Personally, I think this dish is to die for – it’s one of my favorite dishes for the holidays. It’s flavorful, sweet-hot, and distinctive. The cracker crumb topping is particularly popular with the kids. For me, the topping makes this dish more memorable.
I made this with a hot green chile and a combination of whole-berry cranberry sauce and Craisins. Next time I’ll try it with fresh cranberries instead of Craisins; I know it will be good.
Sometimes when I make this for a diverse group (particularly with young kids), I make 2 versions: one with chiles and one without. I just reduce the chiles by half and only stir them into half the dish. This dish is also wonderful without the chiles, though it definitely has a different character. You can make it with mild chiles, though I’ve found the version with hot chiles is nearly always more popular. You get more of the sweet-hot contrast that way.
Do you want to make this a day ahead of time? Just take it out of the oven after 40 minutes (right before you add the crumb topping), let it cool, and refrigerate it still covered. At least a half hour before you want to serve it, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, spread the crumb topping on, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned.
Some readers have recently asked for details on the chiles I use. See the Chiles I Cook With page for more information.
Let me know how you like this recipe … or share with me any variations you come up with! Happy Thanksgiving!
- 7 cups peeled, diced (about ½ inch) butternut squash
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp grated orange peel
- 1 cup orange juice (ideally fresh-squeezed)
- ½ cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
- ½ cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup hot diced green chiles
- 2 cups Ritz cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup melted butter (for topping)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange peel, orange juice, cranberry sauce, Craisins, and 2 tbsp butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir in the green chiles.
- Dump the squash in a 9"x13" baking dish, pour the sauce over, then stir to coat the squash. Spread the mixture evenly in the baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. While the squash is baking, blend the Ritz cracker crumbs with the ¼ cup melted butter and set aside.
- Remove from oven. Take the foil off. If you wish, stir the squash to thoroughly coat with the sauce again (nice, but not necessary) and spread evenly in the baking dish again. Spread the cracker crumb topping evenly over the squash and pop back in the oven.
- Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the crumb topping is starting to brown
- Serve!
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