These Roasted Butternut Squash Tostadas are a delicious and easy Mexican inspired fall dinner!
Happy Thursday! Is it just me or has it felt like this week has just creeped by? On Monday I kept thinking it was Tuesday and then I was all thrown off for the rest of the week. But, tomorrow is Friday and no one can argue with that 🙂
These Roasted Butternut Squash Tostadas are one of my favorite fall/winter meals. They’re so easy to make and the butternut squash can even be roasted ahead of time for a really quick meal. I also found out that Eli loves roasted butternut squash, so I will be making these often this season 🙂
Tostadas are very similar to tacos. The only real difference, at least to me, is that they’re flat and crunchy (I usually use soft tortillas when making tacos). I always start with a big spoonful of refried beans and then get to topping them.
For these tostadas I decided to go with minimal toppings. I really just wanted to focus on the butternut squash since it’s so delicious this time of year. Roasting squash brings out so many great flavors and I hardly ever eat it any other way.
Since the refried beans, butternut squash and cheese can be a little heavy all together I wanted to lighten things up by making a nice zippy sauce to go on top. I finally decided on this creamy avocado, lime and cilantro sauce and it balances the flavors out perfectly! It also add a nice color 🙂
I’ve been trying to eat more plant based lately and cheese is something I’ve really been stuggling with. It’s hard to find a vegan cheese that has a great flavor, texture and melts well. So far, I’ve really been enjoying the Trader Joe’s brand of vegan cheese. It’s melting capability is what I like the most about it. When the tostadas are almost finished, I just turn on the broiler for a minute and it becomes so melty and creamy!
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Roasted Butternut Squash Tostadas with Avocado Lime Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
An easy and delicious Mexican inspired fall dinner!
Ingredients
- 4–5 cups cubed butternut squash, about 1 whole medium butternut squash
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tostadas
- 1 (15 ounce) can refried beans, I like to use black refried beans
- 1 cup grated cheese, I used vegan cheese
- Fresh cilantro for garnish, if desired
Avocado Lime Sauce:
- 2 medium avocados, pitted and scooped out
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 handful cilantro leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. On a large baking sheet, toss together the cubed butternut squash, olive oil, spices, salt and pepper. Bake butternut squash until tender and starting to caramelize, about 40 minutes.
- Lay tostadas out on the baking sheet and spread with a scant 1/4 cup refried beans, heaping 1/4 cup roasted butternut squash and 1-2 tablespoons cheese. Bake tostadas until cheese is melted, 7-10 minutes. If using vegan cheese you may have to turn on the broiler for a minute.
- Make the sauce while tostadas are baking: add all ingredients to a blender, or food processor, and blend until creamy.
- Garnish tostadas with fresh cilantro and top with desired amount of avocado lime sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: Dinner, Vegan, Gluten Free
How long does the sauce last in the fridge? Thanks!
Avocado doesn’t usually last too long so probably 2-3 days I would say
What’s the nutritional information for this recipe?
Hi Alyssia, I’ll try to get it posted soon 🙂
Oooh I haven’t seen the TJ’s vegan cheese yet.. Cheese is one of the only things I find hard to give up too (and ice cream!). I love making avocado sauces like the one you created here!
Ice cream is hard for me too, but I feel like it’s easier to find tasty vegan ice cream than tasty vegan cheese haha! Thanks, Nicole!
Oooo these look yummy! I hear you on the vegan cheese – it’s SO hard to find one that is decent! I will have to try the Trader Joe’s brand! Usually I just go without cheese to remain plant-based but sometimes a dish just NEEDS a cheese element!
Thank you! Yeah, sometimes I think no cheese at all is the way to go haha! Some of them just have such strange tastes!
Oh gosh, what a PERFECT use for all the butternut squash in full-on season! These tostadas MUST happen in my kitchen asap 🙂 Love that avocado lime sauce so much!