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When it comes to festive pumpkin side dishes, this roasted Kabocha squash with cranberries and pecans brings all the autumnal feels to the table. This one-pan baked dish can also be made with butternut squash and is super easy to prepare. Serve alongside a variety of mains. It’s great for Thanksgiving, Christmas and your regular roast dinner. This squash recipe is gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, vegan-friendly.
With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to share some of my favourite holiday season side dishes. This paleo-friendly roasted kabocha squash pumpkin side dish is a vegetable crowd pleaser and can be served at a festive gathering or as a hearty side dish with your next dinner meal.
HOW TO MAKE THIS ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH RECIPE
You will find the full list of ingredients, instructions, notes and nutritional breakdown for this Kabocha squash side dish in the recipe card below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos to guide you along.
PICK THE RIGHT WINTER SQUASH
The key to this dish is getting the right type of pumpkin or winter squash. I have a great guide to different types of pumpkin and winter squashes here. For this particular recipe, you want to use a sweeter kind of pumpkins such as Kabocha, Kent or Japanese, Kabocha or Jarrahdale. Butternut squash is also okay to use but I find the texture less starchy and the flavour less sweet.
Step 1. Start by preheating the oven to 200 C / 400 F. Peel the squash, cut it into quarters and remove the seeds. Dice into cubes and add to a large roasting tray or baking dish.
Step 2. Add the onion and drizzle with olive oil. Toss through and place in the oven, middle shelf, for 10 minutes. In the meantime, chop most of the pecans roughly and reserve a few whole nuts. Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3. After 10 minutes, remove the pumpkin from the oven and scatter the pecans (except for a few whole ones), cranberries, garlic, salt and spices over the top. Stir through and place back in the oven for 7-10 minutes. After 7 minutes, remove the tray again and scatter the remaining pecans over the top. Whisk together the glaze mix and drizzle over the tray contents. Place in the oven for 5 more minutes.
Make-ahead: If you’re preparing this dish for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, it works well as a make-ahead recipe. Simply pre-roast the dish in the morning and then reheat in the oven just before serving.
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Description
An easy pumpkin side dish of roasted Kabocha squash with cranberries and pecans has all those fall feels and is great for Thanksgiving, Christmas and your regular roast dinner. This winter squash recipe is gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, vegan-friendly.
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F.
- Peel the pumpkin, cut it into quarters and remove the seeds. Dice into cubes and add to a large roasting tray or baking dish. Add the onion and drizzle with olive oil. Toss through and place in the oven, middle shelf, for 10 minutes.
- Chop most of the pecans roughly and reserve a few whole nuts. Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- After 10 minutes, remove the pumpkin and scatter the pecans (except for a few whole ones), cranberries, garlic, salt and spices over the top. Stir through and place back in the oven for 7-10 minutes.
- After 7 minutes, remove the tray again and scatter the remaining pecans over the top. Whisk together the glaze mix and drizzle over the tray contents. Place in the oven for 5 more minutes.
Notes
Dried fruit: I used dried cranberries but you could also chop up some dried apricots or throw in some sultanas. Nuts: Pecans are very traditional and I love the flavour, but you can easily use other nuts and seeds, or omit them completely.
Regular yellow onion can be used instead of red onion, but I find the latter a little sweeter and the colour much prettier for this dish.
Leftover roasted pumpkin is perfect with scrambled eggs or as a filling in frittata or quiche; or, you can turn it into a soup or a curry. That’s if you have any leftovers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 10.8 g
- Sodium: 562.1 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.7 g
- Fiber: 3.5 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Kabocha Squash, Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, Roast, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Vegetables, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan
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