Grain Free Butternut Squash Risotto

Make your next meal irresistible with this grain free butternut squash risotto. With only 4 ingredients, this butternut squash risotto is so easy to make, vegan, gluten free, grain free, diary free, Whole 30 approved and beyond delicious. This low carb and low calorie side dish is packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It’s seriously giving cauliflower rice a run for it’s money at my house!

I have been developing meal plans for my personal training clients and the feedback has been phenomenal. Clients rave to me about how easy it is to come home to a meal that is practically prepped already, and how they love always having something different for dinner. No more Tupperware full of the same food 5 days in a row. NOPE! Instead I develop recipes like this butternut squash risotto to help keep things interesting so they don’t have to feel deprived or like they are missing out on flavor.

I actually came up with the idea for this butternut squash risotto right after the holidays. Dave has been dealing with some serious gut issues and we removed all sugars from his diet. Following a GAPS diet, the only “starchy” food he was eating was winter squash. And I was buying like $15 of butternut squash a week. Needless to say I was constantly trying to find new ways to make his butternut squash more interesting. Some of the winners were this butternut squash risotto and the crockpot butternut squash soup with goat cheese croutons.  Both of these recipes would be perfect if you are having company over and want to make a healthy, simple side dish. I promise everyone will be raving about this dish! They don’t have to know how easy it was 🙂

For me food is about playing with flavors and textures. By ricing the butternut squash but then cooking it like a risotto, the butternut squash develops a very similar creamy texture as risotto without turning into complete mush. What makes this dish is the addition of fresh sage leaves. They make what would be an otherwise sweeter side dish very savory and seriously good eats. If you have extra sage leaves don’t worry! You can make turkey meatballs or turkey burgers using fresh sage, onion and garlic. You can use this slowcooker turkey meatball recipe as a base, and just bake the meatballs in the oven instead of covering them with sauce in the slow cooker. They should be ready in about 30 minutes at 400F.  If turkey isn’t your thing, you can always make lentil quinoa vegan meatballs or this savory pumpkin cornbread muffins I promise you won’t be disappointed!

The best part about this butternut squash risotto, you can prep the butternut squash on Sunday during meal prep and then only have about 10 minutes worth of work the night you are going to eat it. And it reheats very well. On Sunday just peel, chop and microwave your squash. Then on the night you are going to make dinner, simply throw the butternut squash into the food processor, process for a minute, and add it to the large skillet. Within 10-15 minutes, dinner will be ready!

To make this recipe almost too easy to admit you will need a few key kitchen items. A food processor, a big skillet with a well fitting lid and organic vegetable broth. I encourage you to keep a well stocked kitchen with these essentials to make healthy eating that much easier to do on a daily basis. If you don’t want to peel and chop the butternut squash, you are in luck! Most grocery stores now sell butternut squash in the produce section already peeled and chopped. That makes meal prep almost too easy!

If you try this recipe, please let me know! You can tag me on instagram @sam_pancakewarriorfitness or tag us on facebook (PancakeWarriors).

What about you?

• What is your favorite way to eat butternut squash
• Do you have a favorite recipe using sage?
• What is your go to gadget in the kitchen?

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