Twice Baked Butternut Squash w/Brown Sugar & Sage

I love fall.  And I love fall foods even more!  Squash, soups, and comfort galore.  A while back I saw a pic someone had posted on Pinterest for a twice-baked butternut squash.  While I didn’t have time to take a peek at the actual recipe, the idea stayed with me for a while.  So when my mom brought me this butternut she’d grown in her garden, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it!

As I said, I am not sure what others have done for twice-baked squash recipes, but I know twice baked potatoes are delish, so figured I couldn’t go wring with this.  A fave way to have squash for me is just simply baked with some salt and pepper and then topped with brown sugar.  Knowing that fresh sage, brown sugar, and butternuts go fabulously together, I decided to make a simple brown-butter & sage stuffed squash.  It’s super simple… bake the squash, scoop out the squash flesh, mash it up with some melted butter (or ghee), brown sugar, fresh sage leaves, salt and pepper, and stuff back into the squash.  As a last minute attempt to add some texture (since I didn’t want this to taste like baby food), I topped it with a little extra brown sugar sugar and some bread crumbs.  Once baked again, the topping is crisp and crunchy while the inside is soft, sweet, and so comfortingly delicious!!

I used one large squash to serve two… yum yum delish.

1 large butternut squash

2 tsp brown sugar (1 tsp for squash filling, 1 tsp for topping- I used light brown)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 large sage leaves, plus more for garnish

1 tbsp butter or ghee

1 tsp bread crumbs (I had Italian, but plain works too)

*olive oil, salt, & pepper for roasting squash

Try to get your hands on a bigger-sized squash… you won’t regret having all the goodness to devour!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Slice quash in half

Using a spoon, scrape out seeds and stringy flesh

Drizzle squash halves with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper

Turn squash face down on a large baking sheet

(This helps the squash to steam and cook faster)

Bake for about 45 minutes, depending on squash size

{time may vary from 30 minutes to 1 hour- poke with a fork to check doneness}

Remove from oven, flip over, and make sure squash is soft and cooked through… if not cook a wee longer 🙂

Transfer squash halves to a large cutting board or working surface

Using the spoon, scoop out the inside of the squash halves, leaving about a 1/2 inch around the walls of the squash skin to keep the shape together- scoop flesh into a bowl

Take two large sage leaves…

And chop into fine little bits

In a small pot, heat butter (or ghee) over a low-medium heat until melts

Add sage leaves, 1 tsp brown sugar, salt, and pepper

Stir and let cook just for a minute or two…

Once bubbling, it’s good to go

Pout sage/sugar sauce into squash filling

Stir until well mixed

(taste to check for seasonings if want)

Scoop squash back into shells, spreading evenly in each half

Place back on baking sheet (I reuse same one)

Top with remaining brown sugar (1/2 tsp per squash half)

and bread crumbs (1 tsp per half)

Increase oven temperature to 500

Place squash back in oven and roast for about 10 minutes until browned

Alternately, you could place on broil and let brown, but

watch it closely ’cause it’ll happen fast!

Garnish with sage leaves and enjoy!!