Delicious Butternut Squash Tacos made with perfectly roasted butternut squash, seasoned black beans, and sauteed spinach piled on top of soft tortillas and drizzled with mouthwatering chipotle lime crema. Easily the best tacos you will ever make!
Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos
These butternut squash tacos will literally knock your socks off.
Originally shared here in December 2015, they were one of, if not the very first, butternut squash recipes I ever made. These flavor-packed and veggie-filled tacos were what made me fall in love with butternut squash.
Made with perfectly golden and caramelized roasted butternut squash, sauteed spinach, and black beans seasoned with a little cumin, salt, and black pepper piled on your favorite corn or flour tortillas. So healthy and good for your body, but you’d never know it because they taste so delicious.
The key ingredient, or secret sauce, that turns these delicious tacos into life-changing ones? Chipotle lime crema. Made with sour cream or greek yogurt, chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, fresh lime juice, cumin, and a little fresh cilantro, it’s super simple to make in less than 5 minutes.
How to Make Butternut Squash Tacos
- Make the chipotle lime crema: You may make this up to a few days ahead of time. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
- Roast the butternut squash: Cook the butternut squash in a preheated 400 degree f oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the squash is tender and starting to brown around the edges.
- Prepare the beans: As the squash is roasting, heat the beans in a small pot over low heat with ground cumin and minced garlic. Once warm, remove from heat and cover with a lid to keep warm as you prepare the sauteed spinach.
- Cook the spinach: Add as much spinach as you can fit to a large pan with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Heat over medium heat. As the spinach starts to wilt, ass additional spinach until all of the spinach has been cooked. Stir as needed.
- Assemble: Build your tacos. Start with beans on the bottom, followed by spinach, butternut squash, and chipotle lime crema.
Is Chipotle Lime Crema Spicy?
The level of heat depends entirely on how many chipotle chilies you add to your crema sauce. The adobo sauce will have some heat, but not as much as the whole chilies. So if you know you’re sensitive to spicy foods, start with less chipotle chilies and add more to taste.
Butternut Squash Tacos Variations
To make this recipe vegan: Everything for the tacos are actually vegan. If, however, you choose to drizzle yours with chipotle lime crema (which I really hope you choose to do!), then you will need to replace the sour cream or Greek yogurt with a dairy-free alternative.
To make this recipe gluten-free: Look for gluten-free tortillas. This is pretty easy since most corn tortillas are gluten-free. If you aren’t a fan of corn tortillas, there’s plenty of gluten-free flour tortillas available, just make sure the packaging is labeled “gluten-free”.
Possible substitutions: Easily substitute the roasted butternut squash for roasted acorn squash, roasted sweet potato, delicata squash, or kabocha squash.
Optional additions: Enjoy these tacos with creamy avocado, fresh lime just, shredded cheese, homemade salsa, or pico de Gallo.
Have you tried making these Butternut Squash Tacos?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Butternut Squash Tacos
Ingredients
For the Chipotle Lime Crema
- 2 cups sour cream - or 1 cup sour cream 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce - see notes
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 lime - juiced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- salt - to taste
For the Butternut Squash Tacos
- 1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded and chopped into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 9 cloves garlic - minced, divided
- salt - to taste
- 30 ounces black beans - 2 cans, drained (not rinsed)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 16 oz. fresh spinach - this does not need to be measured exactly, feel free to make more if you really love spinach
- 12 corn tortillas
Instructions
For the Chipotle Lime Crema
- Place all of the ingredients for the chipotle lime crema in the bowl of a small food processor or blender. Blend until completely mixed. Season with additional salt, cumin, or lime juice, to taste.
For the Butternut Squash Tacos
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash with olive oil, 4 cloves minced garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread evenly over a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for approximately 25-35 minutes, or until the squash is tender and just starting to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, as the squash is cooking, empty the beans into a small pot along with the ground cumin and remaining minced garlic. Cook over low heat, stirring often. Continue to warm over low heat until warmed through (this only takes a couple minutes), being careful not to burn the beans. When finished, turn off heat, cover and set aside.
- Add 1-2 Tbsp water to a large skillet over medium heat. Add as much spinach as you can fit, sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt, give it a little stir and wait for the spinach to start wilting. Add additional spinach as the spinach cooks down and makes more room. Stir occasionally. Cook on low until all your spinach is fully cooked.
- Once everything is ready, assemble the tacos. Start with a tortilla followed by beans, spinach, roasted butternut squash, and chipotle lime crema. Enjoy!
Video
Jessica’s Notes
- If you’re sensitive to spicy foods, start with just 1 or even just a half of 1 chipotle chili. You can always add more later.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
This looks stunning. Really awesome photography! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
Thank you so much, Frances! I hope you enjoy the recipe!