There are a few dishes in my cooking rotation that I can make in my sleep. This winter squash bake with Feta cheese is one of them – thanks to my sister-in-law who first made this dish for us a few years ago. It’s evolved to take in estranged vegetables, like that last head of broccoli or a handful of spinach. You can swap out any vegetable you like, make this vegan or vegetarian. It’s easy to make ahead, freeze, is great comfort food and travels well. Even the pickiest eaters in our family will eat this one. Enjoy!
Erika is a Syracuse native who lives in Rochester with her husband and daughter. She is a research insights consultant with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
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| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
- olive oil
- Sweet Italian poultry sausage (ground)
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 red onion diced (or 1 sweet yellow onion, diced)
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets and stems diced
- 1 butternut squash (cubed) (or 2 packages of pre-cut cubes)
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp thyme
- pinch red pepper flakes (omit if you have kids eating this)
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 lemon
- feta cheese
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Heat your olive oil and brown your sausage. Once browned, remove the sausage.
- Add another swirl of olive oil to the pan drippings. Stir in garlic, onion, bell pepper and broccoli. Cook for two minutes.
- Stir in the squash and coat with the oil mixture in the pan. Add oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the spinach and squeeze some lemon juice on top of it. Stir for just a moment until it wilts.
- Combine the vegetables and sausage in a baking dish. Swirl in a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and some more salt and pepper.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Once it is, or slightly before, remove foil and add feta cheese.
- Bake for another 5 minutes or until the feta is bubbly and delicious. Serve with some crusty bread!