5 Hearty Winter Squash Recipes Slideshow

Another wonderful thing about winter: hearty foods! When the temperature starts to drop, we start to crave heavier dishes, and this lasagna recipe from MyRecipes.com is the perfect way to fill that craving. While hearty, it's also extremely nutritious thanks to the delicious veggies layered between the pasta. Another great option for Meatless Mondays!

This recipe from SoupAddict.com went all out with the seasonal ingredients: butternut (or acorn) squash, fennel, and pear. A refreshingly creative take on traditional butternut squash soup.

Give your squash a south-of-the-border twist with this recipe for spicy spaghetti squash and black beans from Whole Foods Market. Stuffed with sweet corn, red onion, jalapeño, red pepper, and black beans, this squash dish is guaranteed to leave you satisfied — and possibly craving a margarita (make it a skinny one!). If only all Mexican food was this healthy.

Gold nugget — sometimes referred to as golden nugget — squash constantly gets overshadowed by its more popular squash cousins, but don't underestimate this yummy fall vegetable. This recipe from Cooking Light does the less trendy squash justice, stuffing it with hot turkey Italian sausage, carrots, onions, quinoa, and cheese for a savory, flavor-packed dinner that looks just as incredible as it tastes.

We love the traditional roasted butternut squash with brown sugar, but when we're itching for something different, this is our go-to recipe. Martha Stewart's twice-baked butternut squash is one of those dishes that makes you feel oddly giddy about the leaves changing color, cooler temperature, and everything that comes with the fall season.

And if you haven't tried it yet, make sure you check out HellaWella's delicious recipe for spaghetti squash "pasta" with olives, feta, tomato, and basil.