Egg Recipes - Fruits & Vegetables

Butternut Custard Recipe

butternut custard

Butternut Custard Recipe

This butternut custard recipe is a delicious alternative to pumpkin pie! It may be made with any winter squash that has dense, dry flesh that is deep orange and flavorful. You could also use canned pumpkin or squash if you don’t have fresh butternut squash. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and serve warm or cold…you’ll enjoy each bite!

How To Freeze Or Can Pumpkins & Winter Squash

How to Cook and Use Pumpkins

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So Many Squash, So Little Time!

We harvested an abundance of winter squash from our garden last year. My all-time favorite variety is Butternut squash and we had a nice haul of them to stash away for winter. Do you know what that means? Lots of new recipes to try!

I used two different pumpkin pie recipes to create this delicious custard. (One recipe is from my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook and the other was from the label on a can of pumpkin from the store.) I tweaked this butternut custard recipe to include maple syrup and whole milk in place of sweetened condensed milk.

You can bake this custard in a 9 x 13″ cake pan or make two 9″ pies with it. Your family won’t know that it isn’t pumpkin unless you tell them. This is a great way to get kids to eat their veggies!

How to Cook and Use Pie Pumpkins
Pie pumpkins and Butternut squash ready to go in the oven. I like to cook and puree my homegrown pumpkins and squash.

Easy Butternut Custard Recipe

This butternut custard recipe is easy to make, and the prep time is pretty minimal unless you are cooking and mashing the squash. Use canned pumpkin or squash if you don’t have your own.

Here’s the easy recipe…

butternut custard

Butternut Custard

Use butternut squash to make this crustless variation on pumpkin pie!
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups butternut squash pureed or mashed
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 eggs slightly beaten
  • 1 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Grease a 9 x 13" non-reactive baking dish, or prepare 2 single-crust pie shells. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Combine squash, spices, and maple syrup or honey in a medium mixing bowl. Add eggs and combine. Add milk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
  • Pour squash custard mixture into the greased baking dish or pie shells. Place in a preheated oven. 
  • Bake for approximately 40 – 45 minutes, or until the center of custard is set and a knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Notes

Use canned pumpkin or squash in place of homegrown squash puree.
 
Replace ginger with ground cloves, if desired.
 
This custard may be baked in (2) 9″ pie shells, if preferred.
How to Cook and Use Pie Pumpkins
Butternut squash makes good ‘pumpkin’ puree.

Use Those Butternut Squash

If you have Butternut squash in your root cellar, you’ll want to use them up by the end of March. Butternut squash keeps up to 6 months under ideal storage conditions. Use them to make this butternut custard recipe, cook and served mashed with butter, or use in soups and stir-fries. You can also dehydrate, can, or freeze the extras if you can’t use them up before they go bad. Check out these instructions for dehydrating butternut squash.

To increase the storage life of your Butternut squash, you should harvest when fully ripe. Be careful not to break the stem off of fruits. Clean the surface of your squash with a mild bleach solution or vinegar water to remove mold spores and bacteria. Cure squash in a warm (80 F), dry area out of direct sunlight for 1 or 2 weeks. Once the squash is cured, rub the surface with a clean cloth and a dab of vegetable oil to help protect the squash from the mold.

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Store cured squash in a cool (50 – 60 F), dry spot, out of direct sunlight. Place on shelves or cardboard, not on concrete to protect from condensation, which can lead to rot.

Check your squash often for soft spots, mold or rot… especially around the stem. If you notice your squash starting to wither or develop bad spots, use them up quickly or cook and freeze the flesh.

For more information, check out my post How to Harvest and Store Pumpkins and Winter Squash!

What is your favorite recipe for Butternut squash?

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Butternut Custard Recipe by The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

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6 Comments on “Butternut Custard Recipe

  1. 5 stars
    Just a couple of questions:
    1: What else can you use this for besides pumpkin (squash) pie
    and
    2: I know you can’t can pumpkin/squash puree, but would it be ok to dice this, and add in the spices and can that?
    Later adding in the other ingredients when ready to make it
    Thanks for the recipe! Looks really good

    1. Hi Carol,
      You can make the custard with or without the crust. I like it without the crust. Basically, the recipe is for pie or a pan of custard. You may bake the custard in a 9 x 13″ pan or in custard cups… or maybe in those mini-pumpkins for a special occasion (although, I have not done this).
      You may pressure can pumpkin or winter squash by cutting it into cubes and canning it in water. I would wait and add the spices when you use the squash. It must be pressure canned at 10 pounds of pressure in a weighted gauge pressure canner (up to 1,000 ft of elevation) for 90 minutes for quarts or 55 minutes for pints.
      Thanks for stopping by!

  2. 5 stars
    This custard is delish!!!!! Thank you for sharing. In the past I have added either sweet potato or squash puree to my pumpkin pie filling and found it seemed to add so much flavor to the “plain pumkin” but sure love this!!!!
    Also thank you for sharing the extra storing tips for squash I will certainly follow them next year. Yvonne

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