Let Crispy Butternut Squash Stand In For Fried Rice For A Tasty Veggie Dish

You've definitely heard of fried rice; you may have even heard of cauliflower rice. But have you heard of butternut squash rice? Next time you're craving the savory, umami flavors of fried rice consider swapping out your rice for crispy butternut squash for a seasonal take on the original dish. Tasting Table recipe developer Michelle Bottalico executes this ingredient swap flawlessly in their autumnal butternut squash fried "rice" recipe. The key to this recipe is to pulse the butternut squash in a food processor to create rice-like chunks. These small pieces of butternut squash will be able to cook out their moisture faster and create a crispy skin.

The final result is a multi-textural, sweet yet savory dish perfect as a creative side or even a main dish. You can get creative with what vegetables you use in your meal to come up with all kinds of flavor combinations. The addition of edamame and ginger in Bottalico's recipe is a familiar callback to traditional fried rice that makes this version feel like a satisfactory substitution for the original thing.

One of the best aspects of any fried rice dish is that it's a perfect base for any additional ingredients you want. You can make your fried rice feel like a more complete meal by adding in a scrambled egg or small cut pieces of chicken. While Bottalico's recipe includes apples, you can opt to remove these if you want your dish to resemble real fried rice. Another addition you can opt for if you want a more traditional flavor is topping your dish with scallions.

Alternatively, you can lean into a more seasonal, autumnal flavor with your butternut squash fried rice. If you replace the edamame with white beans and opt to use warmer seasonings such as curry powder or cumin you can create a spiced, fall-inspired fried rice that leans heavily into fall flavors. Ultimately you can customize this meal however you feel like.