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Butternut Squash Bread is full of autumnal flavors that only get more complex with time. This moist and delicious quick bread may just become your new favorite fall treat.
If you happened to catch my post last week for Apple Cinnamon Muffins, you may remember me coming up empty handed in my search for canned pumpkin puree. Well, many of you came to my rescue and a couple of you even emailed offering to ship me cans. Thanks for having your girl’s back!
However, several of you emailed me to say that Aldi shelves were pretty stocked with pumpkin puree. I’m not a regular Aldi shopper, but my friend Erin is and she just so happened upon a pumpkin jackpot at Aldi this past weekend and graciously dropped 6 cans onto my front porch.
If you can’t find it in your area, Aldi just might be the place to go to score a few cans. In the meantime, I think you should whip up this Butternut Squash Bread. It’s light, sweet and perfect for fall!
THE PERFECT BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD RECIPE
I have issues with perfection. I am always searching for it: the perfect recipe, the perfect pair of shoes, the perfect arch in my brows.
Obviously perfection is relative and varies from person to person, but for me, the search is endless and sometimes exhausting.
Rarely do I claim that a recipe is perfection. Why? Well, because I am always tweaking and fiddling with things to make them…well, closer to my version of perfect.
However, this recipe for Butternut Squash Bread may just define perfection for me (at least in my warped sense of the word).
The combination of flavors and the texture of this bread is truly amazing, and it only seems to get better over time. It’s delicious on day one, but by day two it transforms into a lovely moist bread full of rich, autumnal flavors.
It is very similar to my favorite Pumpkin Bread but with a slightly lighter texture.
I love this Butternut Squash Bread paired with a cup of hot chai or a London fog for breakfast or with a smear of butter for a late night snack.
HOW TO MAKE BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD
Remember the Butternut Squash Puree from earlier this week? I told you that you’d want to save some for making some Butternut Squash Bread!
To make this bread, start by grabbing your puree, either freshly made or thawed from the freezer if you made some ahead of time.
Whisk together the squash puree with eggs, oil, water, and both white and brown sugars.
(Psst! Ever wondered about the differences between the types of sugar? My handy guide lays it all out!)
Separately, whisk together the dry ingredients, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir the dry ingredients into the squash mixture, pour it into your loaf pan, and bake.
Pretty simple, right?? Like most quick bread recipes, this one is pretty straightforward, making it easy to whip up by yourself or great to make with kids.
SUGGESTED MIX-INS FOR THIS BREAD
Butternut Squash Bread is amazing as-is, but you can also get creative and make this recipe your own if you’d like.
You can try adding semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or even some dried cranberries to the batter before baking.
You could even mix up some cinnamon-sugar and sprinkle it on top of the batter before you bake the bread to give the bread a bit of a crunchy topping, similar to what I do with Dominique Ansel’s Banana Bread.
Whether you make it as written or decide to toss in some mix-ins, I know you’ll love this bread as much as we do!
Butternut Squash Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butternut squash puree
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour one 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine just until incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Butternut Squash Puree
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter; diced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice the butternut squash in half lengthwise; scoop out and toss the seeds. Place the halves flesh-side-up on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the diced butter and brown sugar evenly on both halves.
- Roast for 45-60 minutes or until the butternut squash can easily be pierced with a knife.
- A liquid mixture of butter and brown sugar will form in the wells of the squash, make sure you include this deliciousness with the puree.
- Remove squash from the oven; allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and liquid and place into your food processor or blender.
- Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; pulse until you reach a creamy consistency.
- If you are serving this delicious puree as a simple side dish, adjust the seasoning to your taste and toss in a couple more tablespoons of unsalted butter. If you are using it for Butternut Squash Bread, leave the puree as written.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made exactly like recipe except subbed pink banana squash for butternut. Turned out, in my hubby’s words, FANTASTIC! Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe – I will be making it many times over this fall.
Sounds deliciousย
Thanks so much for stopping by, Lois! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I forgot to say I used all white sugar but added 1 tablespoon of molasses.
I doubled the recipe.
Then used the extra for baked donuts and small bundt “cakes”.
When I doubled the recipe on an envelope I omitted the water by accident, but my puree was amply moist. I’m just crazy about the cardamom. I used two drops of cardamom essential oil.
Wonderful recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Geri! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Great recipe. I substituted apple cider for the water. It makes the whole house smell wonderful.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the bread, Mary Lou! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Sure wish there was a way to share this on my page! ;)
Just made this and followed to the letter except for using frozen squash purรฉe (which I squeezed to get rid of excess water) and milk in place of the water. The batter was extremely thick and gluey and I was very worried but the bread rose a couple of inches and tastes really nice. Itโs a tad on the dry side, so I would add more butternut purรฉe next time or some apple sauce.ย
Hi Ally – Next time, you might try not squeezing the puree; I wonder if that took away a bit of the moisture that the batter needed. I do also find that the bread gets a bit more moist by 2 day. Hope you try it again and thanks for stopping by!
Jamie
This recipe is a hit!
We thoroughly enjoyed it. I substituted apple sauce for the vegetable oil. It adds moisture to the bread. My husband doesnโt like squash of any kind. And ate this bread. Used walnuts and chocolate chips.
Will definitely make it again!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the bread, Doreen! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
First time making this bread. I substituted apple sauce for the vegetable oil.
And added nuts and chocolate chips.
It was a hit!
Thoroughly enjoyed! Will be making it again.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the bread, Doreen! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
First time trying this. Was looking to use up some butternut squash. I also halved the sugar and also replaced half the oil with applesauce… next time I may replace entire oil w applesauce. Turned out great! Thanks for the recipe, Jamie, and thanks for the tip, Doreen, on replacing oil. This is a keeper for me… look forward to tweaking w different addins.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the bread, Asheaff! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Thank you! Have just baked it. Delicious. I did use half the recommended sugar.ย
Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback! Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Am totally addicted. My husband as well. Turned the lasted batch into rusks. My only regret is not doing a triple batch.
So good, right? So glad to hear you are loving it!
-Jamie