A few seasonal holiday vegetables roast up and caramelize quick in the oven to make an easy roasted butternut squash and sweet potato side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Freshly roasted butternut squash pairs wonderfully with simple cubed sweet potato.  The sweet flavors of the sweet potato make an easy combination with tender golden squash as they roast in the oven with drizzles of good olive oil and pinches of crisp sea salt.

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They need nothing more than a baking sheet and the heat of the oven to bring out their roasty toasty sweetness and character.  

When done roasting, toss all of the vegetables together on a tray and drizzle with a delicious warm buttery cinnamon maple glaze.  The finished dish is a simple sweet and salty combination of tender golden roasted holiday vegetables that will really complete your Thanksgiving spread.

Ingredients To Make this Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes Recipe

• 1 Large butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 2 large sweet potatoes – peeled and cubed
• Coarse salt
• Cracked pepper
• Olive oil
• Melted butter
• Maple syrup
• Cinnamon

How To Make a Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Thanksgiving Side Dish

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two separate baking sheets with foil and set aside.  Peel and cube the butternut squash.  I’m using just one large butternut squash which is enough to fill a normal sized sheet pan.  Be sure to scoop out all of the squash seeds from the center with a spoon before cutting.  Next, peel the sweet potatoes and cube.  

Toss and Season the Butternut Squash

Transfer peeled, seeded, and cubed fresh butternut squash over to the first tray.  Toss butternut squash cubes with generous splashes of olive oil and good pinches of coarse sea salt and cracked pepper. Arrange into a single layer.  Set aside.

Toss and Season the Sweet Potatoes

Transfer peeled and cubed sweet potato to the second foil-lined sheet pan.  Toss cubed sweet potato pieces with generous splashes of olive oil plus pinches of coarse salt and cracked black pepper.

Be sure to coat each piece well while tossing as the sweet potato in particular tends to be stickier while roasting.  If desired, additionally, you might spray your sweet potato foil-lined tray with a light layer of cooking spay first. Then toss the sweet potatoes with oil to help keep them looser during roasting.  

Roast The Vegetable Mixture in a Pre-Heated Oven

Center your oven racks and set both vegetable sheet pans to roast in the pre-heated oven.

Roast in an already pre-heated 400 degrees F oven. If roasting with the trays side by side, check on the sweet potatoes sooner as they brown quicker. If setting the trays one above the other, set the squash lower and the sweet potatoes higher.

Roast butternut squash and sweet potatoes for about 25 to 30 minutes or until fork tender, tossing once in between (around the 10 minute mark) to help ensure even browning. 

The sweet potatoes have a tendency to caramelize, brown, and cook up quicker than the squash, about 5 minutes or so sooner. Keep an eye out and maybe check your sweet potatoes around the 20 minute mark to be sure.  Tossing them once in between during the roasting process helps them out.

If one tray roasts up and reaches tenderness sooner than the other, remove it on time and continue cooking remaining vegetables as needed until golden brown and fork-tenderness is reached.  

When cook time is up, remove roasted butternut squash and roasted sweet potatoes.  Combine everything onto one tray and and set aside to cool for a a few minutes while you prepare a cinnamon maple syrup butter drizzle.

Make a Maple Butter Drizzle for the Roasted Butternut Squash and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter along with a 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup.  Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and add a pinch of coarse sea salt.  Whisk together to combine until butter is melted and everything is combined into a warm drizzle.  Immediately bring the drizzle over to the roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes tray.  

While the vegetables are warm, evenly drizzle the cinnamon maple butter drizzle over the tray of vegetables and toss together. 

This last little step makes for such a flavorful side dish.  It adds a cozy and buttery touch to our favorite vegetables to create a delicious finishing layer of flavor.  Transfer drizzled roasted holiday vegetables to a serving platter.  If available, sprinkle with little pinches of minced parsley for color.  Serve warm.

These easy sweet and salty drizzled roasted vegetables make the perfect side dish to serve next to that tender roasted turkey at Thanksgiving dinner.

Make it a complete side dish spread with these easy roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash or these holiday roasted sweet potatoes and beets, and don’t forget that juicy Thanksgiving gravy…

It just isn’t Thanksgiving with all those tasty extras to load up on the plate! You’ll watch smiles curl upwards as they reach for that fork…

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