Blue Ribbon Group Savory Butternut Squash Carrot Pie
Minnesota Winner
This Butternut Squash Carrot Pie is a savory dish you can savor all winter long. It is comfort food at its finest. It’s also vegetarian. The squash and carrot filling is flavored by cumin, butter, salt, and pepper. Its topped with caramelized onions and fresh sage.
At the 2013 Minnesota State Fair, this recipe stood out to us…from Susan Gran, winner for “best savory pie” (Pillsbury contest). Try it out. We did. And wow!
Here’s what it looks like before you put it in the oven.
You can even do individual portions in cupcake tins. Just bake it for less time of course.
And here I walk you through some of the main steps. I made the filling a day ahead and doubled the batch. I had a good feeling about this one.
First I chopped up the squash and carrots and got them roasting.
I used butternut squash but acorn or even pumpkin would work well too, depending on your tastes.
You toss the squash and carrots with olive oil, salt, pepper and one of my favorite spices, cumin. (I also added cayenne, because heat is a close friend of mine.) You can make the caramelized onions ahead of time too.
Delish Dinner Party Main Dish
Once the squash and carrots were roasted, I pureed the filling with the other key ingredients. If you don’t have a food processor, try a stick blender instead. At this point I put it in my fridge for my dinner party the next day.
When party time came I rolled out my pre-made pie crust and made a full-size pie. Depending on the size of your squash and carrots, you may have extra filling. You can also do cut-outs for mini pies. We did and it worked like a charm.
This butternut squash carrot pie is a colorful recipe, with the vibrant squash contrasting with the fresh sage on top.
There were no leftovers, but the minis would have made terrific to-go lunches. Guess I will have to make them again! And soon. You should give them a try too.
Watch for more savory dishes in the coming months. You can search our site for your favorite ingredients or filter recipes by category here.
Bake it great!
-Cyndi
Savory Butternut Squash Carrot Pie
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, diced (similar size to carrots)
4 medium carrots, peeled, diced (similar size to squash)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Salt and pepper
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 (8 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 large eggs
1 prepared pie crust (to fit 9 or 10-inch pie plate)
Fresh sage, chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, stir butternut squash, carrots, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper and place in pan. Roast until soft, 30-40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (to bake the pie). Sauté onions in butter until caramelized. Remove from heat; set aside. In food processor combine milk, eggs and roasted vegetables. Blend until smooth. Unroll and press pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Using a fork, poke holes in bottom of the crust. Pour vegetable mixture into prepared crust. Top with caramelized onions. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Top with fresh sage. Makes 8 servings.
