Sometimes the only way I can get a vegetable in my kid is to hide it in a muffin. Thankfully, butternut squash is DELICIOUS in muffins when you use the right spices! We LOVE these butternut squash muffins.
This makes a big batch of 18-24 muffins so he eats them for breakfast and snacks on them for days. I love to hear, “Mom, can I have a muffin for a snack?” because I can say YES!
Butternut Squash Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups butternut squash puree*
10oz light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups self rising flour (or 2 cups all purpose, 2tsp baking powder and a dash of salt)
1 1/2 to 2 tsp ground cinnamon (we like 2)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice if you’re all out of nutmeg – like me on this last batch…)
6 oz olive oil** (or canola or vegetable oil)
Optional add ins: walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.
G loves them with chocolate chips. It’s my secret to get him to eat them!
This makes 18ish muffins. Or if you’re like me, 12 or 13 overstuffed ones.
*I cut a butternut squash in half. Clean out the seeds. Put it in a casserole dish skin side down with some water in the dish and cover it with foil. Roast in the oven until the inside is scoopable and mashable. I really don’t pay attention to how long. 400 degrees for at least an hour. I’ve also done it in the slow cooker. Alternatively, you can buy frozen butternut squash chunks from the freezer section of the grocery store and steam them until they are a consistency you can mash. You can either hand mash or give it a quick whir in the food processor to get it puree consistency.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper muffin cups and lightly spritz with cooking spray so muffins don’t stick to the wrappers.
In a large mixing bowl, combine butternut squash puree, sugar and eggs.
Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and oil and mix until just combined.
Fill muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes. (Give the toothpick test – if it comes out clean you’re good!)
**Can I use Olive Oil for baking? According Better Homes & Gardens (and many other sources) YES! Growing up, olive oil was never used for baking. Maybe because I live in the South where butter is king. But Fine Cooking mentions that olive oil it’s much healthier for you and has a better flavor than vegetable or canola oil. California Olive Ranch’s website offers a great FAQ for using olive oil in place of other fats in baking.
So between the butternut squash AND the olive oil, you can’t go wrong with these muffins! Your kids will love them and you’ll be happy that it’s the healthiest thing they’ve eaten all day!
My son will only eat these muffins with chocolate chips in them. I just add a few to the cups after I put the batter in them because I only do about half the batch that way. I prefer mine without chocolate chips and/or with nuts.
Enjoy!
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