How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squash in the Crockpot

October 12, 2015

How to cook a whole Butternut Squash in the crockpot | slow cooker | easy recipe

Have you ever wished you could cook a Butternut Squash without cutting it up first and risk slicing off your fingers?  Because if you’ve ever tried to cut an uncooked Butternut, you know that it can be tricky…and dangerous.  When my mother-in-law told me about cooking them whole in the crockpot, I was excited, because I LOVE tricks to make life in the kitchen easier.  This is as easy as it gets.

How to cook a whole Butternut Squash in the crockpot | slow cooker | easy recipe

This is my favorite tip for piercing a steam vent without cutting into the skin.  The knife slides right in!

How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squash in the CrockPot

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole Butternut Squash, 2-4 lbs

Directions:

  1. Wash your squash.  If there’s dirt on the skin, it will get inside when you cut it.
  2. Pierce the bottom with a pairing knife, for steam to escape.
  3. Place in slow cooker and cover.
  4. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HI for 4-5 hours.
How to roast a whole butternut squash in the oven | Easy Recipe | Tutorial

Notes:

  • I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t pierce their squash when they cook it whole, and they’ve never had one burst.  This is risky, it can explode if there isn’t a way for steam to escape…and you’ll get hot squash all over you and your kitchen.  You’ll get burned, and it’s really messy to clean up.  It’s SO easy to just pierce the bottom, so don’t risk it.  (Huge thanks to my friend Melanie for this awesome tip!)
  • If your squash is too long for your crockpot because of the stem, simply cut it off or break it off to fit.  My squash was long, so I had to remove the stem.  Easy!
  • Anything bigger than 4 lbs will probably be too big to fit in your crockpot.  I also have easy instructions for How To Roast a Whole Butternut Squash in the Oven!
How to cook a whole Butternut Squash in the crockpot | slow cooker | easy recipe

If you prefer to cut your squash prior to cooking, Whole Foods Market has some great tips!

·         Choosing the right knife is key to getting the job done—it should be long, heavy and extremely sharp—a flimsy or dull knife can be dangerous when cutting squash because it can slip and cause cuts
·         Stabilize the squash so it doesn’t roll out from under you and use the “claw” technique with your fingers to hold the veggie, should your knife slip (so no fingers are exposed to the blade)
·         Cut off both ends of the squash from where the “neck” ends and the body begins
·         Take the “body” of the squash in half from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds—you can dry or bake these for a delicious fall snack with a little sea salt later!
·         Begin to cut rings in the squash in the size you want the cubes to be—similar to cutting a cantaloupe
·         Cube out the remaining pieces around the same size (typically 1” or so)

Some people microwave their squash for 2 minutes prior to cutting to make it a little easier.

Whole Foods carries a wide variety of winter squash.  Be sure to try squashes like Delicata, Spaghetti, Acorn, Kabocha, Hubbard, or Buttercup…a great addition to your Fall dishes!  And you can search their website for more great instructions and recipes!  

How to cook a whole Butternut Squash in the crockpot | slow cooker | easy recipe

  I am a Whole Food blogging ambassador.  This post was written in exchange for a gift card to purchase food.  Any opinions are my own.

Method seen on CookEatPaleo.


By Becky

Becky is a mom to 4 kiddos and wife to an awesome guy. She's a food fanatic and loves creating and improving recipes. Bread is her weakness and delicious food is her passion!

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