Roasted Butternut Squash with Feta and Spinach is a healthy, meatless, gluten-free, and vegetarian meal that your whole family will love! For a vegan version, use vegan Feta cheese. This easy recipe is a perfect addition to the holiday menu (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and is also great for an easy weeknight meal.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Mediterranean
Keyword butternut squash with feta and spinach, stuffed butternut squash
Prepare the butternut squash. Slice each one in half lengthwise. Keep fingers away from the knife to avoid injury. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fleshy strands tangled with the seeds.
Place butternut squash cut sides up on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cut sides of butternut squashes with olive oil and rub the oil into the squash. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Turn the squash over, and place it cut sides down on a baking sheet. Tip: you can line the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for 40 minutes.
Proceed with the rest of the recipe while the squash is in the oven.
Make feta cheese and spinach mixture
In a large, high-sided skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat and add chopped fresh spinach, smoked paprika, and chili powder. Cook for about 5 minutes until the spinach wilts. If there is any liquid in the pan, drain it. Remove from heat.
Add crumbled feta cheese to the skillet and stir it in very well with cooked spinach.
Season with more smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and freshly ground pepper, if desired.
How to stuff butternut squash
By this time, you have roasted the butternut squash for 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and turn cooked squash halves cut sides up.
Let it cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh leaving about a 1-inch border along the sides. (For reference, I provide the step-by-step photos, including for this step, below this recipe card).
Add back the scooped-out squash into the indentations of the butternut squash.
Warm up the feta cheese and spinach mixture in the skillet. Divide the feta and spinach mixture among the 4 halves and stuff the squash until the mixture is leveled.
Top the stuffed butternut squash with toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs.
Notes
How to toast pine nutsSpread the pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet in one layer. Toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 5 minutes. Watch the nuts and check them often as they can burn quickly!