Caramelised Butternut Squash Mash With Sage Brown Butter
Rich and creamy caramelised butternut squash mash topped with nutty brown butter and crispy sage leaves. A simple side to prepare that's full of flavour.
Servings: 8 People
Equipment
- Baking Tray
- Potato Ricer (See Notes)
- Large Saucepan
Ingredients
Caramelised Butternut Squash
- 1 Butternut Squash (Around 1-1½ kg)
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
For The Mash
- 150 g Crème Fraiche
- 50 g Parmesan (Finely Grated - See Notes)
Sage Brown Butter
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- A Small Handful Of Fresh Sage Leaves (Around 12 Leaves)
Instructions
Caramelised Butternut Squash
- Preheat an oven to 175°c/155°c fan (347°f/311°f).
- Trim the top and bottom from the butternut squash then cut in half down the length.
- Use a spoon to scoop the seeds out of the squash then score the flesh in a cross hatch pattern, using a sharp knife. Place the squash onto a baking tray (cut side up) then drizzle the oil all over the top.
- Next, add the sugar, paprika, cayenne and cumin into a small bowl, season well with salt & pepper then stir to combine. Sprinkle this mix over the butternuts, massaging it into the flesh with your hands.
- Bake the butternuts for 50 minutes - 1 hour minutes until they're just tender then drizzle the maple syrup over the top and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until nicely caramelised.You'll know when the butternuts are cooked when the tip of a knife slides into the flesh with little to no resistance.
- Once cooked, let the butternuts cool for 15 minutes or so, until cool enough to handle. Make the brown butter in the meantime.
Sage Brown Butter
- Pick the sage leaves then roughly tear them and set to one side. I aim for pieces around 2cm.
- Next, roughly chop the butter, add into a small saucepan then set over a medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly until melted then add in the sage leaves.
- Continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently until the butter starts to foam, smells nutty and you can see that the milk solids on the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown. The sage leaves will have crisped up at this point too.
- As soon as the butter is cooked, transfer it to a bowl then set to one side.This stops the butter from cooking any further.
Butternut Squash Mash
- Use a spoon to scoop the butternut out of the skins then use a potato ricer to mash the flesh into a large saucepan.If you haven't got a ricer, add the butternut into a pan then mash using a potato masher or fork. You can keep it as smooth or as chunky as you like.
- Add the crème fraiche, grated parmesan and 2 tbsp of the brown butter (no sage leaves though!) to the pan then set over a low heat.
- Season the mash with salt & pepper then warm gently, stirring regularly until the parmesan has melted and the mash is hot. If needed, you can add 1-2 tbsp of hot water to the mash, to adjust the consistency.If the mash tastes grainy it means that the parmesan hasn't melted fully!
- Give the mash a taste to check the seasoning then add in more salt & pepper as needed.
- To serve, spoon the mash into a serving dish then drizzle the sage brown butter over the top.
Salt Butter Smoke Magazine
Food that's made for sharing.
The Christmas 2026 issue features 30 festive recipes, Christmas cooking guides, beautiful food photography and features on everything from the perfect cheeseboard to the art of trifle.
Discover the Christmas Issue →Notes
1. To Cook In An Aga - Bake the butternut squash in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners. Use the simmering plate to warm the mash after adding in the crème fraiche.
2. Butternut Squash - You'll need a large butternut squash for this recipe, weighing around 1-1½ kg. This is the weight before you've trimmed the top or removed the seeds.
3. Sage - Feel free to leave out the sage if you're not a fan.
4. Parmesan - The nutty, slightly salty flavour of parmesan works fantastically with the sweet caramelised butternut squash. This mash will work without parmesan though if you'd prefer. I'd recommend grating the parmesan with a microplane or on the finest side of a cheese grater as it will melt into mash quicker.
5. Crème Fraiche - If you haven't got any crème fraiche, you could use sour cream, cream cheese or mascarpone instead. Though I'd recommend using creme fraiche as it's what this recipe was developed using.
6. Making Ahead Of Time - You can make your butternut mash and the brown butter ahead of time and they'll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
7. Reheating - To reheat your butternut squash mash, warm the mash over a medium-low heat until piping hot. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of hot water to the pan, to adjust the consistency. The sage brown butter can be microwaved to melt or melted in a small pan, set over a low heat.
Enjoying This Recipe?
The Prep List is my free weekly newsletter with seasonal recipes, kitchen notes and behind-the-scenes from my kitchen. Add Salt Butter Smoke as a Google Preferred Source to see more of my recipes in Search.