This simple butternut squash bread is healthy & baked to perfection! It’s low in sugar & high in fiber, a seriously delicious quick bread.

Well, the fall season is in full swing over here at the Byrd house. If you caught my Pumpkin Pasta recipe 2 weeks ago, you’ll know that I’m feeling all the fall feels right now.

And whenever I make this Cinnamon Maple Butternut Squash Bread, my house smells just like fall. I’m loving it, and I’m so excited to share these new fall recipes with you!

Is butternut squash high in sugar?

No it’s not! Butternut squash does have carbohydrates, but they aren’t in the form of sugar. The carbs in butternut squash are in the form of starch and fiber. This butternut squash bread recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of butternut squash, which only contains 4 g of natural sugars.

Is butternut squash a carb or a vegetable?

It can probably be considered as both, because it’s definitely a vegetable, but it’s a starchy vegetable. Other starchy vegetables are potatoes, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, pumpkin, and delicata squash. It’s lower in starch than potatoes, and tastes great roasted, sauteed, and baked inside this butternut squash bread!

What is a good substitute for butternut squash?

Pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin would all work really well in place of the butternut squash in this recipe. They all have a similiar texture and moisture level when pureed, and have similar flavors as well. Carrots and sweet potatoes would probably make this bread sweeter. Just make sure they’re a smooth, pureed texture!

How do I make my own butternut squash puree?

When I was preparing to make this recipe, I discovered that canned, pureed butternut squash is extremely difficult to find. So, there are a couple different options if you’re looking to make your own butternut squash puree.

First, you can buy the frozen butternut squash, thaw, and puree it in your food processor. This is what I recommend and what I did for this recipe. Because cutting open a butternut squash can be soooo difficult, especially if you don’t have sharp knives.

I was able to find 12 oz bags of frozen, cubed butternut squash at Target for $1.99! You can find it in the freezer section next to all the other frozen veggies. I know that Trader Joe’s also sells it. 12 oz of frozen butternut squash came out to be exactly 1.5 cups of pureed butternut squash, so those bags from Target work perfect!

The second option to making your own butternut squash puree is to roast a whole butternut squash yourself. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the two ends (stem and root ends) off of the butternut squash, then cut in half hot-dog style (length wise).

Peel both halves of your butternut squash with a vegetable peeler length-wise, until all the skin is removed. Remove the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon. Dice up your butternut squash and place on a lined and greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until squash is tender and cooked through. Cool before pureeing.

To make the puree, place the cooled squash in a food processor and puree until smooth. Roasting your own butternut squash will likely give you more than 1.5 cups of butternut squash puree, so you can freeze the excess in glass jars or airtight containers for up to 3 months.

Do you have to peel a butternut squash before roasting?

You don’t have to peel your butternut squash before you roast it, but I always do! Especially if my family is planning on eating it with dinner, peeling it before hand makes it easier to serve warm. Peeling a butternut squash while it’s hot can cause burns, so I like to get the peeling out of the way before I roast my butternut squash!

Healthy Butternut Squash Bread

One of the healthiest things about this butternut squash bread is that it does not call for any oil. I purposely left out any refined oils simply because there are so many other ways to make bread moist! Instead, I used applesauce, maple syrup, and of course, butternut squash.

This recipe calls for 100% whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, to give the bread more nutrition and fiber. It’s a denser bread, but it’s not dry at all.

To make this bread vegan, mix together 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 5 tablespoons of water and allow to sit for about 5 minutes, to gel up. Add this mixture to your bread batter, and eliminate the 2 eggs.

Total nutritional content per serving is:

Calories: 233 calories
Protein: 7 grams
Sodium: 384 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Fiber: 8 grams

Budget Friendly

This butternut squash bread is really healthy, but fairly inexpensive to make, too! It comes out to be about $3.92 per loaf, or about $.39 per slice.

The most expensive ingredient in this recipe is the butternut squash itself. That’s because I bought it frozen at $1.99 per 12 oz at Target. If you want to make this recipe even cheaper, simply roast the butternut squash yourself using my instructions above.

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Tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comments below! I would really appreciate your feedback!

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4.34 from 3 votes