Maple Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussels & Cranberries

There are so many possibilities with a butternut squash and below is a great option for a healthy Thanksgiving side dish. We’ve been enjoying it on Thanksgiving (and before, and after) for many years now. When we’re not with my mom’s family for the holiday, they’re always asking for me to resend the recipe (but you can pin it!). Read on and grab the recipe for this maple roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts and cranberry dish – it’s simple and you’ll enjoy it all winter long.
Maple, Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries – Nourishment
We don’t only get satisfied from the nutrients in food and how the fill our stomach, but also from the taste and enjoyment they bring. This dish helps promote satiety with it’s color, flavor, texture, and fiber! It’s important to enjoy all the foods you love on Thanksgiving, even if that means an overly full belly at the end of the day. But, including nutrient dense filling foods alongside your special indulgences may help you feel a bit better the next day.
Maple Syrup is a source of added sugar but can have some benefits versus refined sugar. It provides small amounts of calcium, iron, mangnesium & zinc. One study in 2010 found Canadian Maple Syrup to contain over 26 antioxidant compounds (3).
Eat a 1/2 Cup cooked of Butternut Squash and you’ve hit 2x your Vitamin A needs for the day as well as 1/4 of your needs for vitamin C! You’ll even get Vitamin E and some B vitamins from this nutrient powerhouse as well as good amounts of magnesium and potassium. The carotenoids & bioflavonoids in butternut squash are known to boost immunity and work as antioxidants.
Brussel Sprouts contain many antioxidant phytochemicals including sulfurophane which is found in research to aid the liver’s detoxifying actions and fight cancer cells in the body, especially linking to colon cancer. Other immune and antioxidant benefits may come from the prebiotics. The vegetable is also a good source of Vitamins C, K and folate.
Cranberries are very low in sugar, hence why sugar is added to dried cranberries and I included maple in this recipe! Fresh cranberries contain more fiber than sugar, so this helps to blunt sugar rises when sugar is added to the fruit. They’re rich in vitamins C, E, K, and the mineral manganese. They pack in phytochemicals like flavonoids, flavonols, phenolic acids and proanthocyanidins. Some new research shows cranberries can protect from certain bacteria, inflammation, cardiovascular disease (1) and act against cancerous tumors (2).
Ideas for Thanksgiving Leftovers
The possibilities are seriously endless with the maple roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts and cranberries. In addition to standing alone as a side dish, this recipe is perfect in the following ways:
- Over a green salad with your preferred source of protein.
- Chopped added to eggs for a festive omelet.
- Added to a wrap with hummus and your favorite protein.
- Mixed with farro and edamame as a stir fry.
- As the star of a fall harvest power bowl.
My Favorite Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Need more healthy, but delicious Thanksgiving recipes to balance out your holiday spread? In addition to the maple roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts and cranberries, here are a few of my favorites:
Appetizers
Side Dishes
- Easy Refined-Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
- Butternut Squash and Leek Soup
- Black Rice and Squash Bowl
- Garlicky Sauteed Baby Kale
- Lentil Walnut Stuffing
Vegan Main Dish

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- ½ medium butternut squash (roughly 3 lbs)
- ½ stalk Brussels sprouts (~30 pieces)
- 1 ¼ cups fresh cranberries
- 1-2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Halve the butternut squash, peel, and cut into into 1/2 inch pieces and Halve or quarter the brussels sprouts, lengthwise.
- Mix Brussels Sprouts, Squash, and Cranberries in a large bowl before drizzling oil and maple syrup over top, and stirring well.
- Place mixture into two large baking dishes and place in the oven. If you layer the vegetables in one pan, cooking time will increase and texture may be compromised. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.
- Bake a total 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
References:
1. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2009 Oct; 49(9):741-81. Phytochemicals of cranberries and cranberry products: characterization, potential health effects, and processing stability. Pappas E, Schaich KM.
2. Am Society for Nutr 2007. Cranberry and Its Phytochemicals: A review of In Vitro Anticancer Studies. Neto CC.
3. J Agric Food Chem 2011 Jul 27;59(14):7708-16. Further investigation into maple syrup yields 3 new lignans, a new phenylpropanoid, and 26 other phytochemicals. Li L, Seeram NP.
This dish looks incredible. Love the way all the colors from the cranberry, squash and brussel sprouts pop!
Thank you! Color just makes food so much more exciting 🙂
Beautiful, beautiful combination of ingredients! Great Thanksgiving side dish.
Thank you!
I love that you used fresh cranberries. This looks super delicious!
This sounds delicious and I love all of the colors!
Thanks! We eat with our eyes first! Gotta make that Thanksgiving table bright 🙂
A perfect Thanksgiving side dish! Yum!
This was so good but I made a small change……Bacon! Everything is better with Bacon!
To each his own! Even before I stopped eating pork I always hated the smell and taste of bacon, but if adding a tad gets your veggies in, by all means go for it 🙂
Looks amazing. How many people would this side dish serve?
Great question, but the number it serves would totally depend on how many other side dishes you have at the table (I’m assuming you’re asking for Thanksgiving!). You’d get about 4 cups cooked total from this recipe, and if you have a full butternut squash can always double the recipe and freeze leftovers if you have them!
Any idea the volume of the butternut squash in this recipe either in pounds or cups?
Thanks,
Elly
Hey Elly!
I typically use a 2.5-3 lb squash. As I indicate you can save half for soup or to add to other dishes, but often I just make a double recipe of this and you can even freeze leftovers!
Thank you! I definitely plan to double the recipe; it looks delicious!
Wonderful, let me know how you like it!
can this be made ahead and reheated (oven space issues)
Definitely! Cut down on cooking time when you initially make it though, so that it maintains its color, texture and nutrient density! Maybe 10 minutes less?
My brother made this dish for Christmas dinner, and it was “heavenly”. Several family members went back for seconds of the dish (even ones who normally won’t eat Brussel sprouts. Since the recipe used 100% Maple Syrup, I was able to work it into my own “diabetic” food plan allowance. I will admit, I won’t make this often, because I could very easily “over eat” on this scrumptious dish. Thanks for sharing it.
So happy you and your family enjoyed it Diana! As long as you pair it with a protein source, that plus all the fiber will keep this from negatively effecting your blood sugar! It is great to top on salads with fish, or with poultry or tofu in a whole grain wrap, too.
How many servings doe this recipe make?
Totally depends on the appetite if your guests and how many other side dishes are available. If there’s a good spread it’s enough so that 15 to 20 can have a little.