The Easiest Way To Peel Butternut Squash Is With The Microwave

Whether in a creamy soup or cheesy lasagna or simply roasted in the oven, there are countless ways to celebrate and enjoy butternut squash. The hearty winter squash is grown in the summer and harvested in the fall, and it's a great source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin B6. It is a popular source of carbohydrates that is not only gluten-free but also much less calorically dense when compared to grains. When browsing the aisles of almost any supermarket, pre-peeled cubes of butternut squash can be seen alongside spiralized zoodles and pre-cut stir fry vegetable mixes.

Like all prepared foods, the ready-to-roast cubes of orange squash, though convenient, cost significantly more than the whole vegetable. Even if it is only by a couple of dollars, I can never bring myself to buy something pre-cut when it is actually quite simple to cut it at home, as I need it (no need to block up the fridge space with cubes of squash I don't intend to cook for several days, right?), and enjoy an infinitely fresher flavor than those often tasteless supermarket squares.

Most people shudder at the thought of peeling butternut squash because of its hard, impenetrable skin, which makes even the best vegetable peeler pale at the thought of such a fight.

Luckily there is a simple solution: the microwave!

Prepare your squash as if you were roasting it in the oven by pricking it all over with a fork. Slice off the top and bottom of the squash and then just cook it in the microwave for about three and a half minutes. Let the squash cool until you can handle it and rejoice at the ease with which you can now peel away the skin!

So there you go, the easiest way to tackle that most delicious vegetable using the humble microwave. Click here to discover more ways you've been using your microwave wrong.