Mashed Butternut Squash

Mashed Butternut Squash is a comforting, delicious fall side dish that is ready in less than 30 minutes. This butternut squash recipe features creamy steamed squash that is lightly sweetened, buttery, and creamy thanks to the addition of sour cream.

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If you are looking for a comforting, easy, and delicious fall or winter side dish, this mashed vegetable is ideal! This recipe is made with garden-fresh squash, that has been peeled, cleaned, cubed, and then steamed.

I especially love the creaminess of this mashed squash recipe because it contains a secret ingredient- Hood Sour Cream. I don’t know about you, but I love Hood Sour Cream! We have been fans for years in this house because Hood is a local company that produces quality dairy products that our family loves to enjoy.

In fact, you can check out some Hood recipes including these Healthy Oat Pumpkin Muffins, these Cheesy Bacon Wontons, and this Baked Apple Pie Oatmeal.

But, if you are here for this delicious fall vegetable side, lets get down to the details of everything you need to make this recipe as featured.

Ingredients:

• Butternut squash
• Salted butter
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Hood Sour Cream
• Water for steaming*

Peeling Butternut Squash Tips

Be sure to use a large, sharp knife, and sturdy cutting board when prepping your squash. An ice cream scoop can easily remove the squash guts and seeds for composting later.

Peel your squash using a vegetable peeler. Start from the top and bring the vegetable peeler down towards you in large, smooth strokes.

Once peeled, carefully place it on the cutting board. Starting from the larger bulbous side, find the center and carefully insert your knife. Holding the base of the squash as you insert the knife fully through. Once it is through the center of the bulb end, carefully cut through the longer spot.

Once you are done, you should have two halves.

Using an ice cream scoop, remove seeds and excess pulp.

To cube, flip the squash to cut side down. Slice starting with the bulb end and cut into cubes until complete. By keeping it cut side down, this helps to keep it steady and mitigate any kitchen accidents. Always be mindful of where your hands are in regards to your knife because cutting vegetables like squash, and sweet potatoes is tough!

Steaming Butternut Squash

Add 1 1/2 cups of water to a 16-quart stockpot, and add your steaming basket.

Add squash cubes on top of the basket and cover pan. Turn heat to high and steam for about 15-18 minutes. I recommend checking for doneness with an oven-mitted hand at the 15-minute mark. Once pierced, the squash should be tender when the fork is inserted. If it still feels hard, cover it back up and continue to cook it for the extra 3 minutes.

Once squash is tender, using oven-mitted hands, remove the pan from the stove, and drain any excess water. Remove steamer basket from the pan. You should now have bright orange tender cubes of cooked squash.

Preparation

Once the squash is ready, and drained it is time to add the butter, sour cream, sugar, and cinnamon directly to the pan. I prefer to mash my squash and potatoes this way because the pan is still hot and keeps the squash hot. It also allows the butter to melt, and the flavors to intensify. Plus, it makes clean up easier!

After your ingredients are in the pan, use a potato masher to mash the squash and mix the ingredients throughout. The end result should be mashed, fluffy, and flavorful squash.

Sour Cream in Mashed Butternut Squash

We love Hood Sour Cream in our mashed potatoes recipe so it was only instinct that we add it to our mashed butternut squash. Just 1/2 a cup provides a delicious depth of flavor and creaminess to the squash.

Using Hood Sour Cream means you are using the highest quality ingredients from farmers who pledge to not to use artificial growth hormones (rBST).

Storing

Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze this in zippered bags.

I suggest adding this to one gallon zippered freezer bags and freezing the contents flat to better fit in your freezer. The squash will also thaw quicker. Heat in a microwave until warmed throughout. 

I also love that they have a light version, and the nifty 12-ounce squeeze bottle which makes things ideal for adding more sour cream to our baked potatoes, nachos, or in the case–mashed squash–YUMMY! Find more Hood recipes on their site!