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This butternut squash crostini recipe is everything but basic, while still being pretty darn effortless to whip up for your holiday gathering. Deeply roasted squash umami-blasted shiitakes, chive cream, made even more epic with pomegranate-balsamic drizzle with hints of blackberry and citrus, all riding shotgun on crispy, garlic-rubbed toast.
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Perfect as a starter, these crostini shine at Thanksgiving or Christmas-giving your guests something fancy to snack on while you put the finishing touches on roasted brussels sprouts and carrots, Southern candied yams, or that iconic vegan green bean casserole.
Plus, you can make the cheese, glaze, and squash topping days ahead of time to leave you with minimal fussy prep the day of the holiday party.
This will be a HUGE hit on my table for Thanksgiving pre-dinner! I couldn't find chestnuts to save my life, so I swapped in hazelnuts, soaked and sliced them and then roasted with the squash. Insanely good!! The crispy sage leaves on top? Simple, beautiful, and the perfect finish!
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🥰Why you'll adore this butternut squash crostini recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all my vegan Thanksgiving recipes and vegan Christmas recipes, this one's made without any goat cheese, honey, or animal ingredients of any kind.
🥖 Easily made GF: The only thing with gluten in it is the baguette, which can be easily swapped out for your fave gluten-free bread if that's your thingy.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one's been made, tweaked. and perfected with feedback from a massive team of hundreds of recipe testers (not just me in my kitchen yelling "YES, CHEF" at a tray of crostini, OK?)
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🍞 Butternut squash crostini Ingredients
The Squash
I rock this with a medium sized firm butternut squash, and I use up any squash thats left over to make my vegan butternut squash soup with. Of course you can use pre-cut frozen butternut squash thats been thawed and drained, if you hate peeling stuff.
Dijon Mustard
Any mustard will do, but a sharp Dijon like Grey Poupon or Maille brings a bit more dimension to the chive cream. I use it in my vegan butternut squash mac and cheese, and the stuff stars in the maple-shallot dressing for my butternut squash salad too.
Cashew Cheese
Cashew cheese delivers creamy, nutty richness without the dairy drama. If you're buying ready-made, I like plain soft Treeline cheese (their plainest one is what they label "cream cheese" but it's the same base as their scallion cheese and other flavors). You can also use my vegan cream cheese recipe, ideally fermented a little longer so it firms up more.
Poultry Seasoning
Poultry seasoning gives the squash topping the savory complexity of sage and thyme. If you want to take this in a different direction, you can swap it out for some Madras curry powder or baharat.
Roasted Chestnuts
Bagged or jarred pre-roasted chestnuts are buttery, slightly sweet, and ridiculously convenient here-no tedious peeling drama required. I use 'em in a bunch of other recipes too, like my roasted carrot lentil soup and vegan stuffing. If chestnuts aren't available, toasted pecans or walnuts make solid stand-ins.
Pomegranate Molasses
This stuff brings a tart-sweet depth to the balsamic drizzle. I also use pomegranate molasses in my cranberry ezme and muhammara recipes. If you can't get your hands on it, just leave it out rather than substituting with regular molasses.
Blackberry Preserves
Blackberry preserves swirl into balsamic and bring crostini into "I had no idea I was a fancy chef" territory. Other jams totally work here too, lingonberry or fig jam will both give the drizzle a different, but equally awesome, sweet‑tart flavor.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make butternut squash crostini
If you're full-blown hungry and one oven preheat away from gnawing on the baguette straight, you can scroll to the shiny recipe card below. If you have time, let's do this step-by-step.
Step One
One Small Prep for Man:
Mix the chives, rosemary, Dijon mustard, and cashew cheese in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step Two
Squash Me Outside, How 'Bout That:
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Toss the butternut squash, mushrooms, red onion, poultry seasoning, and oil in a bowl until evenly coated.
Step Three
Roastbusters:
Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 15-17 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
Step Four
Planet of the Mape's:
Transfer the roasted veggies to a bowl and stir in the tamari, maple syrup, orange juice, and sliced chestnuts. Set aside.
Step Five
Sage Is Just A Number:
Coat the sage leaves with olive oil in a bowl, then bake at 400°F (200°C) for 7-8 minutes until crisp but not brittle. Sprinkle with salt when still hot out of the oven and set aside to cool.
Step Six
Baguette Shorty:
In a bowl, toss the baguette slices with cinnamon, coriander, and olive oil until fully coated.
Step Seven
The Hunt for Bread October:
Lay the bread slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes, or until golden and crisp, but not brittle and completely dried out to death.
Step Eight
The Emperor's New Cloves:
Rub the toasted bread with garlic clove while still hot, then season lightly with salt.
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💡Serving Ideas
Kick things off with these crostini as the holiday opener at Thanksgiving or Christmas.Let your guests warm up their appetites with some vegan eggnog and vegan gingerbread donuts while you are in the kitchen getting your vegan mashed potatoes get whipped into oblivion.
This crostini makes a pretty glorious side to serve with a soup course, and for that, I would highly recommend my mushroom soup, roasted carrot lentil soup, or Thai pumpkin soup.
Roll out a centerpiece like a stuffed vegan turkey roast, maple mustard glazed ham, or even a crispy tofu turkey.
Hit the table with a flood of mushroom gravy or vegan brown gravy, and keep the cranberry game strong with maple bourbon cranberry sauce.
👉Top tips
- Roasting Tip: Roast your squash in a single layer. Piled up squash leads to less contact of the squash with the hot air of the oven, which totally kills the golden caramelization vibe. You want browning, not a sad steam bath.
- Garlic Timing: The bread needs to be a little dry so the garlic actually shreds without tearing the bread.
- Time Saver: You can roast the squash, crisp the sage, and toast the bread at the same time-just use separate pans. Efficiency without sacrificing crunch, or risking undercooked squash.
- Prep Ahead: The chive cream, balsamic drizzle, and squash mixture can be made up to 4 days in advance. Roast the bread just before serving, though day‑old bread works beautifully for toasting.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yep! Just thaw and pat dry before roasting so it doesn't steam and get soggy and underwhelming.
Oh yeah. Double or triple the batch, assemble right before serving, and watch them disappear faster than a cassette tape at a garage sale.
Layer the chive cream right before topping. The fatty cheese layer will insulate the bread a little from the juicy topping. Just make sure it doesn't sit on there forever and soak in.
Yes, and you should. Smear everything on focaccia or pita (you can follow my kuboos recipe) and call it din din.
🍁 You'll adore these vegan holiday recipes too:
Butternut Squash Crostini
Ingredients
For the Chive Cream:
- 2 tablespoons chives minced
- 2 teaspoons rosemary chopped
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- ½ cup soft cashew cheese or vegan cream cheese
For the Butternut Squash:
- 2 cups butternut squash diced 1 cm.
- 8 oz. Shiitake mushrooms sliced, stems discarded
- ½ cup red onion or shallots diced
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ cup roasted chestnuts sliced
For the Optional Sage Leaves and Garnish:
For the Crostini:
For the Pomegranate Blackberry Balsamic:
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 2 tablespoons blackberry preserves
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the chives, rosemary, Dijon mustard, and cashew cheese. Mix until smooth and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, toss together the the butternut squash, mushrooms, red onion, poultry seasoning and olive oil.Transfer the contents of the bowl onto the parchment-lined baking pan, and roast for 15-17 minutes, flipping the contents of the pan around once halfway through.
- Once the pieces of squash are lightly golden and fork tender, remove from the oven and transfer the contents of the pan back into a bowl along with the tamari, maple syrup, orange juice, and chestnuts. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly.
- For the optional sage leaves, stir the sage leaves and olive oil together in a bowl until the herbs are well coated. Bake them in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 7-8 minutes until crisp, but not completely dried out. As they cool sprinkle with salt to taste.
- Toss the baguette slices in a bowl with the cinnamon, coriander, and olive oil until well coated.
- Arrange the bread slices on a parchment paper-linked baking pan and bake for 7 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden.
- When the bread comes out of the oven rub with the garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt to taste.
- In a small bowl, using the tines of a fork combine the pomegranate molasses, blackberry preserves, balsamic vinegar, orange zest, and tamari.
- Spread each crostini with a layer of the chive cream.
- Spoon the roasted butternut squash mixture on top.
- Drizzle with the pomegranate blackberry balsamic and garnish with micro greens and crispy sage leaves, if using.
Notes
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Paige Davis says
This recipe is fantastic! We loved these classy, delicious bites of complex goodness. I was so glad I had the sage leaves because they add so much to the flavor. I would serve these proudly to anyone.
Tee Hansen says
This will be a HUGE hit on my table for Thanksgiving pre-dinner! I couldn't find chestnuts to save my life, so I swapped in hazelnuts, soaked and sliced them and then roasted with the squash. Insanely good!! The crispy sage leaves on top? Simple, beautiful, and the perfect finish!