Liven up a standard Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe with the addition of two wonderfully bold flavors – tahini sauce and za’atar spice blend. In this Weight Watchers side dish recipe, the sweet, buttery squash is complemented by the roasted sesame flavor of the tahini sauce and the alluring spice mixture of the za’atar. If you haven’t ever tried za’atar before, once you do, I guarantee it will become one of your pantry staples!
It’s a Middle Eastern spice blend that involves some combination of ground dried oregano, thyme or marjoram, ground sumac, toasted sesame seeds, and often, salt. It’s often used on bread, chicken, and on top of hummus or soft cheeses. Zaatar has an amazing and unique flavor that is aromatic, and tangy at the same time. This simple, yet amazing side dish is not only delicious and full of nutrients, but each serving is also just 4 Points, making it a very Weight Watchers friendly recipe too.
Roasted Butternut Squash with Tahini and Za’atar Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup prepared tahini sauce - like Trader Joe’s version
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp zaatar seasoning
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, toss butternut squash with the olive oil to coat evenly. Place squash onto a baking sheet and season with salt. Cook in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until squash is tender and lightly browned.
- In a small bowl, mix together the tahini sauce, lemon juice, and water. (This step is done only to thin out the consistency of the tahini sauce. I use Trader Joe’s Tahini Sauce, which is quite thick. If the sauce you use is already thin, then this step can be skipped.)
- Place squash in a serving bowl, and drizzle with tahini sauce. Then sprinkle the za’atar seasoning over top.
4 Comments
I made my own “sauce” with lemon juice, tahini, water, salt, and garlic (no olive oil). I also served it over a huge pile os fresh spinach. VERY tasty!
Is tahini sauce different from tahini?
Yes. Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds…it’s the base of tahini sauce which is tahini combined with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, etc.
Hi — is there a reason I can’t pin individual recipes right from the email? It sure would be more convenient — thanks!