This savory, sweet and healthy Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon is Paleo & Whole30 friendly and perfect as a meal or side dish! I love serving this hash with greens and fried eggs any time of day. Grain free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free.
Am I getting repetitive with the butternut squash and apples? No way! There is simply so such thing this time of year, or, if I’m being honest – anytime between September and March – is totally fair game for a combination of winter squash, apples, and bacon!
What is Hash?
Hash is a versatile dish of chopped meat, vegetables, and onions cooked in a skillet. It originated as a way to use up leftovers and is traditionally made with corned beef and white potatoes. But we can make it Paleo by using Butternut Squash in place of the potatoes, and nitrate free bacon instead of corned beef.
A simple substitution of sugar free nitrate free bacon makes this Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon Whole30 compliant as well.
One thing that I love about this hash – or any, really – is that it’s an all purpose recipe, and adds great flavor and delicious real-food nourishment to any meal.
Yes I said nourishment – and it I meant it! Roasted butternut squash is one of my very favorite healthy comfort foods – perhaps even my ultimate favorite – because it’s seriously delicious when roasted (like, no joke, addicting) and just makes me feel good. Not virtuous good, but good good 🙂
This recipe really does work for anything – with eggs and greens for breakfast (you know it – my fave!) or as a side dish with basically anything you could imagine. I especially love it as a side dish with crispy chicken thighs with lots of savory herbs this time of year. Or, right out of the skillet – AKA what I did after taking these photos.
Ingredients in Paleo Butternut Squash Hash
Butternut squash
Coconut oil
Sea salt
Nitrate Free Bacon (sugar free for Whole30)
Apple (try a tart variety like Granny Smith or Pink Lady)
Yellow onion
I added onion to this recipe because it takes the flavor to another level, and lately when I cook onions well, or caramelize them, I have no problem digesting them despite them being high FODMAP.
The same thing seems to go with apples. I still try to avoid eating them raw, or greatly limit my portion – but when I cook them as I did in this hash, or in an apple crisp or pie filling, I have no problems! Hallelujah! Because really – aren’t apples just insanely delicious?! Especially the pink lady ones – those are my favorite whether raw or cooked.
How to Cook Butternut Squash
The one note I have for you if you haven’t worked with butternut squash much, is that the way you want to arrange the squash cubes with plenty of “breathing” room on the baking sheet to ensure they roast up crispy! It makes a HUGE difference in the flavor if you ask me. When I first started roasting butternut squash, it didn’t taste all that fabulous to me because I wasn’t doing it right.
For butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc – think 3 things:
1.) The right amount of oil and salt (too much oil will make them soggy, too little and they won’t crisp
2.) Parchment paper – I find this is the best surface to roast starchy veggies on for maximum flavor and texture.
3.) Breathing room and heat – make sure the cubes are spread out, the heat is right, and you leave them in long enough!
Okay, ready? Let’s roast! And fry! And then eat 🙂
Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon {Paleo & Whole30}
Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon {Paleo & Whole30}
Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash cubed (about 1 inch)
- 1/2 tbsp organic coconut oil melted
- sea salt
- 6 slices bacon nitrate free and sugar free (for Whole30)* cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1 large apple pink lady or granny smith work well peeled and chopped
- 1/2 large yellow onion or one small onion, chopped
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss butternut squash cubes with melted coconut oil and sea salt to evenly coat, then spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
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Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and soft.
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Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron skillet over med-hi heat and add the bacon, stirring to evenly cook.
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Once some fat has released and bacon begins to brown, add the onion and lower the heat to med. Cook about 5 minutes until bacon is 3/4 done and onions are soft.
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Drain 3/4 of the fat from the skillet (you want some left to cook apples) and then add the apples to the pan. You can save the bacon fat to fry eggs if desired.
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Cook and stir the apples until soft, about 2-5 minutes and turn heat to low
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Once butternut is roasted, add to the pan (you can drain any grease first if you want) and gently mix. Remove from heat and serve warm, with eggs for breakfast or as a side dish for dinner. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*While doing Whole30, (or anytime!) U.S. Wellness Meats is an amazing resources for sugar-free bacon and sausage!
What I Used for My Roasted Butternut Squash Hash:
Want more breakfast hash recipes? Try one of these!
Chorizo and Butternut Pizza Hash with Baked Eggs
Paleo Butternut Squash Recipes on the Web:
Spiralized Maple Curry Butternut Squash Salad
Tell Me!
What foods/meals make you feel great?
What’s your favorite “nature’s candy”?
Love this recipe. I’m new to your blog and I like what I see. Been Paleo-ing for over two years now and get in regular gym days. Lost (and losing) weight and feel great too. Missus can feel my abs again and she likey! I meter the carbs, proteins and vegs and limit the heck out of dairy and go gluten free if at all possible. Cheat days can be glorious. And I pay for it the week after. But, so far soooooo much better.
Great to hear! Gluten is also the number one thing I try to avoid at all costs – it makes me feel the worst.
I totally agree that there isn’t too much squash and apples; I love eating the seasonal fruits and veggies because they always taste really good when you eat them in season. And today I’m again really thankful for your site, because i’ve had some Paleo baked good fails from other sites lately, but I’ve always had success with your recipes, so I’ve come back to find a baked goodie recipe.
Yes, they are perfect! And I am SO glad to hear you have success with my recipes! That is just about the best compliment I can get at this point!
I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s an old faithful around here. Keeps me on course for healthy rating
So glad you like it!!
This sounds like a recipe I would like very much and that I could bring to work to reheat. Thanks for sharing, I will give it a try. I love pretty much all fruits more than candy but there is nothing like watermelon after a hot summer run.
Definitely good for reheating – that is just what I did with the leftovers – didn’t want to share!
I think this looks and sounds fantastic, and I’m so glad you’re having success with the apples and the onions so long as they’re cooked. Both are too good to miss so I’m thrilled you can partake. 🙂
I limited them for a while but I’m ready to bring them back, as long as things hang in there that is 🙂
Pink Ladies are my favourite as well 😀 And I used to have the craziest obsession with butternut squash until I found kabocha. Now that one takes top squash spot for me, but really, I love any orange veggie. Especially when it’s roasted <3
Kabocha is pretty awesome, the flavor is like none other. I’ll have to look for them next time I shop.
Space between the squash cubes is KEY – when I was making some last week with roasted potatoes and my co-chef heaped it together to make room for an extra portion, that lovely roasted/crispy edge didn’t happen!
Yup I think we all need to learn that one the hard way, lol!
I still struggle with finding the right amount of oil when I roast veggies. Hopefully, I can get it right soon. Because I love roasted sweet potatoes on arugula – it makes me do the happy food dance. This looks amazing – I bet it would be delicious with pork loin.
Yes, absolutely! I have a pork loin recipe that I still need to share 🙂 The oil takes some practice, making sure the squash/potatoes have lots of breathing room really helps though!
for those that don’t eat pork, whats a good substitute? going to try this with half butternut and half red Kuri.
You can use any type of meat you want, ground turkey, turkey bacon or even ground beef, maybe seasoned for extra flavor 🙂
My family and guests loved this! unfortunately my food allergies roared to life, and i got a headache half way through dinner. Can you recommend something to replace the apples?
So very delicious! This was a staple for us as I started AIP and my (non-AIP) husband loves it too. We always feel like we get to indulge when we make this, yet it is so easy. We often add greens at the very end for a complete meal, any time of day. Thank you.
One of my favorites too, I’m so happy you love it!
I made this without the apples and it was fantastic! I substituted the Coconut oil with Ghee, since that is what I had on hand. I poured the mixture over warm egg noodles and topped with parmesan cheese. It was absolutely fantastic!
I’m on day 14 of the Whole30 Diet and was looking for something to do with some leftover butternut squash I roasted the other day. This recipe is THE BEST!! I will certainly be making this again and again.
Thank you, it is posts like this that have gotten me this far and will keep me going on this lifestyle change.
Love the idea but personally prefer to cook apples in olive oil and sprinkled with a little cinnamon as a side dish or a dessert so my plate has the butternut squash hash with onions and diced bacon and topped with 2 eggs over easy and cinnamon apples off to the side in separate bowl but I follow your recipe except for the apples.
This was really, really good! I made it exactly as written and it turned out great. Thanks for the tip on how to roast squash cubes.
Can leftovers be frozen?
OMG. This is sooo delicious. thanks for it
We loved this! It will become a fav!
I made this for breakfast this morning and it was delicious! Followed the recipe exactly. Thank you!
Wonderfully delish!!!!
Have made this 2 times. Delicious. 2nd time precooked squash in microwave before cubing(see you tube directions) and reduced the cooking time to 20 min. Family loved it!