Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos are irresistible any night of the week. Hearty black beans, fresh corn & roasted butternut squash tossed in a zesty honey-lime cilantro sauce. Move over Taco Tuesday, Meatless Monday just got a fun makeover!
Taco night- whether it’s beef, pork, or fish tacos– is always a big hit in our home. I don’t know if it’s the toppings bar or the primordial ritual of eating with hands that my guys find so appealing, but I’m certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially considering how easily this taco recipe comes together!
Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos is a healthy flavor fiesta that’s budget friendly and fast. A vegetarian (or Vegan) friendly dinner that offers a tasty alternative, while being substantial enough to win over your pickiest meat-and-potato loving critics.
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash is seasoned and roasted to provide a bold, crispy exterior and a soft, buttery interior. This fall favorite is layered with fresh corn and black beans, then tossed with a homemade honey lime cilantro sauce. Choose your own adventure at the toppings bar, and then cocoon your creation with a freshly warmed tortilla.
Spice up your life and get dinner on the table in under thirty minutes.
Ingredients and Notes
These vegetarian tacos are super versatile with many options for topping and serving them! Here’s what you’ll need for the filling:
- Butternut Squash. The star of the show really! Don’t worry if your squash is a little more than 2lbs (or even 2.5lbs), it’s totally fine.
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe! My top two recommendations are olive oil or avocado oil.
- Spices. These tacos have a slight kick but if you prefer less, substitute chili powder for the cayenne pepper.
- Corn. While you can use canned, I will say that fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels work best with the other flavors.
- Black beans. Any bean works well in this recipe but black beans are my favorite. Chickpeas are another great choice.
- Honey. If you are vegan, you can substitute maple syrup, but the taste will be slightly different. Other vegan sweeteners include agave, date syrup, and brown rice syrup.
- Tortillas. I use 6-inch size flour tortillas roasted over an open gas flame, but corn tortillas work great too.
Taco Topping Ideas
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage
- A squeeze of lime
- Cilantro
- Avocado
- Sour Cream (skip for vegan)
- Red Onion
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Cotija (contains animal rennet) or Shredded Colby Cheese
- Crema
Tips for Making these Tacos
Because I keep the ingredients simple, the recipe itself is fairly straightforward.
- Prepare the squash. If you’re unsure of the best way to peel and cut a butternut squash, check out my easy roasted butternut squash recipe for quick tips. You can also use pre-cut squash as a time saver.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the toppings. Drain and rinse the beans. Make sure the corn is thawed if using frozen. Toss everything together as soon as the squash comes out of the oven.
- Sauce. This sauce is crazy easy and uses just a squeeze of honey, lime, and cilantro to pull all the flavors together.
- Tortillas. Char, grill, or microwave the tortillas. Layer them up with everything! Keep them soft and warm in aluminum foil if needed. I make mine on our gas stovetop flame, but a dry skillet works well for an electric stove.
Serving Suggestions for Squash and Black Bean Tacos
Transition butternut squash tacos to create a scrumptious filling for tortillas or as a tasty topping for a taco salad! I recommend trying this with all of your favorite Mexican and Central American dishes. Here are some of our favorites:
- Make up some of your own topping salsas!
- These homemade Elotes take only 10 minutes to make!
- Make this Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup with homemade poblano cream sauce
- To add a meat option for taco night, try these amazing crockpot carnitas.
- Chicken enchiladas are one of my family's favorite meals, and guacamole is a must!
- This is the best nachos recipe ever - loaded with toppings and cheese!
- Looking for something a little lighter? Try our Blackened Mahi Taco recipe.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Feeding a crowd? No problem! This recipe is bountiful. no need to double the filling portion. Serve with homemade queso and margs and let the fiesta begin.
Because this recipe makes a large amount of taco filling, it’s ideal for lunches or to revise as a side dish. It’s best to store any leftover filling on its own in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Store toppings and tortillas separately.
To restore the filling’s crispiness, reheat in the oven at 350° F (180°C) for about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to check often. If you opt to warm the filling in the microwave, it will have mushier texture. Heat new tortillas over the stove, just as before.
Recipe FAQs
Butternut squash is my favorite fall squash because of its mild taste and nutty flavor that’s a bit sweeter than other squashes.
You can eat the skin but there will be a texture change. The skin is smooth and relatively thin, but it can be kind of tough.
If you’d like to soften the skin before peeling your butternut squash, use a fork or paring knife to poke holes all over the skin of the squash. Pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes, remove, and proceed with peeling. However, this doesn’t penetrate deeply so it won’t make cutting much easier.
Yes! This is the easiest way to peel squash. Peel the outside until you see a slight deepening of color. You may still notice green veining on the outside and that’s ok.
Oven roasted squash is soft in texture with crisp edges, similar to a baked sweet potato. It shouldn’t be overly mushy though. If it’s soggy, then there’s either too much water in the squash (overripe/spoiled) or too much oil was added.
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Butternut Squash Tacos
Ingredients
Taco Filling
- 2 lb Butternut Squash cut into cubes
- 1 cup Corn frozen (thawed) or fresh
- 1 can (14.5oz) Black Beans
- 10-12 6-inch Corn Tortillas
Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika regular is fine too
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper This is 3 pepper spicy rating, for less heat, add just a pinch or less.
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Honey Lime Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Honey use Agave or Maple syrup for vegan
- 1 Lime cut into wedges.
- 3 tablespoon Cilantro chopped (optional)
Taco Topping Ideas
- ¼ cup Red Onion diced
- ¼ cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 Avocado sliced or chunked
- 3 cups Shredded Cabbage
- 1 cup Avocado Crema
- ½ cup Guacamole
- 1 cup Sour Cream skip for Vegan
- 1 cup Salsa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Generously grease a large baking sheet or use a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, ½ teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin, ½ teaspoon Salt, and¼ teaspoon Pepper with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss 2 lb Butternut Squash until evenly coated.
- Bake for 25 minutes, turning about ⅔ through when they start to brown on the bottom side.
- Once the vegetables look well roasted, remove from oven and stir together with 1 cup Corn, 1 can (14.5oz) Black Beans, 2 tablespoon Honey, and 3 tablespoon Cilantro. Squeeze 1 Lime over the mixed vegetables.
- Prepare the 10-12 6-inch Corn Tortillas. Heat a dry pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is thoroughly heated up, cook about a dry pan for about 30-45 seconds per side. You can also cook tortillas directly over a med-low gas flame to get the same roasting effect, but they are more prone to turning black.
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