Healthy Winter Squash Recipes

You'll need a pie pumpkin, not the carving kind, for this healthy soup recipe. Roasting brings out a sweet, almost smoky flavor and creates a soup with depth and character. Store-bought pepitas are a good topper, but the homemade glazed ones here are really special. Serve with a swirl of crème fraîche, sour cream or smoked olive oil, if desired.

After a good charring in the skillet, kale stems add a tender-crisp bite and touch of smokiness to this healthy vegetarian kale salad. Feel free to use this healthy recipe as a guide; swap out the farro for any whole grain or the squash for any roasting vegetable, such as cauliflower.

Precut butternut squash in your grocery store's produce section makes this healthy mac and cheese recipe come together in a flash. For extra flavor, try smoked Gouda cheese.

To give this healthy vegetable side dish recipe a different kind of heat, try a single-chile powder, such as ancho or chipotle. Serve with simple roasted salmon or chicken, or toss into a green salad with sunflower seeds.

In this easy vegetable side dish, dukkah (pronounced dOO-kah), a blend of pulverized toasted nuts and crushed sesame, coriander and cumin seeds, seasons spaghetti squash. Look for premade dukkah online, at well-stocked stores or find a recipe at eatingwell.com.

These easy roasted vegetables will give your plate a pop of color. Give the cubes of butternut squash a head start for 10 minutes to soften in the oven before adding in the other veggies. The broccoli, peppers and onion are naturally more tender than the butternut squash and cook more quickly. That way everything ends up finishing at the same time.

This low-carb riff on classic lasagna layers mushrooms and tomato sauce with spaghetti squash "noodles" instead of lasagna pasta. Make the layers right in the shell of the spaghetti squash and top with mozzarella cheese for a melty top and fun presentation. Serve with a green salad and a glass of Chianti for an easy, healthy dinner.

Give pesto pasta a healthy makeover with this easy recipe that combines low-carb spaghetti squash with high-protein chicken breast. Top this powerhouse combo with homemade basil pesto that gets a creamy upgrade from ripe avocados to complete a mouthwatering chicken dinner.

Sautéeing butternut squash in olive oil quickly yields perfectly cooked results and slighly caramelizes the squash for extra flavor. This recipe makes a delicious vegetable side dish to pair with roasted meats.

Simple roasted butternut squash, just tossed with olive oil and salt, makes a classic fall side dish. This recipe is delicious with roasted meats, or toss the roasted squash into pasta or salad.

Butternut squash steams quickly, making this a great cooking technique to enjoy this fall vegetable as a weeknight side dish. For extra flavor, toss the steamed butternut squash with salt, pepper and a little bit of olive oil, butter or Parmesan cheese after cooking.

Baked butternut squash has a caramelized flavor, which is delicious if you use the cooked squash in soups and sauces. It's simple to bake a butternut squash; just cut it in half and roast it in the oven.

You've never had carbonara quite like this! Loaded with veggies, this spiralized veggie noodle recipe is a healthy copycat of a traditional carbonara recipe. Butternut squash gets spiralized into long, tender "noodles" for a lower-carb version of this creamy, cheesy pasta dish. Look for a squash with a large, straight neck to make the longest veggie noodles.

This healthy cake recipe is like a pumpkin-flavored version of Boston cream pie. Rather than the traditional round shape, we use a 9-by-13 pan to make a four-layer rectangular cake that looks fun and provides more layers of creamy goodness.

This cheesy dip recipe is lightened up by subbing mashed butternut squash for some of the melted cheese. We also loaded it with chili-spiced caramelized onions. Serve this healthy makeover with tortilla chips or sliced jicama for dipping.

Serve this healthy salad as a main course or as a starter for a special meal. To speed up prep, look for precut butternut squash in the refrigerated area of the produce section at your grocery store.

This healthy smoothie recipe has all the flavor of a pumpkin spice latte without all the sugar. Made with real pumpkin and frozen banana, this whips into a creamy, luscious grab-&-go breakfast (or snack) in just 5 minutes.

The flavors for this beautiful, light dessert might not be the traditional chocolate, but they're plenty festive!

Just a touch of brown sugar sweetens this simple soup that gets its creaminess from pureed squash and fat-free evaporated milk.

Eat this pumpkin pie with a bowl and spoon. Cream cheese makes the filling extra creamy, and chopped pecans add some crunch.