Recipe: Balsamic Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes with Greens

Roasted vegetables … boy, do I love them! In fact I’ve shared recipes for them here, here, here, here … alas, there are too many recipes to share here, so feel free to look them up using our alphabetical recipe index under  “R” for “roasted.”

What I love about today’s roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes recipe is how wonderfully versatile it is. I’ve made it as a main dish, a side dish, and a salad. I’ve served it hot and cold. I’ve cooked it up for holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and for regular weeknight meals. And perhaps best of all—once you’ve made it a couple of times, you’ll learn that you can change it really easily to reflect your mood and the ingredients you have on hand. Seriously, you couldn’t ask for more.

And just look at this dish! It’s absolutely stunning!

Finally, although it can take a little while to roast the veggies, remember that it’s not active cooking time AND it can be made ahead of time—a HUGE plus on holidays like Thanksgiving! So get out your knife, cutting board, and roasting pan.  It’s time to make some amazing roasted veggies.

Cheers!

Bruce

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Balsamic Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes with Greens

Recipe By: Bruce Bradley

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Salads & Sides

Calories:

Note: For most recipes you can adjust the measures for more or less servings by hovering over the servings number and moving the slider.

Ingredients

• 6 cups sweet potatoes cubed (about 4 medium potatoes)
• 6 cups butternut squash cubed (about 2 1/2 pounds of squash)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive or avocado oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• pepper to taste
• 6-8 cups arugula or other greens like spinach

Extra Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Optional Garnish:

• roasted pumpkins seeds pine nuts, or nuts/seeds of your choice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Toss sweet potato and butternut squash cubes with oil, rosemary, maple syrup, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread out vegetables into a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and tender, turning vegetables every 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Toss vegetables with greens and drizzle with some additional olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing to taste. Garnish with optional nuts/seeds. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

We recommend organic ingredients when possible.

Peeling butternut squash can be tough so try this simple tip. Make several slits through the skin of the squash with a sharp knife. The microwave the squash on high for 3-4 minutes. Let the squash rest for 2 minutes, then peel with a vegetable peeler or knife. Slice the squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and chop. And if you're in a real rush, you can buy precut cubes of butternut squash to use instead! =)

This dish can be made ahead of time either as a chilled roasted vegetable salad (chill the squash then toss with arugula). Or you can make the vegetables the day before and reheat them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until warm. Then toss and dress as directed in the recipe.

Kitchen Tips and Resources:

• A couple heavy-duty rimmed baking sheets are essentials for roasting vegetables. Try to avoid the flimsier varieties since they can bend, twist, and cook less evenly over time. You can buy baking sheets from just about any place that sells quality kitchen bakeware, but here’s a link for them on Amazon and at Williams-Sonoma.
• A high quality set of cutting knives can make a huge difference, especially when you’re cooking REAL food. My local knife shop advised me to invest in the higher quality Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Signature brand (much higher quality than the J.A. Henckels International brand) and time has proven them right. (To make sure you know which Henckels knives are better, here’s a tip — look for the “twins” on the knives vs. the single guy sporting the trident.) While you can buy these knives online, if you’ve got a local knife/cutlery store, support them instead. I love my local cutlery store and bring my knives in every six months or so to get them maintained with a nice, sharp edge!
• A great, non-slip cutting board is an invaluable kitchen asset when cutting up the vegetables. I upgraded to these Epicurean non-slip boards a year or so ago, and I’ve been really pleased with them.

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