Butternut Squash Mash

overhead shot of gold spoon digging into white bowl of mash on wooden board

5 from 5 votes

If you're after a new crowd-pleasing side dish you're gonna love this Mashed Butternut Squash. It's rich, silky, smooth and totally delicious!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Universal

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2 / $2.50

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Baking Tray
Small Frying Pan/Pot & Wooden Spoon
Large Mixing Bowl
Hand Mixer or Potato Masher
Fine Cheese Grater
Brush (for basting butternut squash)

Ingredients

2 medium Butternut Squash (1kg/2lb EACH)
1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan
4 tbsp / 60g / 2oz Butter
2-4 rashers of Bacon, cooked, cooled & chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, left in skins
1 large sprig of Fresh Rosemary (can sub fresh Sage if you prefer that flavour, 2-3 leaves should suffice)
1 heaped tbsp Thickened Cream (optional)
Olive Oil, as needed
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Prep Squash: Slice off the firm stalk at the end, then carefully slice the squashes in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds and place on a large baking tray flesh side up.
Roast: Brush with a good drizzle of olive oil and a heavy pinch of salt and pepper. Pop a clove of garlic in the base of two of the squashes. Roast in the oven at 190C/375F for 45-60mins, or until very soft and slightly caramelized. Take them out half way and baste in the oil/juices. Don't rush this, low and slow is best to really soften and sweeten the squash.
Browned Butter: Melt butter into a pan over medium heat. Gently stir until it begins to foam then add in a large spring of rosemary. After a few more minutes you will start to see tiny dark specks start to form on the surface, these are just the milk solids. Continue browning the butter until it turns a deeper brown colour. It will releases a nutty aroma. If at any point the nutty aroma smells more like burning, then simply reduce the heat.
Mash: Scoop the flesh from the butternut squash and place into a large bowl. Leave to steam for 5-10mins to allow as much moisture to escape as possible. Pour out any moisture that collects. Add in parmesan, roasted garlic (squeeze from the skins), half the browned butter and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blend with a hand mixer or mash with a potato masher. Stir in a tbsp of thickened cream (optional) and check for seasoning.
Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle over the remaining butter (don't have to use all of it, work to preference). Sprinkle over bacon and serve up! See notes below for storage/making ahead.

Video

Notes

a) Watery Mash - Butternut squash is packed with moisture, so to avoid a watery mash it's important to get rid of as much of this as possible. Roasting as opposed to boiling helps a huge amount with this already. The steam drying is an important step as it allows excess moisture to leave before you mash it. The squash will release a small amount of water as it rests, just give it a mix before serving (or drain away if you're able to).

b) How do you thicken mashed butternut squash? - If at all you end up with watery mash I find the quickest and easiest way to thicken it is to place in a sieve/strainer and push out excess moisture. From there you can place in a pot and simmer to try and thicken/dry out. Re-season if needed. You can also stir in something starchy like mashed potato.

C) Make Ahead - You can absolutely make this ahead of time! Make up until the point of adding the topping (half of browned butter and bacon), tightly cover and store in the fridge. Keep the browned butter and bacon separate. Reheat mash in short pulses in the microwave, stirring in between, or on the stove. Reheat bacon either in the oven or in a pan to crisp up and reheat butter over low heat in a pan, gently stirring as you go to ensure it doesn't curdle/split.

d) Calories - Based on sharing 2 rashers of bacon to top, cream included, 1 tbsp olive oil to roast then shared between 5 people.

Nutrition