Butternut Squash Halwa (Instant Pot)

Here’s a wintertime special recipe that is sure to wow you and your family! Butternut squash is one of the sweet squash varieties and this is the best time of the year to enjoy Butternut Squash. This is one of my kids’ favorite too more so it has a sweet and nutty flavor.

Today’s recipe is a new way of preparing a dessert with the Instant Pot. The procedure is similar to that of Indian recipe for “halwa”, so I named it Butternut Squash Halwa. 

As a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium, Butternut squash is a fine option to prepare a nutritious recipe. Although it is a fruit technically, butternut squash is used as a vegetable that can be roasted, sautéed, toasted, puréed for soups such as squash soup, or mashed to be used in casseroles, bread, muffins, and pies. 

Some of my readers had also requested for the traditional procedure without using an Instant Pot. So I have included that too. With just a handful of ingredients, this is one of the easiest holiday dessert recipes you can prepare. 

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Halwa(Pudding)

“Halwa” is usually a condensed and sweetened version of a fruit or vegetable with aromatic spices like cardamom. With the butternut squash, the dish is naturally sweet and you do not have to add a lot of sugar to it. 

The Instant Pot has come in very handy for this recipe because I used it to pressure cook the butternut squash as well as prepare the Halwa. After halving and deseeding squash, I cooked it in steam for 10 mins to soften it. Once it has cooled, peeling the rind becomes easier too.

The rest of the procedure of sauteing the puree and cardamom can also be performed in the same pot. If you prefer a thicker texture, you could also add almond powder to the halwa while cooking on saute mode. 

Stovetop version of butternut squash halwa

You begin by first peeling the skin off the squash, grating or chopping into cubes. Cook them on medium flame to soften the squash. If you choose to grate the squash, then you can fry it with 2 tablespoon oil or vegan butter or ghee on medium flame until it’s cooked well.

It is then followed up with the sugar, cardamom, and toasted cashews and continued to cook until all moisture evaporates.  

Again, you could choose to add almond powder too while it is simmering. This makes the texture a little thicker and along with crushed cardamom and toasted cashew nuts. That’s pretty much the entire procedure. 

Vegan Version

Apart from being gluten-free, this is also a good option for a vegan dessert. It is typical in Indian cuisine to fry the nuts and puree in ghee, but using the vegan butter and almond flour is equally good and you can barely notice any difference because the aroma of cardamom and sauteed butternut squash is binding for this recipe. 

With so few ingredients required for this recipe, it is easy to try this today or during this holiday season for Christmas, New Years or any social parties for that matter. 

Few of my instant pot recipes are here

Instant Pot Badam Barfi, Instant Pot Sabudana Kheer

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