Holiday Squash Steaks

This colorful dish is perfect for your holiday meal! With cranberries, balsamic, and fresh rosemary, these butternut squash steaks will bring delicious flavors to your table. With only six ingredients, and salt and pepper, you’ll be surprised at how the simplicity of this dish brings you something with a far-from-simple taste!

I first created this dish with Thanksgiving in mind. After making it, the pictures made me think of Christmas, so I decided I ought to wait. I knew it would be delicious, but I had no idea how beautiful!

My inspiration for this dish starts with a confession. About a month or so ago, I saw a recipe on Instagram for a balsamic and cranberry dish. The dish was in no way vegan or even vegetarian, however, aside from the meat — which I don’t eat — it just looked beautiful to me. I knew then that I wanted to create something with the same combo.

The recipe I originally saw was from a gluten-free blog named Cotter Crunch. The author, Lindsay, does have some delicious vegan recipes on her site (I love the Moroccan Cauliflower Chickpea Burgers!), but this one I was going to have to use as a base to devise something on my own.

My first decision to make for these was figuring out what my “meat” would be. I love butternut squash, and how it goes well with both sweet and savory flavors. Plus, it is squash season, and I didn’t have any butternut squash steaks on my blog, so that’s what I decided to go with.

After choosing the squash, it was on to the other ingredients. I, of course, knew I’d be using fresh cranberries and balsamic vinegar, but I didn’t want to copy her recipe exactly, so I started with those and took it on my own from there. I definitely wanted to use a fresh herb, and I went with rosemary because I love the way it compliments the balsamic.

I’ve always loved the way butternut squash tastes with coconut oil melted into it, so that was definitely going to be used. My first time making this, my process was completely different. I first brushed all the squash with coconut oil. Then covered them in my combined liquid of balsamic, cranberries, and maple syrup, before sprinkling them with rosemary, salt, pepper, and whole cranberries. These were good, but not incredible.

For my final approach, I instead chose to mix the coconut oil, herbs, and spices in with the liquid ingredients, and to let the “steaks” marinate. I liked the way this worked much better.

Now let’s talk squash. My first time making butternut squash steaks, however long ago that may have been, my favorite pieces ended up being the ones on the end. They were curved in and held a pool of the marinade in the center — yum! Since then, I always carve grooves into the slices of squash so that they hold some of whatever marinade I am using. This creates a much more delicious result!

After peeling and removing the ends, I sliced my squash in pieces three-quarters of an inch thick down the neck. Once I reached the rounded, bottom part of the squash, I cut it in half, in the opposite direction, and scooped out the seeds. If these two end pieces are incredibly wide, you can also cut each of these in half, resulting in four end pieces rather than two. As I described above, in each of the round, flat slices, I used the opposite end of a spoon and created an indentation of an asterisk on each side of each steak.

To make the marinade, I mixed cranberries, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, coconut oil, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper in the food processor until combined well. There may be some small pieces of cranberry, and that’s okays long as they’re no longer whole. I then added the squash to a tight fitting container with the marinade and let them sit for an hour, flipping once halfway. The first time, I didn’t marinate the steaks at all, and I think this made a huge difference. Allowing them to marinate brought out so much delicious flavor!

After an hour had passed, I transferred all the squash steaks to a large baking dish, lightly greased. If you don’t have one big enough, depending on the size of your squash, you may need to use two baking dishes. I then took spoonfuls of the marinade and spread it over the top of each steak. Finally, I topped the steaks with fresh cranberries.

These delicious Holiday Squash Steaks were now ready to roast! I put them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After 20 minutes I removed them from the oven and flipped each piece over, first carefully removing the cranberries with tongs. Next, I spread more of the marinade on top each of them and replaced the cranberries. I returned the baking dish to the oven and let these bake for an additional 10 to 20 minutes until they could be easily pierced through with a fork. The end pieces will take longer. You can either put them in the oven first, for about five to 10 minutes, or you can remove the other steaks when they’re done and keep them wrapped in aluminum foil or in a toaster oven, set on warm.

I was a little worried when my first attempt didn’t meet my standards, but after changing the recipe around this dish became a success! I knew at the first bite I’d gotten it right. The marinade adds the perfect amount of sweet and tang to the savory squash, and I do believe they are hearty enough to qualify as a “steak.”

Yummy, hearty, and beautiful! These delicious steaks are great for a holiday meal or any night’s supper. They’ll most likely become a regular dish at our fall and winter dinner table. I must again give thanks to Lindsay Cotter for her inspiration!

If you enjoy these as we do, please leave a comment below, take a picture and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis, or leave a comment or review on my Veggies at Tiffani’s Facebook page.