Roasted Kabocha Squash Bites

Kabocha squash is cut into bite-size pieces, lightly coated with oil and salt and roasted to perfection. The best part? The skin gets nice and soft so there’s no need to peel the squash!

I’m still on crutches and I can’t bend my leg, but don’t worry I have some fabulous news… I’ve officially found my favorite squash!

What is kabocha squash?

Often called a Japanese Pumpkin, kabocha squash is the sweetest winter squash variety that I’ve found, even sweeter than my other favorite, butternut squash. The texture smooth and creamy but hearty enough to roast — basically a cross between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. It’s packed with fiber, beta-carotene, iron, vitamin C and B vitamins and has fewer calories and carbs than butternut squash. The best part is that the skin is completely edible so you don’t have to peel it before roasting. Of course, you really don’t have to peel butternut squash either but the skin of butternut is definitely a tougher than that of kabocha squash.

The only issue is that kabocha squash is a little hard for me to find here in Richmond. For the past few years I couldn’t find it anywhere except our local Asian food markets. Lucky for me they are quite abundant this year – I’ve seen them at our local farmers market and I got this one at Ellwood Thompson’s.

My favorite way to cook kabocha squash, and any other vegetable for that matter, is to roast it.

You can cut kabocha into slices but I thought it would be fun to do chunks and eat them dipped in ketchup like tater tots. It was a fabulous idea.

For one batch I used a little coconut oil and sea salt, for the other I didn’t put anything on the squash. Coconut oil makes everything taste rich and delicious and the sea salt enhances the flavor but both methods work fine.

Serve these little tots with your favorite veggie burger for the perfect meal. Check out these curried pumpkin black bean burgers or these black bean burgers if you need some inspiration. I had mine with a locally made NoBull burger, which btw, was delicious! I’m glad I had those on hand as they were super easy for Isaac, my personal chef as of late, to whip up. 😉

As a quick update on the knee injury  – I have my MRI scheduled for Thursday of this week and then a follow up appointment on Friday to find out the results. Praying for good news.

Roasted Kabocha Tots

5 from 5 votes

Kabocha squash is lightly coated with olive  oil and sea salt and roasted to perfection. The squash pieces taste awesome dipped in ketchup just like tater tots.

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kabocha squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
• sea salt, optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Wash the outside of the squash with warm water.
• Cut the squash in half and scoop out all the seeds. You can peel the outer skin of the squash but don’t need to – it softens right up when cooked and it’s perfectly fine to eat.
• Cut the squash into 1-inch chunks.
• Toss the squash with oil (if using), sprinkle with sea salt and spread on a roasting pan.
• Roast the squash for 15 minutes, remove from oven to toss, then roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until tender with a few brown spots.

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Side

Keyword: kabocha tots

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