How to Cut Butternut Squash, a quick and simple tutorial.

Now that it’s fall, I can’t wait to bust out all my fall favorites, Ham and Potato Soup , Beef Stew , Baked Potatoes with Cheese Sauce –okay, admittedly I eat these all year long, but they all feel extra special this time of year.

But, one of my favorite comfort foods that I only get to enjoy this time of year is butternut squash. I love cooking with it because it’s fabulous on its own, tossed with a little oil and salt, but it also adds such a nice, slightly sweet richness to everything you put it in (like, for example, Butternut Squash Bacon Mac and Cheese ).

Whole butternut squash on a towel. - 1 Whole butternut squash on a towel. - 2

Before you can enjoy butternut squash though, you have to chop them up, and if you’ve never done that before, it can be a little intimidating. So today, I’m posting a quick little tutorial on how to cut butternut squash.

It’s super easy and fast, and once you learn, you can enjoy butternut squash all season long.

Cut up butternut squash on a cutting board. - 3 Cut up butternut squash on a cutting board. - 4

How to Cut Butternut Squash

  1. Use a sharp knife to cut ½-inch off both ends of the squash.
Butternut squash with the top cut off. - 5 Butternut squash with the top cut off. - 6
  1. Use a vegetable peeler to remove all of the skin.
Butternut squash being peeled. - 7 Butternut squash being peeled. - 8
  1. Cut the squash in two at the neck where the squash begins to flair out. Set the body (the thicker part) aside.
Butternut squash peeled and cut in half. - 9 Butternut squash peeled and cut in half. - 10
  1. Slice the neck into rounds.
Butternut squash cut into rounds. - 11 Butternut squash cut into rounds. - 12
  1. Cube each of the rounds.
Butternut squash being cut into pieces. - 13 Butternut squash being cut into pieces. - 14
  1. Turn the body on its end and slice it in half vertically. Scoop out the seeds and innards with a spoon.
Seeds being scooped out of butternut squash. - 15 Seeds being scooped out of butternut squash. - 16
  1. Lay one-half of the squash on its flat cut side and cut into slices so you have half-moons.
Base of butternut squash being cut. - 17 Base of butternut squash being cut. - 18
  1. Cut those slices into cubes and repeat with the other half of your squash.
Butternut squash being cut into smaller pieces. - 19 Butternut squash being cut into smaller pieces. - 20

And done!

Cut butternut squash on a cutting board. - 21 Cut butternut squash on a cutting board. - 22

Cook as desired and store any leftovers in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Cut butternut squash in a freezer bag. - 23 Cut butternut squash in a freezer bag. - 24

More Vegetable Tutorials

  • How to Steam Broccoli in the Microwave
  • How to Cook Broccoli in the Oven
  • How to Cook Corn on the Cob in the Microwave
  • How to Steam Green Beans in the Microwave
How to Cut Butternut Squash, a quick and simple tutorial. | #CookingTutorials | - 25

Ingredients

Special Equipment

  • ▢ Vegetable peeler

Squash

  • ▢ 1 butternut squash

Instructions

  • Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2 inch off both ends of the squash and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
  • Cut the squash in two at the neck where the squash begins to flair out. Set the body aside.
  • Slice the neck into rounds and then cube them.
  • Turn the body on its end and slice in half vertically. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds from both sides.
  • Lay one-half of the squash on its flat cut side and cut into slices so you have half-moons. Cut those slices into cubes and repeat with the other half of your squash.
  • Cook as desired and store any leftovers in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

You can make a warming cup of peppermint hot chocolate at home with just a few pantry staples and a candy cane. No special extracts or syrups needed.

Is it really the holiday season if you don’t have at least one cup of peppermint hot chocolate? I think not.

This is one of my favorite drinks as soon as the weather begins to turn cold, and while it’s perfectly lovely to order one while I’m out and about, I love that it’s almost as easy and just as delicious to throw one together for myself at home.

Peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream in a glass mug. - 26

I have a couple other peppermint drinks on the site (my peppermint mocha and white chocolate peppermint mocha ), and as with those recipes, this recipe doesn’t use peppermint extract, just a single candy cane instead.

Using a candy cane gives you the that spicy-sweet peppermint flavor you’re looking for without you having to stock another extract that you probably won’t use 10 months out of the year.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients for peppermint hot chocolate. - 27 Ingredients for peppermint hot chocolate. - 28
  • Milk: Use any milk you’d like, but I typically like to use whole milk for hot chocolate since the higher fat the milk, the richer your hot chocolate will be. For an extra rich and creamy drink, try substituting half and half or heavy cream for some of the milk.
  • Cocoa powder: This recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder, but both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder will work just fine here.
  • Candy cane: This recipe calls for one large candy cane, but if you only have small ones, one large candy cane is equal to about 3 or 4 minis. For a less intense peppermint flavor, you can use just half of one.

How to Make Peppermint Hot Chocolate

  1. Place candy cane in a zip-top bag and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush the candy into small crumbs. The crumbs don’t need to be ground into a fine dust, just small pieces so they dissolve more quickly in the hot chocolate.
Collage photo of candy cane being crushed for hot chocolate. - 29 Collage photo of candy cane being crushed for hot chocolate. - 30

  1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine candy cane pieces, sugar, cocoa powder, and water. Stir until sugar and cocoa powder are smooth and candy cane has mostly dissolved.

  2. Add milk and salt and stir. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches your desired temperature and any remaining candy cane pieces have completely dissolved.

  3. Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream or marshmallows!

Peppermint hot chocolate being poured into a mug. - 31 Peppermint hot chocolate being poured into a mug. - 32

Variations

  • Richer hot chocolate: Replace ⅓ cup of the milk with heavy cream or half and half.
  • Extra chocolatey hot chocolate: Add 1 ounce (2 slightly heaping tablespoons) of chopped chocolate or good quality chips along with the cocoa powder and sugar at the beginning of the recipe.
  • Hot chocolate float: Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the hot chocolate just before serving. (It’s so good!!)

Can I make this with peppermint extract instead?

Yes. If you’d like to use extract, skip the candy cane, and make the rest of the hot chocolate recipe as written. Pour the hot chocolate into a mug and then add extract to taste. Peppermint extract is extremely concentrated, so you’ll need only a drop or two!

Can I add coffee?

Absolutely. If you want to turn your peppermint hot chocolate into a peppermint mocha , simply replace ½ cup of the milk with ½ cup of strongly brewed coffee.

Can this be made in the microwave?

Sure can. Make sure to crush your candy cane extra finely if you’re going to make this in the microwave. Combine cocoa powder, sugar, crushed candy cane and water in a mug. Stir until well-mixed and microwave for 15 seconds.

Stir until candy cane pieces are mostly dissolved before adding the milk. Microwave 1 minute to 1 ½ minutes, until steaming, and enjoy!

Close up photo of hot chocolate with whipped cream and crushed candy cane. - 33 Close up photo of hot chocolate with whipped cream and crushed candy cane. - 34

MoreHot Chocolate Recipes

  • Classic Hot Chocolate
  • Crockpot Hot Chocolate
  • Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate
  • White Hot Chocolate
  • Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Recipe Notes

  • This recipe makes 1 cup of hot chocolate, enough to fill an 8-ounce mug. To fill an oversized mug, 1 ½ or double the recipe.
Peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream in a glass mug. - 35

Equipment

  • Zip top bag
  • Rolling pin or meat mallet

Ingredients

  • ▢ 1 full-size candy cane *
  • ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25g ) granulated sugar
  • ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 5g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ▢ 1 tablespoon water
  • ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage
  • ▢ Pinch of salt
  • ▢ Whipped cream optional for topping
  • ▢ Mini marshmallows optional for topping

Instructions

  • Place candy cane in a zip top bag and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush the candy into small crumbs.
  • In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine candy cane pieces, sugar, cocoa powder, and water. Stir until sugar and cocoa powder are smooth and candy cane has mostly dissolved.
  • Add milk and salt and stir. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches your desired temperature and candy cane has completely dissolved.
  • Pour into an 8-ounce mug and top with optional whipped cream or marshmallows if desired.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

This roasted bacon and butternut squash side dish is the perfect easy, no-fail fall side.

A couple years ago, I shared this bacon and butternut squash mac and cheese . One of the steps calls for roasting the butternut squash in bacon grease and during testing I kept running into a problem with the recipe…

Every time I made it, the squash would come out of the oven roasted and beautiful, and I would want to eat it all instead of pureeing it for cheese sauce.

I may have had to make a couple of the test batches more than once because the squash just disappeared.

Roasted bacon and butternut squash in a white bowl. - 36 Roasted bacon and butternut squash in a white bowl. - 37

So this year I’m skipping the mac and cheese and just making bacon and butternut squash the star of the show because it totally deserves it.

This is one of my favorite fall side dishes. It’s so simple, so good, and so easy.

The butternut squash is rich and a little sweet and the bacon gives the whole thing an irresistible salty, smoky flavor.

You might be tempted to skip the main dish and just eat this for dinner, and I can guarantee that you’ll be sneaking pieces of it off the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Ingredient Notes

  • Butternut squash: If you’ve never cut up a butternut squash before, don’t worry, it’s super easy. Go check out my post How to Cut Butternut Squash for a full tutorial.
  • Bacon: Use your favorite bacon here. Regular, thick-cut, and even bacon ends will all be delicious.
Chopped butternut squash on a plate. - 38 Chopped butternut squash on a plate. - 39

How to Make Bacon Butternut Squash

  1. Cook bacon: Cook bacon on a baking sheet in your oven until it reaches your preferred level of crispiness and then transfer it to a plate.

  2. Toss butternut squash in bacon grease: Add your cubed squash to the pan and toss it with the grease until it is well coated with the drippings. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

  3. Roast squash: Roast the squash until it is fork-tender and then crumble the bacon and add it back to the pan. Bake everything for another minute or so to give the bacon a chance to heat up, and then serve and enjoy!!

Forkful of bacon and butternut squash. - 40 Forkful of bacon and butternut squash. - 41

Can I make this ahead of time?

Roasted veggies are always best right after roasting, but you can make this up to 48 hours in advance. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.

More Easy Sides

  • Butter and Garlic Green Beans
  • Roasted Broccoli
  • Roasted Zucchini
  • Corn on the Cob in the Microwave
  • Roasted Sweet Potatoes
  • Microwave Sweet Potato
Bacon and butternut squash side dish in a serving dish. - 42 Bacon and butternut squash side dish in a serving dish. - 43 This Roasted Bacon and Butternut Squash Side Dish is the perfect easy, no-fail fall side. | Easy Side Dishes | Recipes for Two | #FallRecipes | - 44

Ingredients

  • ▢ 6 slices bacon
  • ▢ 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed 1-inch
  • ▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (for easy cleanup).
  • Bake bacon slices for 10 to 14 minutes, until they reach your preferred level of crispiness.
  • Transfer bacon to a plate and add cubed squash to the baking sheet. Stir the cubes so they get coated in the bacon drippings and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until squash is fork tender. Chop or crumble bacon and add it back to the hot pan. Bake for 1 additional minute to reheat and serve.
How to Cut Butternut Squash, a quick and simple tutorial. | #CookingTutorials | - 45

How to Cut Butternut Squash

Ingredients

Special Equipment

  • Vegetable peeler

Squash

  • 1 butternut squash

Instructions

  • Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2 inch off both ends of the squash and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
  • Cut the squash in two at the neck where the squash begins to flair out. Set the body aside.
  • Slice the neck into rounds and then cube them.
  • Turn the body on its end and slice in half vertically. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds from both sides.
  • Lay one-half of the squash on its flat cut side and cut into slices so you have half-moons. Cut those slices into cubes and repeat with the other half of your squash.
  • Cook as desired and store any leftovers in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition