Roasted Butternut Squash & Potato Medley
Veggies become particularly tasty after being roasted and caramelized in the oven. In this roasted squash and potato recipe, you boost the flavor and total nutrients after replacing most of the white potatoes with purple potatoes. Win! Add red onion and butternut squash (you can buy it already cubed) for more flavor, texture, moisture, and a bit of natural sweetness. Another win!
I like using purple potatoes that are purple inside and out. Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. Purple potatoes also tend to have a thin skin and are easy to cut in half. Large purple potatoes work great too. Just cut them into bite-size pieces. Be sure to click on the orange shopping cart icon below to see which potatoes I used. I like mixing in a few white potatoes for nice color contrast. The purple onion and orange butternut squash nicely round out the colors as well.
Roasted vegetables should cook at a high enough temperature (350-425 degrees Fahrenheit) that you shouldn't use extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of around 350 degrees, depending on the manufacturer. Try buying olive oil that isn't labeled extra virgin or use a higher heat oil like avocado oil. Typical grocery stores usually have a brand or two of olive oil that isn't extra virgin, but they can be hard to spot. Keep a regular olive oil on hand for your high-heat cooking when you want to have that delicious olive oil taste.
Sometimes, I live on the edge and finish roasting for a minute or two with the oven on broil. Those of you who have burnt your creations doing this know it can be tricky! Rule of thumb: Never ever walk away while your food is browning under a broiler. If you watch it carefully, it gives a beautiful extra bit of brown around the edges. Enjoy!
Roasted Butternut Squash & Potato Medley
Ingredients
- Butternut squash
- 4 - 5 lbs purple, white, and red potatoes
- 2 red onions
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 - 3 tsp favorite spice mix (optional)
- Salt, pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut butternut squash and potatoes in bite size halves or chunks. In a large bowl, mix squash and potatoes with olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil) or avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, spice mix (optional), and salt and pepper.
- Peel red onion and cut into wedges so the layers stay together if possible. This is so they can cook at a similar length of time as the potatoes and squash. If the red onion is large, you may want to cut the wedges in half lengthwise so they are a similar size as the potatoes and squash. Gently mix in a bowl with oil and salt and pepper.
- Pour everything cut, oiled, and seasoned, onto large sheet pans. Give the sheet pans a shake so the vegetables spread out and are not on top of each other.
- Place pans in hot oven and roast until tender and golden brown. Place pans under a broiler one at a time if you wish to add a little more browning, but DON'T LEAVE THE BROILER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
