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Brown Sugar Roasted Honeynut Squash. This caramelized sweet and spicy roasted honeynut squash is perfect and so delicious. The secret is all in the butter sauce. A mix of salted butter, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chipotle chile powder. It’s sweet, savory, and spicy. Roast the squash in the oven until the brown sugar caramelizes over the squash creating the yummiest flavor. Top with crispy sage and flaky sea salt. This easy-to-make honeynut squash is the perfect side to any fall meal. I highly suggest doubling the recipe – one batch is just never enough.
When I was a kid, my parents had this agreement. It was simple: Dad would make dinner, and Mom would make dessert. I’ve heard stories that when my three older brothers were kids, my mom would make dinner, but I don’t recall those days.
On the occasion that my mom would make dinner, it was often a roasted chicken. She’d really go all out and create the perfect cozy meal of roasted chicken, a side of rice, homemade bread (made in her very old school bread machine), and then her overly buttery, brown sugar roasted acorn squash.
Personally, the squash was the highlight of the meal for me. Mom would only make it in the fall, but it was the most delicious.
Her process was easy as can be. Cut the squash in half, add pats of butter, and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
She roasted them in the oven until soft, and the edges browned from the sugar. Some might even call this dessert, but at our house, it was a side dish!
I make that acorn squash often, but this season, my grocery store is finally carrying honeynut squash – the mini butternut squash! These are slightly sweeter than butternut squash and are 1000 times cuter thanks to their mini size! I knew they’d be delicious when roasted with brown sugar!
The Details
Ingredients
- honeynut squash or small butternut or acorn squash- they all work!
- salted butter
- canned crushed pineapple, it may sound odd, but I promise it’s going to work
- dark brown sugar, I like to use organic, you really can see the difference
- ground cinnamon
- chipotle chile powder, some spice to balance the sweet
- fresh sage
- flaky sea salt
Special Tools
Nothing fancy here! Just a cutting board, sharp knife, and a sheet pan is all you need.
Steps
Step 1: cut the squash
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Ideally the squash is around the size of your hand.
Arrange the squash cut side up on a baking sheet
Step 2: mix the sauce
Mix some salted butter with a spoonful of crushed pineapple, dark brown sugar (it’s not a lot, I promise this is not dessert), ground cinnamon, chipotle powder, and salt to taste.
Spoon about half of the sauce over the squash, rubbing all over.
Step 3: roast
Now flip the squash and place them cut side down, and roast for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, flip the squash over, add the remaining butter sauce, and roast for 10 minutes until the edges are caramelized.
Step 4: brown the butter and sage
Lastly, brown a little more butter with the fresh sage. The butter will brown around the sage, and the sage will get crispy!
Step 5: serve
Spoon the butter and crispy sage over the roasted squash. Add sea salt, and then serve these guys warm!
They’re perfect and so cute too!
I’m excited to serve these up for Thanksgiving this year. The options for serving this squash are endless. They can be paired with so many types of dinners. Beef tenderloin would be especially delicious!
My only recommendation is to double the recipe. One pan never seems to be enough, and they’re always the first thing to disappear on the table.
Looking for other holiday side dishes? Here are my favorites:Â
Roasted Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Salted Honey
Crispy Parmesan Thyme Sweet Potato Stacks
Crockpot Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Savory Bacon Pecans
Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots
Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon Maple Butter
Crispy Brown Butter Sage Smashed Potatoes
Lastly, if you make these Brown Sugar Roasted Honeynut Squash, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Sugar Roasted Honeynut Squash
Ingredients
- 4 honeynut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup canned crushed pineapple
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. Arrange the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. In a bowl, mix the melted butter, pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, chile powder, and salt. Rub the squash all over with half of the butter sauce. Flip the squash over and bake 20 minutes. 3. Remove the squash from the oven. Turn them over, add the remaining butter sauce. Bake another 10 minutes, until caramelized. 4. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the soft butter and sage until the butter is brown and the sage crispy. 5. Serve the squash warm topped with crispy sage and extra sea salt!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Thanks for the recipe! Didn’t have sage on hand so topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. 🙃 How do you know when they are done? I only had butternut squash so a little bigger. Some spots still a little hard – even roasting 10 min longer. Still fab
Hey Andi,
Happy Monday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot! I usually roast until fork tender.
I switched these out for carrots and they turned out amazing! I am sure the squash is good too, but carrots were easier to prep.
Thanks so much, Chelsea!! I am so glad to hear this dish was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Great idea to use carrots. Have a great Tuesday! xx
This was way to spicy hot for my taste so think I will leave out the chipotle chili powder and have it on the table to add for those who like spicy hot. I did love the sage crispy and think it will be perfect if I leave out the chili powder or just add a small bit. Also it took about ten or more minutes longer to cook. I think I should add to the 20 minutes of the first baking time.
Hi Claudia,
Thank you so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry about the spice, but I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe overall! Happy Holidays! xx
Gotta taste as you go so the heat level is to your liking.
I’m hoping to make this for Thanksgiving this year. Any tips on how I can make it in advance and heat before serving?
Hi Sheryll,
You bet, you can make this as early as Monday and then just reheat everything the day of! I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Honey nut squash is in season for a very short time here in FL and I was fortunate enough to find some today! I made this but skipped the pineapple. Added a little bit of maple syrup and garlic powder and salt and omggggggg was this delicious! I see in the comments you said to not eat the skin. Oops. I ate the skin, it was so tender and delicious!
Thanks so much, Autumn:) I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely and appreciate you making it! XxT
I am allergic to pineapple. What could I use as an alternative? Or could I omit?
Hi Carla,
You could skip the pineapple:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Just one question, how to eat? Do you scoup out the squash or eat the skin? These are new to me so I actually don’t know. Thanks!
Hi Susan,
You do not eat the skin, you can just serve them as is and scoop out while eating. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Yep, still there–maybe the type was fixed in the first paragraph, but it’s still there in the body. Doesn’t make much difference to the actual recipe, but it’s not a good look.
“My only recommendation is to double the recipe. One pan of potatoes never seems to be enough, and they’re always the first thing to disappear on the table.”
HAHAHA! “typo”. Serves me right for being a Picky Patti.
Tieghan, l would just like to say, you are always so kind in how you respond to people’s comments…..and l have enjoyed many of your recipes.
Thank you for working hard at what you do.
Aww, thank you, Heather! I appreciate you being here and your kind message:)
I guess she doesn’t respond to all comments…those two comments are days old lol. But I am looking forward to trying this recipe!
I hope you love this recipe!
Great catch, Alice. I noticed that typo too!
Team HBH or Tieghen, how do you go about writing daily recipes? Do you copy and paste some of the text from pre-existing recipes to help speed up the process?
Hi Kara,
The top paragraph of every post is used solely for SEO performance. This will help our recipe actually show up on a good search. So if they sound similar to other recipes, this why. We need to write them in a very specific format. From there, I usually write about how each specific recipe came to be and then share all of the details. I hope this helps answer your question! Have the best weekend! xT
So we can ignore the text at the top of the recipes, since it’s not really true? Thanks for being so candid about your process, few influencers are so forthcoming. It’s refreshing!
In the instructions you say, “My only recommendation is to double the recipe. One pan of potatoes never seems to be enough, and they’re always the first thing to disappear on the table.”
Um, you seemed to have merged an older or similar recipe with this one. You’re working with squash, not potatoes.
Hi Alice,
Thanks so much for pointing this out, I fixed that typo! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! XxT
No, it’s not fixed. It still says potatoes.
How many people does this recipe serve?
Hi Lorraine,
This recipe makes 8 servings. Please let me know if you have any other questions!