With its hard, thick shell, whole butternut squash can seem daunting to cook. But it’s easy to prepare this winter staple with a few simple tips. Plus, once you learn how to cook butternut squash, you can use it in pastas or curries, fold it into salads and sides, or serve it baked in its shell with nothing more than a pat of butter and drizzle of honey.

How To Peel and Cut Butternut Squash

Whether you remove some or all of the skin, and the shape or size of your cuts, all depends on how you plan to cook the butternut squash. For a general overview, follow the steps below. Otherwise, check out complete guide, check out How to Peel and Cut Butternut Squash Step-by-Step.

Step one: Trim. Cut off both ends of the squash.

Step two: Peel the squash. Wearing an apron, hold the squash against your chest to keep it steady. With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin, working toward you.

Step three: Halve the squash. Place the squash on a cutting board and hold it steady with one hand. With the other, use a large knife to halve the squash lengthwise. Set the squash halves on the cutting board, flesh-side up. Using a spoon (a serrated grapefruit spoon works well), scoop the seeds and pulp out of each squash half. At this point, you can cook whole squash halves, or proceed the following step.

Step four: Dice the squash. With a large, sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise. Cut each section in half, then in quarters, and dice it.

Once you’ve broken down the squash, you can bake, roast or microwave it to use in recipes or to enjoy as a side dish.

How To Cook Butternut Squash in the Microwave

If you’re short on time or oven space, you can cook butternut squash halves in your microwave.

Step one: Halve the squash. Cut your butternut squash vertically into halves following steps 1 to 3 above.

Step two: Butter and season the squash. Fill the cavity of each squash half with a pat of butter, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with brown sugar or honey.

Step three: Cook in the microwave. Lay the squash halves cut-side down on a piece of microwave-safe plastic wrap placed directly on a microwave-safe plate. Cook the squash on high in 5-minute intervals, checking after each one. The squash is done when it's completely softened and cooked through, or about 10 minutes total. Your cook time will vary depending upon the size of your squash.

Step four: Finish in the oven (optional). If you like a baked finish to your squash, place it in the oven at 350 degrees for another 5-10 minutes or until it’s caramelized.

How To Cook Butternut Squash in the Oven

If you don't have a microwave or prefer to use an oven, you can also bake butternut squash halves.

Step one: Halve the squash. Cut your butternut squash vertically into halves following steps 1 to 3 in the above section, “How to Peel and Cut Butternut Squash.”

Step two: Butter and season the squash. Place the butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet, flesh-side up. Then, season the cavities with salt and pepper, place a pat of butter in the middle of each squash half and sprinkle brown sugar or drizzle honey over it.

Step three: Bake the squash. Set the prepared squash halves in an oven heated to 400 degrees F. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the flesh is fork-tender.

How To Roast Chopped Butternut Squash

To serve pieces of butternut squash either as a side or as part of another dish, you can chop and then roast them.

Step one: Prepare the squash. Peel and dice the butternut squash using steps 1 to 4 in the section, “How to Peel and Cut Butternut Squash.”

Step two: Season the squash. Place the squash cubes on a sheet pan and drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well. Make sure there's a little space around each cube so they can caramelize as they cook.

Step three. Roast until tender. Roast the squash in an oven preheated to 400 degrees F until it's fork-tender, turning once with a spatula, 25 to 30 minutes.

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