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It’s that time again….the air is cooling, the leaves are changing, and the scarves and sweaters are being moved to the front of our closets. It’s fall…the most magical time of year. But, instead of falling prey to the pumpkin spice phenomenon that is becoming so cliché it’s hard to take serious anymore, we thought we’d warm up your autumn palate with a different yet just as gorgeous gourd this October. This Butternut Squash Muffins recipe will have your taste buds just as excited for all things fall!
The idea to mix butternut squash in a muffin was inspired by Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food book in which the author and mom of three gives strategies for hiding nutritious food in tasty meals fit for kids. On page 50 she has a recipe for “Applesauce Muffins” where she uses ½ cup of butternut squash puree, which I thought was a great idea! But because her recipe still uses ¾ cup of refined sugar, milk (you know how we feel about dairy), margarine, ¼ cup vegetable oil and refined flour, it wasn’t really a “Clean Cuisine,” anti-inflammatory recipe. That said, Jessica is a genius for forwarding this trend of hiding deliciously nutritious foods in her children’s foods. We want to follow her lead and take it a step further by giving Jessica’s muffins a Clean Cuisine makeover by doing the following:
- Using white whole wheat flour (learn more about white whole wheat flour HERE)
- Adding almond flour for super clean “plant protein”
- Eliminating all refined sugar (ours are sweetened with nutrient-rich pureed dates, bananas, and raisins)
- Using organic, pastured eggs instead of conventional eggs–we are HUGE fans of Vital Farms
- Adding a lot more butternut squash! (We use one entire 10-ounce frozen container!)
- Swapping nutrient-rich organic extra virgin coconut oil for the vegetable oil (and we use half the amount of oil).
- We are also ditching the applesauce because conventional applesauce has the fiber removed—we’ll swap a mashed banana for this.
Ok, fine….this is less of a makeover and more of a complete re-do, but I got the idea for adding butternut squash to my muffins from Jessica’s recipe. And, I frequently think of her book when I’m looking for ways to hide vegetables from finicky eaters. 😉 Kids absolutely LOVE these muffins, by the way. But, they’re not just for the little ones. What is so spectacular about these Butternut Squash Muffins is how pillowy soft and super moist they turn out with the perfect amount of sweetness–a perfect fall fix.
They are “anytime muffins”—great for breakfast, lunch, snack, or even as a dinner muffin!
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Ingredients
- 2 organic (pastured eggs (such as Vital Farms))
- 4 pitted dates
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean’s)
- ¼ cup mashed banana
- 1 container (10-ounces frozen butternut squash, thawed)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon unrefined sea salt
- ¾ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 muffin tins with paper muffin liners.
- In a high-speed blender (we LOVE our Vitamix!), add the eggs, dates, water, lemon juice, coconut oil, and banana. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the thawed butternut squash, and vanilla extract and process again for at least 1 full minute, or until smooth and creamy. Set wet ingredients aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and use a spatula to scrape all of the wet ingredients from the Vitamix container. Once the ingredients are well blended, stir in the raisins.
- Divide the batter among the muffin tins, place in the oven and bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Can fresh butternut squash be used, or does the frozen/thawed option provide more moisture? I imagine thawed butternut squash may be easier to blend than the fresh. Thanks!
Hi Kimberly, Oh I would NOT use fresh butternut squash because it looks like Edna had a bad result (please see my explanation above for what I think went wrong—and yes, I definitely think the frozen has a lot more water, which makes the whole thing more moist.)
These look sooo good. I bet delicata would be good too. What about adding a 1/2 teaspoon or so of allspice or cinnamon to the batter? If I use fresh butternut squash, would I need to cook it first?
★★★★★
Hi Debra, Oh yes, you could definitely add the spices. BUT!! I would not use fresh butternut squash because it looks like Edna had a bad result (please see my explanation above for what I think went wrong.)
I tried to post about this recipe before. I used fresh, cooked squash and had a bad result. My post disappeared. I am worried that only positive responses are permited.
Oh Edna, hmmmm, not sure what happened with your comment? I see 2 here on my end (the back end?) Anyway, using fresh definitely does not make them healthier because frozen vegetables are in fact very nutritious (and sometimes even more so than fresh because they are picked at peak harvest) The only thing I can think of that went wrong is that maybe the fresh butternut squash did not have as much liquid as the frozen. Frozen butternut squash is actually pretty liquid-y (which makes it not as tasty when eating straight)–however, I bet the extra liquid in the frozen butternut squash makes it a lot lighter than using fresh. I do hope you will try them again using frozen, because I promise they really are SOOO good! Hope this helps? –ivy
These look so good! I really want to try to make these. I feel stupid asking this question, but where do I find frozen butternut squash? I have never bought it before.
Thanks so much!
There are no stupid questions for Clean Cuisine! We sometimes forget that not everybody is as Clean Cuisine-minded as we are! I know for sure that Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s carry it. But, during the Thanksgiving season, it should be available in most stores. Click HERE for the exact product that I bought. Good luck, and please reply and tell us how they turn out!
Hi i live in Ireland and cannot find frozen butternut squash, if i freeze my own I should have the same result though when i use it afterwards? but do i need to cook it first before freezing? does it say on your frozen butternut squash if it is cooked or raw?
Thank you
Catherine
Hi Catherine, Oh that is a good question! All frozen vegetables are quickly blanched, so they are semi-cooked. However, I think the best thing to do would be to try the muffins using the same amount of butternut squash called for in the muffins by substituting very tender mashed butternut squash and then add about 1/3 cup water to the recipe. I have to be honest, I have not yet tried this, BUT, I think adding the liquid and making sure that the butternut squash you use is well cooked will take care of the problem other people have had using fresh butternut squash. Please let me know how it turns out!
P.S. The other option is to maybe try substituting canned pumpkin for the butternut squash??