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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.
Hi there…I’m new to your blog but I made this bread tonight and it was divine!
I actually used some fresh Kabocha squash puree and it turned out delicious.
My husband asked me to hide the bread so he would not eat it all. :)
Thanks for sharing.
@Jen…thanks for your reply…I just finished roasting some Kabocha and thought of some quick bread would be great for it, and wondered if anyone on this page used Kabocha. Serendipity;D
Perhaps with your penchant for tweaking you can find a way to do without refined sugar.
…you can use coconut palm sugar…lower on the glycemic index and tasty as heck. Use it 1 for 1 in baking. Hope this helps.
Made this yesterday – and making another batch today adding almonds this time. So good – thanks for sharing!
Made this sweet treat again today and had to stop myself from eating it all by giving it away! Thanks for the recipe. And yes, it would be worth making this just for the delicious smell that lingers.
This is one of my favorite recipes. I made a few modifications (like using wheat and spelt flour) and it turned out amazing! Check it out…
http://luvwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/butternut-squash-bread/
Thank you for sharing!
Just wanted to say a quick thank you (thank you, thank you, THANK YOU) for this recipe. It really is out of this world. I’m getting ready to make it for the second time this week. Butternut squash and cardamom are a match made in heaven. :)
Thanks for the recipe! My adjustments: I used plain butternut squash puree, completely cut out the cup of white sugar and used clove instead of cardamom. DELCIOUS! And the house smells tasty, too!
I just made this bread today. It’s a little harder but works fine with a blender if you don’t have a food processor. Also, I skinned and cubed the butternut before baking, it baked it faster but provided more work(Originally prepped the squash for another recipe). I agree that it is quite sweet, I would take it down a notch next time. Also, I included a handful of raisin & almonds to give it some texture, and I also add ginger & cloves. Tastes like autumn. Love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this… and loved it!!! Thank you!