Last week on our road trip through northern New Mexico, we bought two baskets of apples, one being Winesap and the other cameo. Winesap apples are crisp and tart with a touch of sweetness. Cameos are crisp, juicy, and sweet. With this butternut squash and apple recipe I discovered that the tartness of the Winesap was a perfect complement to the sweetness of roasted butternut squash. Add a little sage and you have the perfect fall dish.
But wait, there’s more! Let’s throw in some of my favorite cheese to eat with apples: Manchego – “The Manchego is produced in the La Mancha region of Spain, which is also home to Don Quixote. It is made from unpasteurised sheep’s milk. It is one of the popular cheeses from Spain, made from sheep’s milk.” (Cheese.com). Slices of apples with slices of manchego is one of our go-to afternoon snacks; therefore, it was a no-brainer to add it to this dish. It actually is the finishing touch because you add some grated manchego once the squash and apples are completely roasted and ready to serve. If you add the cheese while the vegetables are still roasting, the manchego actually gets a bit tough which is not a pleasant texture to chew on. Add it at the end and it’s a nice finish to a delicious little dish.
There are many ways to serve this dish. If you want, you can just serve it as a stand-alone, vegetarian meal. If not, there are many options. I listed a few of my favorites in the gallery at the end of this post. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information.
- 1 small butternut squash, cut into ½” cubes (about 4 cups)
- 2 large crisp sweet/tart apples, cut into ½” cubes (2 to 3 cups)*
- 2 Tbsp. walnut or peanut oil*
- 1 ½ tsp. dried Sage, crumbled (or 1 Tbsp. fresh, chopped)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup grated Manchego cheese*
- Preheat oven to 400° F .
- Mixed together all ingredients except the cheese.
- Spread out in a roasting or casserole dish.
- Roast in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and give it a stir. Return to oven and roast an additional 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese. Carefully, stir in the cheese.
- Serve.
Apples – Use any crispy, sweet tart apple like winesap, gala, fuji, or cameo. A crisp apple stays somewhat firm, providing a different texture than the squash. Softer, sweeter apples just get mushy.
The oil – I used about 2 tablespoons. Just drizzle what looks good on top of the chopped squash and apples. It will probably end up being around 2 Tbsp. Use just enough to coat and to keep the squash and apple from sticking to the dish while roasting. Walnut and peanut oil work well, but canola, safflower, or avocado could also be used. Any oil with a smoke point above 400º F works. Just make sure the flavor of the oil complements the squash and apples.
Cheese – Not much to say here except that you need to find some Manchego and enjoy this wonderful dish! I can’t think of another cheese that would be as good.
Suggested Sides – Roasted butternut squash with apples can be served alone as a complete meal or with a salad, another vegetable side, or a meat entrée. Below are a few servings suggestions.
MJ, this is beautiful simplicity, and I agree the photos are lovely! We will try this soon… Thank you!
Thanks so much Tamara! I hope you enjoy it!
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there really isn’t anything that compares with manchego cheese. the older the better and then just savor it 🙂 i love that you’ve put it with squash and apples here – two of my favorite fall ingredients
thank you for sharing with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal & fresh/real food posts. xo, kristy
I’ve never had Winesaps or Manchego cheese. All sounds lovely! Thanks for sharing at Meatless Monday last week 🙂 I hope you had a nice holiday 🙂
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MJ,
I love butternut squash and this looks amazing. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you share this week! Have a wonderful week.
Michelle
Hi MJ! Thanks for sharing at {Wheat-Free Wednesday} last week. Your post has been pinned to my Pinterest board. I hope you’ll share again this week:
http://www.annemariecain.com/wheat-free-wednesday-thanksgiving/
Anne-Marie
Thanks so much Anne-Marie!
Yum! Looks great! What does a Winesap apple taste like? I don’t think we have them here in Ontario, but there might be something similar… it looks a bit like a Macintosh.
thanks Amber! I don’t remember what a Macintosh tastes like, but if it’s really crispy and a little tart with a touch of sweetness, then that’s it.
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MJ,
This is my kind of dish so colorful and delicious. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul blog hop. I have to highlight this recipe.
Thanks so much for the shoutout Swathi!!!
This sounds SO warming and pleasing to the soul!! Thanks for kicking off the Gluten Free Fridays party this weekend! WOOT! We have some awesome recipes and they just keep coming!! So….Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Hi MJ – Walnut oil, cheese and dried sage with apple….Oh my! What a beautiful fall recipe! Gotta make this one soon! I think it is perfect for my work lunch box.
I love the sound of this dish. I’m always looking for new ways to use squash, and I love the idea of combining it with apple…and cheese is never a bad thing either 😉 I really like the flavours you have used in this wonderful fall recipe.
MJ, the first pic is totally blowing me out…love the styling ….and this is a must try for me..
This looks so yummy! I’d love for you to share your recipe on my new blog hop, {Wheat-Free Wednesday}! Hope to see you there! 🙂
http://www.annemariecain.com/wheat-free-wednesday-11-07-12/
Anne-Marie
Apples and squash…so perfect. Gorgeous MJ. I think this will be gracing a lot of Thanks Giving tables!
looks super yummy!
-Melanie
P.S. I’m doing a $50 Shabby Apple giveaway on my blog. You should check it out here: http://meandmr.com/post/35113285949/shabby-apple-50-giveaway
This looks SO good! I love butternut squash. Can’t wait to try it. Coming over to visit from Melt in your Mouth Monday. Feel free to come and link up with my “Try a New Recipe Tuesday.” I’d love to have you join us. 🙂 Many blessings, Lisa
I’ve always wanted to try butternut squash but wasn’t sure how to make it so I am excited about this recipe!
Also, I love your apple picture…so pretty!
I love the flavors of butternut squash, apples, and sage but you have really put this over the top with the manchego. I love this beautiful fall dish!
What a perfect fall dish! I love the addition of the Manchego cheese. My sister spent a year in Spain, and got us all hooked on Manchego cheese when we went to visit her.
This looks quite good and may make the Thanksgiving table here. I am already trying to plan. We have not hosted thanksgiving in about three years. I’m looking forward to it.
This is new to me, I never had tried combining squash and apples. Now I’m to curious to find out how it taste. Looks so good, will be keeping the recipe
What a lovely and unusual dish!
I was certain I have already commented on this unusual and appetising dish, but I probably only kept on staring and staring… Sorry for writing so late. The squash and apple combination in a savoury dish already sounds original, but the addition of melted cheese seems a fabulous “binder”. I can easily get manchego here (many people with Spanish origins) so I must try it one day. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks Sissi! I’m quite jealous because I bet the Manchego cheese that you get is quite a bit better than mine and the real thing. I would loved to taste Manchego FROM Manchego!
I am not sure if I had had the winesap apples before since I only know german apple type names, but they look familiar. Anyway, I wish I could try out your dish and in general squash, cause I still firmly believe that I hadn’t had it in my life before. As you described it with the bit of tartness of the apple mixed with the sweetness of the squash sounds like a dish I d go crazy for. I know I wont get the manchego cheese here but I want it badly now!! thanks for sharing this lovely dish MJ!
Thanks Helene! That’s very interesting that squash isn’t common where you are. It’s such an easy vegetable to grow and quite prolific I thought it grew everywhere! Guess not. Manchego is my favorite so when I can get, I but it! Have a great weekend!
Hello MJ! Anne@FromMySweetHeart made mention of you so we stopped by to say hello! Love your blog and your delicious food. What a fantastic recipe – exactly that warm, heartiness that we love in the fall.
Nice that you mentioned those impacted by Sandy. Such a heartbreaker. Hope to see your cookies soon! All the best!
Thanks Sharon and Denise! So glad to meet you! I plan to ship out some cookies next week and I’ll be posting at that time. What a great thing y’all are doing with Pass the Plate!
I’m not sure there could be a more perfect salad for fall. Love this perfect combo of flavors! 🙂
Love this orange dish, MJ! 🙂
Hi Mj,
This looks amazing! I love butternut squash and I am always looking for new recipes with it. This is something the whole family would love.
Wow MJ what a great combination. I love love this. Thanks so much for sharing:)
I love any dish that combines apples and cheese…this looks absolutely delicious. I always need more uses for butternut squash!
This sounds delicious! I love butternut squash and am always looking for new recipes.
I must say, I can’t get over how beautiful your photography is! This summer I upgraded to a DSLR and I’m still learning but it’s a lot of fun. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to take photos as gorgeous as yours 🙂
Oh Tammy – thank you so much! I got lucky this time because getting a good picture is not that easy for me. 🙂
Gosh, the Manchego Cheese must pair terrifically well with the apples! Such a nice combination of flavors. And add butternut squash? Such a fall feast! Excellent stuff here – thanks.
Awee…loving this combo of fruit and veggie dish…now I need to look out for a cheese that fits the recipe.
What a great way to eat more fruit and veg…at the same time. I will be content just to eat this on its own. Love both baked apples and butternut squash and would love them more if there was lots of Manchego on them.
MJ…what a beautiful dish! I love manchego with apples. But I’ve never paired apples and squash together. I bet it’s a perfect combination of sweet and tart. I am bookmarking this for Thanksgiving! And your photos, as always, are just beautiful!
Thanks Anne! I’m thinking of putting it on my Thanksgiving table as well. Hope you enjoy it!
I love the first photo – orange shade of colors and those ingredients made me feel that we’re right in the middle of fall – I’ve never tried Winesap apples AND manchego cheese… I’m deprived from this gorgeous combination of food in my life! Great to learn new recipe, especially from you!!
Thanks Nami!! Oh – you must take a slice of Winesap and eat it with a slice of Manchego cheese. It’s heavenly! It’s really a big weakness of mine as I can make a meal on apple and cheese.
Beautiful photos MJ… the lighting is exquisite and you really capture a mood.
I have to go and look for manchego; I think I’ve been missing out on a wonderful experience! I’m also very curious because I’ve certainly enjoyed the combination of squash and apple before (with sage… mmm…my favourite autumnal herb) but never in concert with cheese. It’s sounds like a must try. I wonder if this is a little bit like a chutney or more like a salad/side. Either way, what a wonderful dish.
(I’m smiling because since I started writing this note, I’ve gotten up 3 times to answer the door for little trick or treaters – make that 7 or 8!! :)).
Thanks Kelly!!! I would call this more of a side dish, but then I had a bowl of it as my lunch today. 🙂 You really need to find some Manchego. You’ll love it! Did you give out all of your candy? We had a record-breaking number of kids this year. We ran out! It’s so warm here that everyone was out. It was a gorgeous evening with the almost full moon.
We had more kids than usual too!! I had to dip into our reserve (reserved for family ;-)).
This just shouts autumn AND delicious!!!! A winner!
What a pretty looking dish. So full of colour. I love apples and cheese and that cheese you mentioned is a big favourite of mine. xx
I love winesap apples, but can rarely find them. This dish looks delicious. I love the combo of squash, apples, and cheese. Just perfect.
Mmmm…we love black bean soup! This looks so special! YUM!
Ooh, a heavenly combination of flavors.
Love the autumn-y photo too.
LL
I love the nuttiness of manchego cheese and it pairs so well with apples. Throw in the sweetness from the squash and this is one winning dish – it’s gorgeous.
I like crisp sour apples with mild sweetness.
This is a wonderful autumn dish.
Manchego cheese paired with squash and apples…oh. my. deliciousness. I want to eat that ASAP…beautiful!!
This sounds amazing! I will look for the cheese next shopping trip. There are so many different kinds of apples and squashes in the market right now that it’s dizzying. This will be on the table by the end of the week.
Thanks Nads! I know what you mean! I can’t believe all the squash choices and with the warm weather we’re having, I see it lasting a long time! Yay!! Hope you like it! XOXO
A lovely fall dish. The Manchego cheese sounds like a perfect compliment to the apples and squash. Delicious!
Lovely combination of flavors. I bet this would be a wonderful dish on any Thanksgiving table. 🙂
Your timing could not have been more perfect. I bought 2 apples too many for my pies last weekend and have a butternut squash just waiting for a recipe like this. I need to get some manchego cheese during my next trip to the grocery. It’s already on my list. Thanks for sharing!
thanks John! let me know if you make it and how you like it!
I love simple recipes that feature whole foods & this looks great … Never had the combo you put together so I really need to get some manchego 🙂
I combination is unusual but looks too good my friend 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hi CCU! Hope all is well friend.
i must try this with apples. I always combine the cheese and butternut with baby/pickling onions. This looks so good!
Thanks Maureen! The pickling onions with butternut squash sounds great! I’m going to have to try it.