- September 18, 2022
- Modified On: August 29, 2022
- by Amy Gorin, MS, RDN
- 0 Comments
Easy Pomegranate Squash
Looking for a delicious pomegranate squash side dish? This butternut squash with pomegranate vinaigrette is so easy to make!
One of the best vegetarian squash recipes out there, this butternut squash with pomegranate comes with a naturally sweet pomegranate vinaigrette.
This easy butternut squash side dish recipe is also stellar as an appetizer. It’s just the right amount of sweet and tangy! Plus, you get an antioxidant punch from the pomegranate squash recipe.
Ingredients
You need just a handful of ingredients to make pomegranate squash:
Butternut squash: It’s super important to eat your fruits and vegetables on the regular, and you get many health benefits from butternut squash. It provides beta carotene, which is helpful for eye health.
A serving of butternut squash is also an excellent source of vitamin C, providing an excellent amount of the recommended daily value to help with immunity.
Plus, eating veggies on the regular can help reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Additionally, the squash provides dietary fiber, which may help cholesterol levels.
Olive oil: You’ll add a little bit of olive oil to this pomegranate squash recipe to get in some heart-healthy fats.
Pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and vanilla extract: I had some pomegranate juice on hand.
So I decided to combine it with lemon juice and vanilla extract to create a no-sugar-added pomegranate vinaigrette for this butternut squash with pomegranate.
You could also top the side dish with pomegranate seeds, if you’d like.
We don’t traditionally think of getting protein from veggies. But this butternut squash with pomegranate dressing provides 2 grams of protein (4 percent of the daily value) per serving.
Plus, it’s a good source of fiber, offering 4 grams (14 percent of the daily value) per serving.
You don’t even need any salt and pepper to make this veggie dish with a simple pomegranate vinaigrette! Plus, the vinaigrette doubles as a salad dressing.
Helpful kitchen tools
These tools will help you whip up a batch of butternut squash with pomegranate:
The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables
I make it a goal to add fruits or vegetables to each of my meals and most of my snacks. Vegetables and fruits provide so many health benefits, and including them in your diet can help lower diabetes risk, cancer risk, and more.
These fruits and veggies boast fiber—and a study in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases shows a potential connection between fiber intake and some pretty cool health benefits.
Increased body weight and inflammation have been linked with knee osteoarthritis, and a higher fiber intake has been connected with decreased body weight.
The study authors looked to expand upon this: They looked at the self-reported fiber intake of thousands of overweight older adults with and without osteoarthritis.
The findings are super interesting and may be an incentive to get in the daily recommended amount of fiber.
They show that eating fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, and cereal may be associated with a reduced risk of osteoarthritis and may ease the symptoms in people who are already suffering.
Subjects who ate the most fiber (about 21 grams daily in one study population and about 26 grams in another study sample) experienced the greatest benefit.
The people eating the most fiber were also likely to take in more vitamin C and vitamin K, as well as less saturated fat. This isn’t so surprising, given that fiber-rich foods like fortified cereals, fruits, and vegetables are also full of vitamins and minerals.
Fiber-rich foods include this butternut squash with pomegranate recipe––as well as beans, lentils, fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grains. Give them a try!
Step-by-step instructions
You’ve probably had a bowl of butternut squash soup sprinkled with black pepper many times. But have you had it as a side dish?
Butternut squash is a good source of fiber and pretty filling (plus it’s so tasty), so I love to come up with new ways to enjoy it. Enter this delicious pomegranate squash side dish.
Here’s how to make pomegranate squash:
First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
To easily cut the squash, it helps to poke a few holes in it with a fork, then microwave for a few minutes to soften it before you place it on a baking sheet.
Place squash cubes on a nonstick cooking tray. Toss with olive oil, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Toss halfway through.
To make the pomegranate vinaigrette, Combine juices and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
When mixture begins to reduce, stir frequently until it begins to thicken, about 5-6 minutes. Drizzle pomegranate vinaigrette over squash.
The butternut squash with pomegranate also makes a fabulous appetizer. Simply skewer it, place it on a platter, and you have probably the healthiest appetizer that came to the party!
Recipe FAQ
You definitely can! You can juice the entire fruit in a juicer, or you can juice just the arils for a lighter taste and texture.
You don’t have to, but if you’re looking for a lighter-tasting juice with less bitterness, you definitely should.
If you are juicing the entire pomegranate, simply add it to a juicer, and then you’re done! If you want to juice just the pomegranate arils, collect all the seeds in a bowl. Then add the pomegranate seeds to a juicer.
More healthy squash recipes
If you love this butternut squash with pomegranate, you’ll also enjoy:
- Butternut Squash Challah French Toast Casserole
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Pesto Spaghetti Squash
- Tasty Spaghetti Squash Marinara
Sources
- Correction: Dietary Intake of Fibre and Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis in Two US Prospective Cohorts, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Easy Pomegranate Squash
Ingredients
- 6 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup pomegranate juice
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Squash
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Place squash cubes on a nonstick cooking tray. Toss with olive oil, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Toss halfway through.
- Drizzle pomegranate vinaigrette over squash.
Vinaigrette
- Combine juices and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium high heat. When mixture begins to reduce, stir frequently until it begins to thicken, about 5-6 minutes.
Nutrition
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know if you make this butternut squash with pomegranate vinaigrette. What’s your favorite way to enjoy butternut squash?
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