This Oven Roasted Kabocha Squash with Peanut Sauce is an easy, healthy side dish that is easy to make and filling! Gluten free, vegan and paleo too!
PIN Oven Roasted Kabocha Squash
Just going to put this out there:
I eat this recipe MANY times a week.
So often that I usually get a stomachache because roasted kabocha squash does that to me, but I don’t even care because it’s just so dang delicious.
I like other squashes. I can go to town on some spaghetti squash casserole, parmesan roasted acorn squash or butternut squash soup but kabocha?
I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Don’t care if it’s THIS roasted kabocha squash recipe OR if it’s kabocha squash soup. I might even try making it in the Instant Pot like the Instant Pot Butternut Squash! Anyway you give this magical little squash to me, I am DOWN FOR IT.
What is kabocha squash?
This is a small winter, Japanese squash that looks like a pumpkin. BUT the taste and texture is a lot closer to a sweet potato. The skin is usually a deep-green or gray color and the flesh is typically orange colored.
It’s naturally sweet and works great in recipes or on its own, like in this oven roasted kabocha squash!
How to pick a kabocha squash
A good kabocha squash is AMAZING, but a bad one? It’s watery and just down-right bad, so here are some pro tips:
- Look for a squash that is heavy for its size
- Choose a squash that has a dull, not shiny, skin
- The color should be a deep green. Golden speckles and streaks on the skin are also a good sign!
How to cut kabocha squash
To make this kabocha recipe, you need to cut the squash and that can be a little bit tricky! So here is how I cut mine:
Cut in half – take a large, sharp knife and cut right through the center of the squash, leaving two halves
Cut each half in half – this should leave you with 4 quarters of squash.
Skin – place them cut side down onto a cutting board and use a sharp, thin knife to slice off the skin (the skin IS edible, but I don’t like it)
Cut into cubes – slice each quarter vertically into 1-inch thick strips, then cut each strip into 1 inch cubes!
DONE!
How to cook kabocha squash
Cut
To make oven roasted kabocha squash you need to start with your squash prepped as above.
Oil
Toss the squash cubes with oil, rubbing it into the squash well
Prepare
Place the squash cubes, cut side-down onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt
Bake
Bake at 400 degrees until fork-tender, which is about 20-25 minutes.
Now you are ready to get SAUCY!
I stole the sauce from the Thai Grilled Chicken skewers and then poured it all over the soft, tender kabocha squash and it’s honestly pretty much a match made in heaven. If you don’t have kabocha squash, it would also be amazing on roasted delicata squash!
The slight sweetness of the squash with the tangy, ginger vibes that are going down in the sauce is something that I would be willing to be REAL money that your face is going to like A LOT.
You might even be like me and eat so much you get permanent stomach aches.
And, prediction, you won’t be mad about it.
Other Healthy Squash Recipes
Balsamic Butternut Squash Salad
Roasted Acorn Squash and Quinoa Salad
Healthy Chicken Noodle Casserole with Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Kabocha squash (about 4 lbs)
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- Salt
For the sauce:
- 2 Tbsp Peanut butter (Almond butter for paleo)
- 4 tsp Full fat coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp Reduced sodium soy sauce (GF if needed)
- 2 tsp Rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Chop the squash- this is tricky. How I do it is this: Cut it in half, then scoop out all the seeds and guck from the inside. Then cut each half into half again, so you end up with 4 quarters. Using a big knife, cut the skin off each quarter. Then, chop the squash into 1 inch cubes
- Place the squash in a large bowl and toss with the oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Place the cubes, cut side down onto a large baking tray.
- Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes,checking often to make sure they are not getting burned. The squash is done when the underside has a nice browned color and it is fork tender.
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Pour the sauce all over the cooked squash and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds, if desired, and DEVOUR
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: FREESTYLE POINTS: 4Â POINTS+: 7Â Â OLD POINTS: 5
(per serving – based on recipe serving 4 people)
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Krystal Connolly on Facebook says
Taylor, I LOVE this!!! I am loving all of your post about the farm=) I feel like you and Caleb need to watch this movie!!! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039349/ Big hugs
Colleen McLeod Semple on Facebook says
You should post a chicken recipe after confessing to killing a few birds in your life. You are so funny!
[email protected] says
Haha I should! Would save some money on groceries anyway…
Carolyn Sturby on Facebook says
Can’t wait to see you gathering eggs!!!
Carolyn Sturby on Facebook says
BTW when you were little you used to have little bunnies and used to hold them too tight and kill them, LOL!!
Carolyn Sturby says
I will definately try this one as I just love any kind of squash
[email protected] says
Great! You won’t be disappointed, it is SO good!!
Cassie Thuvan Tran says
Oh my gosh! I have never seen anything more PERFECT than this! I definitely have to try substituting this with maple syrup or a neutral sweetener like agave instead of the honey. It’s been a while since I’ve consumed and prepared kabocha but we need to fix that 😉
Taylor Kiser says
YES!!! It’s the BEST. You will love it like this!