given a Cape Malay-inspired twist with a light coating of cinnamon and brown sugar. As it roasts, the sugar caramelises, bringing out he natural sweetness, while the cinnamon adds a subtle earthy warmth. The result is a simple yet moreish-tasting side dish that pairs beautifully with a roast and adds something a little different to the dinner table.
This style of cooking butternut is very popular in South Africa. It's incredibly easy to make, but I haven't seen it much elsewhere, so I wanted to share my recipe so that you can try it too.
If you're not used to cleaning a butternut, it can be a rather intimidating vegetable to be faced with, so I've included a short guide below on how best to do it.
A butternut can also be quite large, so I've added a few notes on how to store and freeze it, which I hope you'll find useful.
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Why you should try this roasted butternut recipe
- ⭐ Deliciously simple: Just a few ingredients - cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper - elevate plain butternut into something special.
- ⭐ Nutrient-rich: Butternut squash is packed with Vitamin A (great for vision and skin), Vitamin C (supports the immune system), fibre and potassium.
- ⭐ Low in calories: Perfect for those of you who are watching your waistline!
- ⭐ Economical: Butternut is relatively inexpensive, and because of its size, you can easily get a few meals out of one butternut.
Recipe information
Prep time: 20 minutes - which is roughly how long it will take to peel and slice a butternut. However, once you've got it cubed and in the freezer, the next time you make this recipe, it's just a matter of grabbing a few frozen cubes!
Cooking time: 30 to 35 minutes, depending on how large you've cut the cubes.
Yield: 4 people as a side, but it's easy to scale up or down.
Ingredients for South African roasted butternut
**You can find the exact ingredient quantities on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**
- Butternut. The butternut should be cut into approximately half-inch cubes.
- Oil. You can use any good quality, neutral-flavoured vegetable oil. I used rapeseed.
- Salt and pepper. For seasoning, and to your own taste.
- Ground cinnamon. Adds subtle warming notes to the butternut. Don't overdo the cinnamon, though, or it will overpower the flavour of the butternut. We just want a little 'background' warmth.
- Brown sugar. To enhance the sweetness of the butternut. Once again, don't go overboard - a tablespoon will be plenty for this amount of butternut.
Instructions
How to cut a butternut
Step 1: Slice the top and bottom ends from the butternut and cut off the bulbous piece at the bottom. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Cut the bulbous part in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fibrous membrane.
Step 2: Slice the top part of the butternut into slices about an inch in thickness.
Step 3: Cut each slice into cubes. Slice the parts where you scooped out the seeds into similar sizes.
Roast the butternut
Step 4: In a small bowl, combine the cubed butternut, oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper
Step 5: Spread the butternut in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes. The butternut should be soft enough to serve after 25 minutes. For a deeper caramelisation and crisp edges, leave them for up 30 to 35 minutes.
Tips for a successful outcome
Here are my top tips to ensure your roasted butternut always turns out perfectly:
- Cut the butternut evenly: Keep the cubes roughly even so they cook at the same rate.
- Don't overcrowd the tray: Give the butternut space - if it's piled up it will steam instead of caramelise. If you are making a big batch, use 2 trays if necessary.
- Flip halfway: Turn the pieces once during cooking for even colour and caramelisation.
- Keep your eye on it: Watch it carefully for the last 5 minutes - sugar can burn easily.
- Serve immediately: Roasted butternut is at it's best straight from the oven while it is still hot and slightly crispy around the edges.
Serving suggestions:
- My favourite way to serve it is as a side dish with a roast. The sweet butternut goes perfectly with roast lamb, beef, pork or chicken.
- This dish also works well when served as a hot salad at a braai or barbeque.
- Turn leftovers into soup by blending them into a stock that has been cooked with onions and garlic. Add a dash of cream for extra flavour.
- Turn leftovers into an easy pasta meal. Blend leftovers with a little cream and stir into pasta with crispy bacon or pancetta and a handful of sauteed mushrooms for a quick and easy supper.
How to freeze fresh butternut
Butternut is easy to freeze!
If you have a butternut that is too large to eat at one sitting, simply cube or slice the raw butternut and open-freeze it on a tray in a single layer. Once frozen pack it into freezer bags. It will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When you want to roast it, simply remove as many pieces as you need and roast from frozen. Allow it do defrost partly before roasting if you'd like to coat the butternut with cinnamon and brown sugar so that the coating can stick. Add 2 or 3 minutes extra to the roasting time.
Butternut frozen in this way is also perfect for turning into soup (defrost it first) or adding to stews and curries (just throw a few frozen cubes in about 20 minutes before the stew is ready).
Equipment
These are the main items of equipment you will need to make roasted butternut South African style:
- Vegetable peeler and sharp knife for peeling and chopping the butternut, plus a chopping board to protect your work surface.
- Mixing bowl for combining the butternut with the cinnamon and sugar.
- Baking tray for roasting the butternut, and optionally a sheet of baking parchment to line the tray.
Note - the times given for baking the butternut are based on using a metal baking tray. A glass or ceramic baking dish may take slightly longer to heat up, and consequently, the baking time should be increased to compensate.
Storage
Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheat them in a saucepan in the microwave.
Leftovers can be frozen for up to 6 months in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. Allow them to defrost and reheat as above.
Top Tip
Preheat the tray in the oven and add the butternut once the tray is hot. This gives the butternut a head-start in the caramelisation process..
FAQ
Yes, if you're roasting cubes or slices, it's best to remove the skin as it can be quite tough. If you're roasting halves, you can leave the skin on and scoop the flesh out once cooked.
Yes, once you've removed them from the butternut, the seeds can be rinsed to remove any fibres, then spread on a tray and left to dry. Toss them with oil and seasoning and roast for 10 to 15 minutes until crunchy. They are great for snacks or salad toppers.
Save for later
If you would like to try this South African-style roasted butternut, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
Visit my sides and salad recipes page for other tasty ideas for side dishes. Here are a few you might enjoy:
📋The recipe
Roasted butternut - South African style
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Vegetable peeler
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
- Mixing bowl
- Baking tray
- Baking parchment optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 300 grams butternut cubed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the cubed butternut, oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper2 cups / 300 grams butternut, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, Salt and black pepper to taste
- Spread the butternut in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
- Bake in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes. The butternut should be soft enough to serve after 25 minutes. For a deeper caramelisation and crisp edges, leave them for up 30 to 35 minutes.
- Serve hot as a side dish with a roast.
Notes
- Cut the butternut evenly: Keep the cubes roughly even so they cook at the same rate.
- Don't overcrowd the tray: Give the butternut space - if it's piled up it will steam instead of caramelise. If you are making a big batch, use 2 trays if necessary.
- Flip halfway: Turn the pieces once during cooking for even colour and caramelisation.
- Keep your eye on it: Watch it carefully for the last 5 minutes - sugar can burn easily.
- Serve immediately: Roasted butternut is at it's best straight from the oven while it is still hot and slightly crispy around the edges.
- Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheat them in a saucepan on the microwave.
- Leftovers can be frozen for up to 6 months in a ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. Allow them to defrost and reheat as above.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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