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Real Balanced

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Home Recipes Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon

Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon

Net Carbs:13.6g
Published:11/04/22Updated:11/25/22
5 Comments This post contains affiliate links.
Jump to Recipe·★★★★★5 from 5 reviews
Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon WordPress Pin. Above the photo, there’s a white box with text that reads: “Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon” and a navy blue box with text that reads: “low-carb · nut-free · gluten-free”. The photo shows the Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon garnished with sour cream on a sheet pan with a spoon for serving and sour cream on the side atop a marble counter. Below the photo, there’s text that reads: “realbalanced.com.”
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This Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon is a comforting and nutrient-dense recipe that is perfect for a filling and healthy dinner or side dish. Cubed butternut squash and cauliflower florets are oven-baked to fork-tender alongside red onion, bacon, and wilted spinach tossed in a homemade dressing and garnished with dollops of sour cream.

Roasting butternut squash yields deliciously caramelized bites. Paired with cauliflower, spinach, and red onion, this vegetable sheet pan recipe is so flavorful and a great option for weeknight dinners or as a Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish.

I personally often make this on Sunday nights to eat during the work week. It is great for meal prep and my family (even my toddler!) loves it.

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Jump To... hide
💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make roasted cubed butternut squash with cauliflower, spinach, and bacon
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
✨ Variations
➜ Cooking and recipe tips
💬 FAQs
📚 More roasted vegetable recipes
🍽 Recipe

💛 Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Nutrient-dense.
  • Filling and flavorful.
  • An easy side dish to be added to your holiday table.
  • Great for meal prep: can easily be doubled.
  • Gluten-free, grain-free, and can be made dairy-free.

➡️ Ingredients

  • Avocado oil
  • Garlic cloves
  • Dijon mustard
  • Golden monk fruit sweetener or brown sugar
  • Paprika
  • Salt
  • Cumin
  • Black pepper
  • Butternut squash
  • Cauliflower
  • Red onion
  • Bacon
  • Spinach
  • Sour cream (optional)

(Need ingredient substitution suggestions? See that section below for my recommendations.)

⏲ How to make roasted cubed butternut squash with cauliflower, spinach, and bacon

This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Prepare Dressing: Mix together dressing ingredients.
  • Prepare Vegetables: Arrange the cubed butternut squash, cauliflower florets, and sliced onion in an even layer on a baking sheet. Pour the prepared dressing on top and then, using a spoon or your hands, coat the vegetables in the dressing.
  • Bake: Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20 minutes. Then, remove the pan from the oven, add the bacon pieces to the baking sheet and incorporate the bacon into the vegetables and the dressing. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the bacon is crispy, about an additional 25 minutes. After that, add in the spinach and, using a spoon, gently stir to mix through the other ingredients. Return the baking sheet to the oven to bake until the spinach has wilted, about an additional 5 minutes.
  • Taste Test, Garnish, And Serve: Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow it to slightly cool before carefully taste-testing. Based on your preferences, add a little more salt. Garnish with sour cream and enjoy!

👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions

  • Avocado Oil: You can substitute olive oil for avocado oil 1:1.
  • Dijon Mustard: Spicy brown mustard, yellow mustard, or stone ground mustard can all be substituted without altering the net carb count.
  • Golden Monk Fruit Sweetener: Brown sugar can be used here at a 1:1 ratio. If carb content is a concern, use Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, or erythritol.
  • Butternut Squash: Pie pumpkins or sweet potatoes work really well in place of butternut squash here. If carb content is a concern of yours, you can reduce the net carb content of the dish by using a pie pumpkin.
  • Red Onion: Yellow onions or white onions can be substituted here at a 1:1 ratio.
  • Bacon: Turkey bacon or pancetta can be used in place of pork bacon here. Both options tend to be thinner than pork bacon, so consider adding a few extra pieces.
  • Spinach: If you don’t have fresh spinach on hand, you can use thawed and drained frozen spinach at a 1:1 ratio. Arugula or baby kale could also be subbed in for spinach.
  • Sour Cream: You can omit the sour cream if you don’t have any on hand, or if you want the recipe to be dairy-free. If dairy isn’t an issue, but you don’t want to use sour cream, you can substitute in full-fat Greek yogurt.

✨ Variations

  • Add ½ teaspoon curry powder, ground sage, dried rosemary, and/or ground thyme to the dressing mixture for some added savory flavors.
  • Add 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup, Lakanto Maple-Flavored Syrup, or honey to the dressing mixture.
  • Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes atop squash and cauliflower before baking for some added heat.
  • Sprinkle cinnamon and/or nutmeg on top of the vegetables before baking for some added sweetness.
  • When adding in the spinach, sprinkle on some pine nuts for some added texture and flavor.
  • When adding in the spinach, toss in a handful of dried cranberries for added sweetness.
  • Right before serving, grate some Parmesan cheese atop the dish.

➜ Cooking and recipe tips

  • Keep it quick and simple and purchase pre-cubed fresh butternut squash (in the produce section of most grocery stores). Frozen cubed butternut squash works in this recipe, too!
  • If you use a whole butternut squash, follow these instructions to prepare it for easy and safe cubing:
    • Using a sharp knife, poke several holes all around the squash.
    • Place the whole squash in the microwave and microwave in 60-second increments until just slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes.
    • Remove the squash from the microwave and allow it to cool slightly.
    • Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler then, using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise, use a spoon to remove the seeds, then cut into 1-inch cubes.
  • Don’t overcrowd the pan with the vegetables. Too many too close together won’t allow them to get crispy edges. I like to use large baking sheets when baking this recipe. If you only have smaller baking sheets, bake this recipe in two separate batches.
  • Use thinly-sliced bacon. If you only have thicker slices on hand, you will likely need to bake the bacon for longer than what is written in the original recipe.

💬 FAQs

Where can I buy monk fruit sweetener?

I purchase mine from Lakanto and have it delivered. If you want to do this, you can use discount code REALBALANCED at checkout for 20% OFF your Lakanto order. If you’d rather purchase monk fruit sweetener in a store, many grocery stores, especially specialty stores and Costco, carry Lakanto’s monk fruit sweetener.

How should this recipe be stored after preparing?

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you are meal-prepping this dish, I would suggest waiting to add the sour cream until you’re ready to eat.

📚 More roasted vegetable recipes

  • Sheet Pan Sausage And Vegetables
  • Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash
  • Roasted Radishes
  • Roasted Maple Parmesan Carrots

🍽 Recipe

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Close-up of Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon garnished with sour cream.

Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon


★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Sara Nelson
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe
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Description

This Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash With Cauliflower And Bacon is a comforting and nutrient-dense recipe that is perfect for a filling and healthy dinner or side dish. Cubed butternut squash and cauliflower florets are oven-baked to fork-tender alongside red onion, bacon, and wilted spinach tossed in a homemade dressing and garnished with dollops of sour cream.


Ingredients

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90 mL) avocado oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon (15g) Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon (12g) golden monk fruit sweetener or brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon-1 teaspoon salt, based on taste preferences
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Squash, Cauliflower, Onion, Bacon, And Spinach:

  • 1 3/4 cups cubed butternut squash (~350g)
  • Florets yielded from 1 medium-sized cauliflower (~350g)
  • 3/4 cup sliced red onion (~67g)
  • 6 thinly-sliced bacon slices (~150g), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 3/4 cups (80g) spinach

Optional Garnish:

  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) sour cream (omit for dairy-free)


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. To a small mixing bowl, add dressing ingredients (add only ¾ tsp salt at this time) and mix with a spoon to combine.
  3. To a baking sheet, arrange butternut squash, cauliflower, and onion in a single layer. Pour the prepared dressing atop the vegetables on the baking sheet and, using a spoon or your hands, coat vegetables in dressing. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  4. After baking for 20 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven, add bacon pieces and, using tongs, incorporate pieces into the vegetables and dressing. Return baking sheet to oven and bake for additional 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, check bacon, especially if you’re using thicker slices. If it still looks like bacon needs to cook a little longer, continue baking until desired crispiness is reached.
  5. Remove baking sheet from oven, add in spinach and, using a spoon, gently stir to mix through other ingredients. Return baking sheet to oven to bake until spinach has wilted, about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow to cool slightly before carefully taste-testing. Based on your preferences, add additional ¼ tsp salt. Serve with sour cream.

Recipe Notes:

Refrigerator Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you are meal-prepping this dish, I would suggest waiting to add the sour cream until you’re ready to eat.

Keywords: roasted cubed butternut squash, butternut squash and spinach, butternut squash and cauliflower

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5 Comments

  1. Sharina says

    February 27, 2023 at 7:34 pm

    This was so filling and flavorful! Even the picky loves this cubed butternut squash. I had to add a little bit more bacon because it’s our favorite!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Greta says

    February 27, 2023 at 4:10 pm

    I made this last night and it came out delicious. I love especially sweet dressing. Loved it.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Kris says

    February 27, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    Wow! This was so tasty. We already plan on making it again next week! Thank you for another winner. 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Glenda says

    February 27, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    A roasted veggie combo that I had not tried before. It’s spectacular! And it’s not just the combo that is great. That dressing with the cumin, mustard and garlic adds a fabulous layer of flavors. We loved this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Liz says

    February 27, 2023 at 2:35 pm

    This recipe convinced my husband that he likes butternut squash!! Haha such a tasty meal!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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My name is Sara Nelson, and I am the face behind Real Balanced. I am a Mom to two and a proud Wisconsinite. Here, you will find easy and delicious tried-and-true recipes that can often be made in minimal time. Read More
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