Butternut Squash Brownies Recipe - Good Cheap Eats Budget Recipes (2024)

Bake someone happy with these delicious, cake-like Butternut Squash Brownies. They freeze beautifully and are perfect with a glass of milk.

These are super delicious with Chocolate Frosting Without Powdered Sugar or top squares with Sweet Cream Cheese and Homemade Chocolate Syrup.

What happens when you have too much squash? Well, one becomessquash pureeto be frozen for later. Another gets baked into pies. A third proves himself an overachiever and becomes cake, muffins, soup, and cinnamon rolls. And the last? Well, she becomes brownies.

Butternut Squash Brownies.What better way to combine the vitamins of orange squash with the deliciousness of chocolate?!

I’ve made these brownies manytimes so far, and they are always a hit. Since there’s no oil—the squash stands in for the oil—the texture is more cake-like than a regular brownie recipe, but the flavor is rich and the cake incredibly moist. You’ll want to make butternut squash brownies a regular event in your fall calendar!

Can I use something besides butternut squash?

You can use pumpkin puree or even applesauce instead of the butternut squash puree in this recipe. Mashed banana would also work.

How do I make the puree for these brownies?

To prepare the butternut puree, follow the tutorial here for making homemade butternut squash puree.

Ingredients for butternut squash brownies

• Butternut squash puree
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Granulated sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Chocolate chips

How to make these brownies

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square pan or 7×11-inch pan with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper. Binder clips help hold the paper in place until you add the batter.

• In a large mixing bowl combine the puree, eggs, and vanilla.

• In another mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chocolate chips.

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• Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and fold just until combined.

• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until baked through.

• Cool on a rack before cutting into squares and serving.

Can I make these gluten free?

You definitely can. I haven’t tested them with anything other than AP flour, but feel free to swap out your regular flour for your go-to gluten free flour.

How long will these butternut squash brownies last?

Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days—if folks don’t eat them up before then!

Can I make these brownies ahead of time?

I love making my own baking mixes. This allows me to have my cake and eat it whenever I want!

To make this brownie recipe as a mix:

• Label the bag with the name of the recipe, the baking instructions, and what wet ingredients need to be added later (just like a commercial brownie mix!)
• Add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and chocolate chips to the bag.
• Press out any air in the bag and seal it carefully. Store the mix in a cool, dry place until ready to use.

How do I freeze these brownies?

To freeze, you can do one of two things:

1. Wrap the brownies in plastic wrap and store them in a ziptop freezer bag.
2. Layer the brownies between sheets of deli wrap or parchment paper in an airtight container.

The brownies will be good in the freezer for at least 2 months.

How to make this good and cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you canuse to make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale.When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currentlyusing a price book to track pricesand that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour and cocoacan help keep the price down.
• Freezing produce for later. When it rains squash, it pours. Take advantage of a seasonal glut and puree squash to freeze for later.

How Imake this recipe easy:

This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

• stainless steel mixing bowl– I’m not sure you have too many of these.
• rubber spatula– I have two of these; I love them so much.
• parchment paper – I hate washing pans. Parchment paper makes clean up a breeze.

If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!

This post was originally published on February 8, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.