Filled with squash, rice, spinach, and ricotta cheese, this butternut squash casserole is a cross between a baked risotto and lasagna and makes a hearty vegetarian meal. This casserole works equally well as a main course or a side dish and keeps well in the fridge or freezer making it a great make-ahead meal for busy weekdays.
Inspired by a baked risotto and a vegetarian lasagna, this butternut squash casserole recipe has everything you love about both classic dishes and so much more. The combination of squash and sage, along with the creamy texture from the cheese, make this a heart-warming, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that is absolutely delicious.
This savory squash casserole recipe is perfect for a cold-weather dinner and works equally well as a meal prep idea for a week’s worth of healthy lunches. Whether you’re serving it as a main course or side dish, for lunch or for dinner, this casserole is a crowd-pleasing dish that everyone is sure to love.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy – Made in a single baking dish, this casserole is easy to make and requires minimal cleanup.
- Delicious – With earthy flavors, a creamy texture, and lots of cheese, this butternut squash casserole is absolutely delicious.
- Versatile – This casserole works equally well as a main course, side dish, or appetizer, for lunch, dinner, or on a holiday table.
- Great for Meal Prep – This casserole keeps well in the fridge and freezer making it a great make-ahead meal idea.
Ingredients for Butternut Squash Casserole
- Butternut Squash – This sweet and nutty-tasting winter squash is the star ingredient in this casserole recipe. The recipe calls for fresh squash, but you could certainly swap it for frozen butternut squash if needed. See the notes section of the recipe card for details. Moreover, you can swap the butternut squash for acorn squash, buttercup squash, or even sweet potatoes if you prefer.
- Arborio Rice – To give this recipe is risotto-like texture. If you don’t have arborio rice, another short-grain rice such as carnaroli rice would work best, however, any white rice variety will work.
- Ricotta Cheese – The use of ricotta cheese in this butternut squash casserole recipe helps to ramp up the protein content. You can use whole milk or skim milk ricotta.
- Spinach – To add some leafy greens and a boost of fiber. The recipe calls for fresh spinach, but you could certainly swap it for frozen spinach if needed. See the notes section of the recipe card for details.
- Broth – To add flavor and cook the rice and the squash. Feel free to use chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Herbs and Spices – A bit of sage, nutmeg, and salt to season the casserole and add some fall and winter flavors. Feel free to add a pinch of cinnamon and a bit of black pepper too.
- Mozzarella Cheese – And a little extra cheese to top the casserole and give it a nice cheesy taste and texture.
Dietary Adaptions
To Make it Gluten-Free: Use certified gluten-free broth.
How to Make Butternut Squash Casserole
This butternut squash is super easy to make and doesn’t require much cooking at all. Here’s how you make it:
- Prepare the butternut squash. Peel the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds, and then cut it into bite-size pieces, the smaller you can make them the better. While I suggest removing the flesh from the squash, as I find it a bit tough for the dish, it is edible, and you can leave it if you prefer.
- Wilt the spinach. Add the chopped spinach to a pan with a bit of water and cook it for a couple of minutes until it’s all wilted and dramatically reduced in size.
- Mix the ricotta mixture. In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese with the wilted spinach, sage, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine.
- Add to the casserole dish. Add the rice, cubed butternut squash, ricotta mixture, and broth to a casserole dish and gently stir until well incorporated.
- Bake the casserole. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and transfer it to the oven to bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes.
- Top with cheese. Once the liquid has been absorbed, the squash is tender, and the rice can be fluffed with a fork, remove the casserole dish from the oven, top it with shredded mozzarella cheese, and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown.
- Serve and enjoy! Once baked, the casserole can be served immediately as a main course or a side dish.
You can find the detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card below.
Red’s Nutrition Tip
Not only is this butternut squash casserole full of flavor but this dish is equally as delicious as it is nutritious. The use of ricotta cheese helps to add some high-quality protein to the casserole, while the squash and rice provide some complex carbohydrates, and the spinach adds a boost of greens and fiber.
What To Serve It With
Given this butternut squash casserole recipe is well-balanced with protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, it can be served as a main course or a side dish. It would pair well with:
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Pesto Salmon
- Slow-Roasted Salmon with Herbs
- Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin
- Grilled Steak
- Roast Chicken
- Roast Turkey
- Roast Ham
- Roast Beef
- Fried Eggs
- Roasted Broccoli
- Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
- Green Salad
What meat or fish goes with butternut squash casserole?
This healthy butternut squash casserole makes a wonderful holiday side dish for roast turkey, roast chicken, roast beef, and ham. It also pairs well it grilled salmon or shrimp.
Can butternut squash casserole be made ahead?
Absolutely! This butternut squash casserole can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What can I use instead of butternut squash?
You can substitute butternut squash for acorn squash, buttercup squash, Hubbard squash, sugar pumpkin, or sweet potatoes.
Storage + Reating
To Store: Leftover butternut squash casserole can be covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, transferred to an airtight container, and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: To freeze the casserole whole, cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and place it in a freezer-safe bag, and place it in the freezer. To freeze the leftover casserole, transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and place it in the freezer. The casserole can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: From the fridge, place the casserole in an oven-proof dish, cover it with aluminum foil, and warm in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. If frozen, allow the casserole to thaw overnight before placing it in the oven. To reheat from frozen, cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and warm it in the oven at 350°F for 40-50 minutes until heated through.
More Butternut Squash Recipes:
- Sage Butternut Squash Risotto
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash and Quinoa Stew
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Butternut Squash Casserole
Author: Stephanie Kay
This healthy butternut squash casserole works equally well as a vegetarian main course or a hearty side dish.
- Author: Stephanie Kay
Prep Time: 15 minutes- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Casserole
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and 1/4″ dice (about 4–5 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio or short-grain rice, dry
- 1 tablespoon sage, freshly minced
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Fresh sage leaves, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large skillet on medium heat, add chopped spinach with 2 tablespoons of water. Using a wooden spoon or tongs, gently toss and turn the spinach until spinach wilts, ensuring all the raw leaves make contact with the pan. Once wilted, turn off the heat and set it aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, add ricotta cheese, spinach, sage, nutmeg, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, and mix until well combined.
- In a large 2 or 3-quart baking dish (I used a 9 x 13 baking dish), add the butternut squash and rice, and stir to combine. For the best results, ensure that the squash is cut into small, bite-sized, 1/4″ cube pieces. Doing so will ensure it cooks evenly with the rice and provide a more consistent texture to the dish.
- Transfer the ricotta cheese mixture to the baking dish with the squash and rice, and dollop it evenly across the top. Add broth and then give everything a good stir until everything is well incorporated and evenly dispersed in the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and then transfer to the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
- Once complete, remove the baking dish from the oven, remove the aluminum foil, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Return the casserole dish to the oven, uncovered, for a final 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted and is slightly golden.
- Optional: While the casserole is baking, you can fry some sage leaves to top the casserole. Warm a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan to medium-high heat, then add fresh sage leaves, working in batches, and fry for 3-5 seconds until golden, watching them closely to ensure they do not burn. Once fried, use tongs to remove them from the pan, place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil, and sprinkle with a bit of salt.
- Once the cheese has melted, remove the casserole from the oven, allow to cool slightly and top it with fried sage (optional) before serving. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
To Use Frozen Squash: You can add the frozen butternut squash to the recipe as instructed in step #4, however, you may need to increase the cooking time slightly in step #6 as the frozen squash may excrete excess water as it cooks. Just continue to cook the casserole until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.
To Use Frozen Spinach: Skip step #1. Thaw one cup of frozen spinach, press out any excess water, and add it to the recipe as per step #3.
To Use Dried Sage: Use 1 teaspoon of dried sage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 394 calories
- Sugar: 4 grams
- Fat: 9 grams
- Carbohydrates: 59 grams
- Fiber: 4 grams
- Protein: 21 grams
