Best Spices for Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is sweet, so the spices that suit it either lean into that sweetness or push back against it. Cinnamon handles the sweet side, often with honey, maple syrup or brown sugar, while cumin, sage, black pepper and a little cayenne take the savory side. Six named recipes show the pattern, and almost every one pairs its spice with a sweetener, even the savory ones. The cayenne always goes in sparingly, too.

At a glance

Spice	Job	In the recipes below
Cinnamon	Warm, sweet aroma	Kentucky, Montana, ATK mashed¹²³
Cayenne	Heat against the sweetness	Kentucky, ATK roasted, ATK mashed¹⁴³
Cumin	Savory, earthy depth	Both ATK recipes⁴³
Allspice	Delicate sweetness	ATK roasted⁴
Sage	Savory herb	Maryland; brown butter sage sauce⁵⁶
Black pepper	Mild bite	Maryland, Montana, both ATK recipes⁵²⁴³
Harissa	Chile heat with spice	Oregon State⁷
Garlic and onion	Savory base	ATK mashed³
Chives	Mild onion, fresh finish	ATK roasted⁴

Six recipes side by side

	Seasonings	Sweetener	Fat	Method
ATK, spice-roasted (serves 4)⁴	1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground allspice, pinch cayenne, salt and pepper; chives in the butter	1 tbsp honey (in the butter)	3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp butter	425°F, 30 to 35 minutes
ATK, mashed (serves 8)³	1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1 garlic clove, 1 onion, salt and pepper	3 tbsp maple syrup, 2 shredded apples	Vegetable oil and butter	Roasted, then mashed
University of Kentucky (12 half-cup servings)¹	1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp kosher salt	1/4 cup honey, drizzled after roasting	1 tbsp olive oil	450°F, about 40 minutes
University of Maryland (serves 6)⁵	1 tsp dried sage, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper	1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, with cranberries and walnuts	2 tbsp canola oil	375°F, about 35 minutes
Montana State (serves 6)²	1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, pinch black pepper	1/4 cup brown sugar	1/4 cup melted butter	375°F, 30 to 35 minutes
Oregon State, Food Hero (makes 6 cups)⁷	1 1/2 to 2 tbsp harissa spice mix, mint and cilantro	2 tbsp agave syrup	2 tbsp olive oil	400°F, 15 to 20 minutes

These are the publishers’ own recipes, not a house standard. Two things jump out. Almost every recipe pairs its spice with a sweetener, even the savory ones. And the hot spice always goes in sparingly: a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne for a whole squash or more.⁴³¹

The sweet side: cinnamon and allspice

Cinnamon is the most common spice in these recipes. Montana’s version melts butter with brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and pepper and tosses the squash in it before roasting.² Kentucky’s tosses the cubes with oil, salt, cayenne and cinnamon, then drizzles warm honey over the roasted squash.¹ ATK’s mashed squash uses a smaller 1/4 teaspoon alongside cumin and coriander, with apple and maple syrup for sweetness.³

America’s Test Kitchen picked allspice and cumin for its roasted squash because, in its words, the delicate sweetness of allspice and the savoriness of cumin complemented those same qualities in the squash.⁴ See allspice, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, which puts these warm spices in one jar.

The savory side: cumin, sage and pepper

Cumin

You’ll sometimes read that cumin rarely goes with winter squash. Both ATK recipes here use it: 1 teaspoon in the roasted version and 1/2 teaspoon in the mash.⁴³ ATK credits cumin with the savory side of its seasoning.⁴ See cumin uses and too much cumin.

Sage

Sage pairs a pleasant aroma with a distinctive bitter, pungent taste. Maryland Extension tosses the squash with oil, 1 teaspoon dried sage, salt and pepper before roasting.⁵

Fresh sage works differently. Alida Ryder’s brown butter sage sauce crisps 14 sage leaves in 1/2 cup of browned butter, where they sizzle and crisp in 30 to 60 seconds, and she recommends it over roasted butternut squash as well as ravioli and gnocchi.⁶ Sage and butternut squash ravioli often gets called a traditional pairing, but we didn’t find a source that documents that. See cooking with sage, sage uses and too much sage.

Black pepper

Four of the six recipes use black pepper, from a pinch to 1 teaspoon.

Heat: cayenne and harissa

Cayenne brings heat more than flavor. ATK adds a pinch of cayenne for warmth to its roasted squash, and 1/8 teaspoon to its mash.⁴³ Kentucky’s recipe uses 1/4 teaspoon with a teaspoon of cinnamon and finishes with honey,¹ so the heat sits right up against the sweetness. See cayenne pepper uses.

Oregon State’s Food Hero recipe roasts the squash with oil and 1 tablespoon of harissa spice mix, then stirs in 1/2 to 1 tablespoon more once it’s done, using less if you want it milder.⁷ Food Hero’s own harissa mix includes smoked paprika and tells you to use any ground red pepper at the heat level you like.⁸ The recipe finishes with agave, lemon juice, pumpkin seeds and torn mint and cilantro.⁷ See harissa powder.

Herbs: rosemary, oregano, basil and chives

None of the six recipes uses rosemary, oregano or basil, so treat these as ideas to try.

Rosemary tastes pungent and slightly bitter, and vegetables are among the foods it seasons. Roasting the squash with rosemary, garlic and olive oil is a familiar combination.
Oregano has a strong smell and a warm, pungent taste.
Basil, dried, tastes warm, sweet, aromatic and mildly pungent.
Chives have a mild onion flavor and are best sprinkled on food just before serving. ATK stirs a tablespoon of minced chives into the honey-lime butter for its roasted squash.⁴

The LSU AgCenter groups oregano and rosemary with the sturdier herbs, and basil and chives with the delicate ones, which it says should go in a minute or two before the end of cooking.⁹ For roasted squash, that means fresh basil and chives at the table.

Garlic and onion

ATK’s mashed squash starts with sautéed onion and a minced garlic clove as its savory backbone.³ If you’re cooking fresh garlic in a pan, ATK’s advice is to add it after the onion has softened, because garlic added too early can burn and turn acrid and bitter.¹⁰

If you make garlic-infused oil to drizzle over the squash, use it fresh. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources warns against storing garlic in oil at room temperature, and says homemade garlic oil should be refrigerated and used within 4 days.¹¹

When to add each seasoning

Before roasting: dry spices go into the oil or melted butter and get tossed with the squash. In the recipes above, that’s cumin, allspice, cayenne, cinnamon, dried sage, salt and pepper.⁴¹⁵²
After roasting: honey, maple syrup or agave; a second dose of harissa; brown butter and crisped sage leaves.¹⁵⁷⁶
At the table: chives and other delicate fresh herbs.¹²⁹

Sweet potato spices and pumpkin soup spices
Pumpkin seed spices for the seeds you scoop out
Thanksgiving herbs and spices
Rosemary vs. sage
Dried herbs vs. fresh
The master list of herbs and spices

“Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash”, Plate It Up! project, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, 2018. fcs.mgcafe.uky.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
“Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar”, Buy Eat Live Better, Montana State University Extension. montana.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Nick Iverson, “Mashed Butternut Squash”, America’s Test Kitchen, 2013. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹
Ashley Moore, “Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash with Honey-Lime Butter”, America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Country), 2017. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³
“Holiday Roasted Butternut Squash”, SNAP-Ed Eat Smart, University of Maryland Extension. extension.umd.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Alida Ryder, “Brown Butter Sage Sauce”, Simply Delicious, 2026. simply-delicious-food.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³
“Harissa Roasted Butternut Squash”, Food Hero, Oregon State University Extension Service. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
“Harissa Spice Mix”, Food Hero, Oregon State University Extension Service. foodhero.org · Reference work ↩
“Flavorful Herbs”, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Liz Bomze, “Why You Should Wait to Add Garlic”, America’s Test Kitchen, 2023. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
Linda J. Harris, “Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy”, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2016. ccfruitandnuts.ucanr.edu · Reference work ↩
Susan Mahr, “Chives, Allium schoenoprasum”, University of Wisconsin Extension. hort.extension.wisc.edu · Reference work ↩

Also drawn on

Salvia officinalis (PROSEA), U.A. Dasuki, Plant Resources of South-East Asia, via Pl@ntUse. uses.plantnet-project.org
Rosemary (revised by Anoushka Pant, updated 4 Sep 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
Oregano, by Anoushka Pant (updated 1 Oct 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
Basil (revised by Sohini Dasgupta, updated 19 Sep 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com

The Best Spices for Butternut Squash: Sweet, Savory and Hot