I love fall—the crisp weather, the falling leaves, and, of course—the food! One of my favorite cooler weather recipes is this Instant Pot butternut squash—it’s so easy to make and comes out so moist and flavorful. It’s good enough to make a squash fan out of practically anyone!
My family loves eating squash, especially during the fall months. But I’ll be honest – while I love that everyone is chomping on vegetables, cooking squash is always a bit of a pain. It was, at least, until I figured out I could make butternut squash in a pressure cooker.
If you don’t have one yet, a pressure cooker is at the very top of my favorite kitchen appliances list! It’s a wonderful gadget for the kitchen, something I discovered over the summer when I bought an Instant Pot pressure cooker.
I splurged during Amazon’s “Prime Day,” and though it was somewhat of an impulse buy, I’m so glad I did. (Especially after reading rave reviews from the Paleo community!)
The Instant Pot
is like a slow cooker on steroids, and it’s definitely not slow. It’s not scary like the old pressure cookers you would hear about exploding on the stove, either.
In fact, I’m usually cautious about anything new (I hate reading manuals), but I found this kitchen tool very simple to figure out and easy to use.
Health Benefits Of Butternut Squash
I adore butternut squash. It’s one of those delicious vegetables that not even kids require coaxing to eat.
Even better? Butternut squash is loaded with nutritional value! In just 1 cup, you’ll get:
- 437% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A (a powerful antioxidant)
- 528 mg of potassium (that’s more than a banana!)
- 52% RDA vitamin C
- Many other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and manganese.
That’s pretty impressive!
What to Do With Butternut Squash
And there are so many delicious ways to cook with butternut squash. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is to make soup. We’re all obsessed with this Thai butternut squash soup in my household!
My whole family also loves my recipe for spiced Whipped Butternut Squash. It has no added sugar or dairy and tastes incredible!
I also serve cubed butternut squash as a tasty side dish. It works really well alongside these easy slow cooker sloppy joes, this orange herbed turkey with spiced rub, and these quick and easy Hawaiian turkey burgers.
Believe it or not, I also have served it as a healthy breakfast! Just drizzle it with cinnamon and browned butter, and your kids will go crazy! You can also make it into an easy butternut squash porridge, one of my 25 favorite paleo breakfasts.
It’s also fun to incorporate into desserts! Think outside the box – how good does a butternut squash cheesecake sound?
Of course, mamas understand how great it is to have an easy, healthy option for our tiny ones, too. Try making your butternut squash in a pressure cooker, then pureeing it to make homemade baby food!
Last but not least, I love using frozen butternut squash cubes in place of ice cubes when I’m making smoothies.
As you can see, there are a million ways to enjoy this veggie! I used to plan to cook butternut squash often during the fall, at least once a week. Plan is the keyword here because, more often than not, it wouldn’t happen. I would get too busy and not have time to roast it for over an hour in the oven.
How to Cook Butternut Squash In A Pressure Cooker
But then my Instant Pot came along, and I discovered how to cook butternut squash in a pressure cooker in less than 30 minutes!
Today, I’ll show you how to use your pressure cooker to cook your butternut squash faster and easier than you’ve probably been doing!
All you’ll need is butternut squash, a knife, a spoon or fork, a pressure cooker
, and 1 cup of water.
First, cut your butternut squash width-wise into 2-3″ sections.
Use a spoon or fork to remove the seeds.
Set them aside in a bowl for your chickens. If you don’t have chickens, you should get some can throw the seeds in the compost pile or trash.
Next, add a cup of water to the pressure cooker.
Place the pieces of butternut squash in a pressure cooker, making sure not to go past the “max fill” line.
Close the lid and make sure the pressure release valve on top is shut so the steam will remain in the pot and not vent while cooking.
How To Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash
For an Instant Pot, select the manual button, then 8-9 minutes. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, cook it for an equivalent amount of time in your pressure cooker.
If you’ve cut your butternut squash into smaller pieces or you bought pre-cut and peeled squash, you can cook it for anywhere from 5-7 minutes instead, using more or less time depending on how big your squash pieces are.
When your pressure cooker signals it’s done, CAREFULLY vent the stem with the quick-release valve. I use a long fork or spoon to open the valve so I don’t burn myself.
When the steam is finished venting and your pressure pot is safe to open, open the lid.
Stick a fork in one of the largest pieces of butternut squash; it should be soft. If it’s not, you can cook it for 1-2 more minutes, but chances are, it’s perfectly done.
Use a fork or large serving spoon to carefully remove the hot pieces of butternut squash into a bowl. Let it cool for 3-5 minutes or until you can stand to touch it.
Scoop out the delicious butternut squash flesh and use it however you want!
And that’s the quick and easy way to cook butternut squash in a pressure cooker!
What’s your favorite way to use butternut squash? Tell me in the comments below.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Butternut Squash (Easy Pressure Cooker Recipe)
Making butternut squash in the Instant Pot is so simple and moist that it’ll make a squash lover out of practically anyone!
Ingredients
- Butternut squash
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Cut your butternut squash into 2-3″ sections
- Using a utensil, scoop the seeds out of the squash and discard.
- Open your pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water to the bowl. Add a steamer basket if you have one.
- Add the squash pieces to the pressure cooker and seal shut.
- Set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 9 minutes. Once it’s done cooking, carefully open the vent and allow the pressure to release. Use a fork to make sure the pieces are soft, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes if necessary.
Vaizman sarah says
Hy Erika, Thanks for the great article,Pressure cooking isn’t the dangerous culinary adventure of previous generations. Can you reply to my email.
Thank you so much
Nicole says
This was really easy, and turned out great! Thanks!
Erika says
You’re welcome, Nicole! I’m glad to hear it turned out well.
Geralyn Devereaux says
I use cold cooked butternut squash as a base for sorbet. Use frozen berries and sweetener of choice, add to cubed butternut squash and blend thoroughly. No recipe so start with equal amount fruit to squash but have extra fruit to add until you find your sweet spot. Also a small amount of sea salt increases the sweetness of frozen sorbet. The creaminess of this makes you understand the “BUTTER” nut in a whole new light. If frozen for storage it needs thawing a bit before dessert time.
Erika says
This sounds amazing, Geralyn. I’ll have to try this. Thank you!
Barbara says
Can you explain how you adapted your Thai butternut squash soup using this way of cooking the squash?
Erika says
I don’t use my pressure cooker for my Thai Butternut Squash soup – I was linking to it just as a yummy butternut squash recipe.
Karen says
Can you pressure cook the squash and then cut it into cubes, or will it be too mushy? I was planning to quickly cook a butternut squash in the instant pot, cut it into cubes, then roast them for a short period of time in the oven with other veggies.
Lusbeth says
I am cooking my squash o the electric preas use cooker for the fort time. Thanks for the instructions
Joel Headley says
No vitamin C will survive the heat of pressure cooking.