Butternut Squash Gratin

This dish is easy to prep ahead of time and bake when ready. You can slice up the butternut squash ahead of time, make the cashew cream cheese, and shred the cheddar cheese, and then bake when ready. Another shortcut is to use cubed or pre-sliced butternut squash.

I use goat cheddar cheese but any cheddar cheese, tangy cheese, or plant-based cheddar cheese will work here.

The sage is essentially garnish since it doesn't affect the flavor of the dish significantly. If you're going to add sage leaves on top of the cheddar cheese, I recommend frying the sage leaves in a skillet with some oil and a pinch of salt for a minute or so to make them milder in flavor.

This is a lighter gratin thanks to butternut squash and that I use just enough creamy cashew cheese. If you want more of a cream sauce I recommend adding another ½ cup of cashew cheese to the squash before baking.

I recommend keeping the gratin to just a few layers of butternut squash so it cooks through without a lot of baking time. My 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish works well here, or you can use a larger baking dish or baking sheet if you need to spread out the layers. Follow my foil tenting trick to cook the squash. Enjoy!

Servings: servings

Calories: 250kcal

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds Butternut squash slices about a 2 pound butternut squash trimmed, peeled, and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
1 cup cashew cream or sunflower seed cream (recipes below)
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons oil or unsalted butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup sage leaves optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Rub the inside of a 9 inch by 11 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of oil.
Place the squash, cashew cream, nutmeg, and oil into a large bowl and blend with a spatula to coat the squash.
If you're adding sage leaves, add them to a skillet with some oil and a pinch of salt and fry for a few minutes.
Fold the squash into the baking dish in layers. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese over the squash. Optionally, cut small pieces of sage leaves on top of the cheese.
Cover the baking dish lightly by making a foil tent over the dish. Bake for 20 minutes with the foil, or until a fork easily slides into a piece of squash.
Take the foil top off and bake another 5 minutes.
Serve hot. Store in the refrigerator for a few days.

Nutrition