Butternut Squash Bread with Ginger

Butternut Squash Bread with Ginger is a comforting celebration of the warm delicious flavors of fall. It's a delightful breakfast, brunch, a snack or dessert.

I love fall baking -- especially on the weekends. It's so comforting to be in a warm kitchen while something spiced and wonderful bakes in the oven.

This butternut squash bread isn't your average quick bread. It's made with butternut squash purée, extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, a little honey, and plenty of chopped crystallized ginger. The result is an incredibly moist, almost creamy loaf with sweet, chewy bursts of ginger in every slice.

Think of it as pumpkin bread's more interesting cousin -- the one who travels a lot and always has the best stories.

Roasting your own squash gives the bread a deeper, slightly caramelized flavor, but canned purée works great too. Either way, the hands-on work is only about 15 minutes. Enjoy it for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack or dessert all fall long.

Some Ingredient Notes

• roasted butternut squash purée - Check out this guide to roasting butternut squash. It's easy. Substitution: You can swap the butternut squash purée for pumpkin if you'd like. Though the two are quite similar, the butternut is slightly sweeter than pumpkin. (And butternut squash bread is more unique, which is fun.)
• extra virgin olive oil - Baking with oil creates a super moist bread/cake.
• crystallized ginger - This adds a lively flavor -- it sort of "wakes up" the bread/cake, and I would not skip it!
• ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves - These spices warm the bread's flavor up, and they'll warm you up too!

How to Make Butternut Squash Bread

- Roasting your own squash is optional, but if you do, it's easiest to roast it a day or two ahead. Here's how to do it.

Recipe Tip: If you don't want to roast your own squash, this butternut squash bread recipe can be made with purée from a can. Many stores carry it in the fall, and if you don't see it, this is a good one. I like roasting the squash because the flavor is more intense and slightly caramel-y.

- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

- Add the squash, olive oil, eggs, sugar, honey and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer or whisk, blend until smooth.

- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, all of the spices and the salt.

- Add this to the wet ingredients and mix -- just until you no longer see dry spots of flour. Then fold in the crystallized ginger.

- Pour the batter into the prepared parchment-lined loaf pan and bake in the oven until it's golden and cracked on top, about 1 hour.

Recipe Tips: I suggest a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan for this recipe, though it can be made in one that's 8½ x 4½ inch. In the latter, it will likely rise above the pan during the baking time. Don't worry -- it will sink a bit as it cools. Also, if you think the top of the bread is getting too dark and it hasn't finished baking yet, loosely place a piece of foil on top for the remaining baking time.

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 Let it cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift it out, and slice when you're ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

• I guarantee you, if you make this butternut squash bread and have a warm slice with a perfect cup of coffee -- it will be an incredibly pleasant and delightful eating experience.
• How about warming it and adding a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream? It's amazing!
• You can toast it and serve it with a spread of butter. Maybe even drizzle a little honey on top.

How to Store it

• The bread can be made up to two days ahead of time -- and you can keep it at room temperature, in an airtight container.
• After two days, it can be refrigerated for a few days, or frozen for up to about three months, wrapped tightly. (If you freeze it, using Ziploc freezer bags is easy.)

Variations

• Muffins. The batter should make about 12 muffins. Divide it among lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F. Start checking at about 18 minutes; they should be slightly cracked on top. (If you're not sure, insert a toothpick in the center - if it comes out clean that's usually a good sign.)
• Mix-ins. Fold in ½ cup of chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, or dried cranberries or cherries, along with the crystallized ginger. (You can also use a combination - about ½ cup total.)
• Make it chocolatey. Add ½ cup of chocolate chips. Ginger and chocolate are delicious together.
• Simple glaze. Whisk 1 cup of powdered sugar with about 2 tablespoons of milk or orange juice, and drizzle it over the bread once it's at room temperature.

Butternut Squash Bread FAQs

More Butternut Squash Deliciousness

I hope you enjoy every last crumb of this Butternut Squash Bread as much as my family and I do!

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