15 Ways to Eat Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is one hardworking vegetable. It's the star of so many fall recipes, and because it keeps for such a long time, it's a favorite winter ingredient, too. If stored in a cool place (55-60 degrees Fahrenheit), whole butternut squash will keep for up to three months.

Breakfast

• Butternut Squash Muffins: You don't even have to cut the skin off the squash to make these muffins. Everything but the seeds go into a food processor and then get added to the muffin mix. An optional frosting can turn these from a breakfast food into a dessert.
• Baked Eggs with Butternut Squash and Kale: Jalapeno and cumin add some spice to this nutritious breakfast.
• Hot Butternut Oatmeal: Add butternut squash puree to oatmeal to make the rib-sticking breakfast dish even healthier.

Lunch

• Southwestern Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup: Make good use of the jars on your spice shelf for this pureed soup. A little cornbread on the side would be a good finishing touch.
• Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Sea Salt: This salad-like dish that contains grains to help fill you up is perfect for lunch or as a side dish at dinner. The recipe is from Amelia Saltsman's "The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen: A Fresh Take on Tradition" which is inspired by the farm-to-table movement and offers a fresh take on traditional and modern Jewish cooking.
• Squash Manchego and Balsamic-Onion Grilled Cheese: You'd think the name of this sandwich says it all, but it also includes almonds and a little chili powder.
• Butternut Squash Salad: In this Mark Bittman recipe, shredded raw butternut squash, raisins and ginger create a healthy, winter vegetable salad.

Dinner

• Butternut Squash Galette with Roasted Garlic and Thyme (pictured above): A galette is a free-form pie that's baked on a sheet instead of in a pie plate. It can be sweet or savory, and this savory version is filled with butternut squash and cheese, giving it a pizza-like quality.
• Caramelized Butternut Squash with Hazelnut-Sage Pesto: Caramelizing brings out the sweetness in the squash and the nutty pesto pairs nicely with it. This can be a side dish or meatless main dish.
• Braised Butternut Squash with Bok Choy and Black Bean Sauce: Served over rice, this Asian-inspired butternut squash dish is a complete meatless meal.
• Butternut Bisque: Roasted butternut squash makes for a flavorful soup to warm you up on a chilly night.
• Yellow Squash Salad with Grana Padano: Pears and radicchio join butternut squash in this Italian-inspired salad drizzled with aged-balsamic vinegar.

Desserts and snacks

• Bourbon and Butternut Squash Ice Cream Floats: Butternut squash ice cream is used in this very grown-up float that adds a shot of bourbon.
• Roasted Squash Seeds: Don't throw out those seeds. Roast them with a little oil, salt and any combination of spices you want, or turn them into pesto.
• Cookies: The original recipes for these spice cookies made with whole wheat flour calls for pumpkin, but equal parts butternut squash puree can be substituted for pumpkin puree.