Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Dip
Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall ingredients. I love using it so much that I actually created a squash tag for my blog. There’s a lot of good stuff in there.
You might notice a trend that most butternut squash recipes also feature goat cheese. I’m not sure what it is about that combination, but the pair so nicely together. It has to be the sweetness from the squash and the tanginess from the cheese.
I made this dip for a get-together with friends after getting a HUGE butternut squash in our CSA box one week. I had roasted the squash ahead of time and used it in a variety of recipes.
I did have to process this in the blender for quite some time to yield the super smooth texture that I was hoping for. If you wanted it more chunky, you could definitely leave it that way.
One Year Ago: Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup with Roasted Chickpeas
Two Years Ago: Banana Cinnamon Chip Blondies
Three Years Ago: Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust
Four Years Ago: Butternut Squash Soup in Crockpot and Shipping Cupcakes in a Jar
Five Years Ago: Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken and Pumpkin Cookies
Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Dip
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash, (about 1.5 lbs)
cooking spray
1 head garlic
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz goat cheese
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
36 slices french bread baguette, 1/2 inch thick, toasted
Directions:
Preheat to 400.
Cut squash in 1/2 lengthwise, discard seeds.
Put squash cut side down on foil-lined jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.
Remove papery skin from garlic but do not peel or separate cloves. wrap in foil. put on pan with squash. Bake at 400 for 30 min until squash is tender. scoop out pulp & discard skin. separate garlic cloves, squeeze to extract pulp, discard skins.
Place squash, garlic, salt & juice & cheese in food processor & process til smooth. spoon into bowl & sprinkle with nuts. serve with baguette slices.
Recipe from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen, originally from Cooking Light
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
What an awesome way to feature goat cheese in a dessert! I never thought of turning it into a chocolate mousse – sounds like I need to try this soon. 🙂
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:51 am
You definitely should. I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, but we really enjoyed the subtle flavor in the mousse.
Jen, I love everything about this tart – from the chocolate crust to the mousse and the pretty strawberries on top. Yum! Enjoy your birthday month 🙂
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
Thanks for humoring me on the whole birthday month thing 🙂
Ohhh lalalalala, I totally dig this dessert even more because it has goat cheese and strawberries…some of my fave foods!! Happy Birthday month…you better party and eat like it’s your birthday!!
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
Oh I’m definitely going to party like it’s my birthday! All month long 🙂
oh yes to the goat cheese in this tart! fabulous. happy birthday month 🙂 you might need to make this a few more times to celebrate?!
beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:09 pm
Oh I have been baking plenty of deliciousness this month to celebrate 🙂 You know how hard it is to repeat recipes…
Love the idea of incorporating goat cheese in a dessert- I have never seen it down with chocolate before. I will definitely be trying this soon as I have some goat cheese in my fridge waiting to be used 🙂
beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 7:20 am
Oh yea, goat cheese and chocolate go really well together.
Oh my, the use of goat cheese in this is phenomenal! I would love to try it!
beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:46 am
Definitely do! And you could top it with any fruit you like. I think raspberries would be good too.
Chocolate must work great with goat cheese since they’re both utterly delicious!! This recipe looks magnificent omg I think I would be able to eat the whole tart by myself *-*
Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in desserts, and your tart looks soooo delicious! Thanks for sharing =) Definitely a must try this summer.
Oh wow this is gorgeous! I love this recipe, I bet it tastes heavenly!
I just finished making my second one for this week…we love it…it is so smooth and rich and well D E L I C I O U S!!!…my grandson requested the second one but truth be told I was gonna make it anyway…the bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa in the crust are what make it….if anyone out there hasn’t tried it do so you will be in love….
beantownbaker — June 25th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
So glad you’ve enjoyed it! I definitely need to make this again. I have already made it with raspberries but want to try blackberries next.
you wont believe it but I made this AGAIN yesterday…I did a play on bananas foster on the top…it was a hit with my company…and good recipes for sweets for the 4th?..lol….
beantownbaker — July 3rd, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
Wow – bananas foster on top. I would never have thought of that! I am making this tart and this strawberry shortcake for the 4th.
So sinful and delicious looking 🙂
Holy yumminess. I never thought of putting goat cheese in. My mouth is watering at the thought. Strawberries are my absolute favorite berry of all time. I will have to for sure try this recipe, Got it saved to my personal file. thank you.
I love chocolate mousse and I love goat cheese, so clearly I need to make this!
Also, there is strawberry picking (not sure it is organic though if that matters) up here near Oxford. I can get you the info for next year if driving up here is not a problem (I imagine it depends on what side of Cinci you live 🙂 ).
beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:44 pm
I definitely don’t mind driving for freshly picked strawberries!!
I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this recipe! It’s hard to beat mixing tangy goat cheese with chocolate and berries. What a unique recipe!
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:11 pm
It tastes as good as it sounds! I hope you try it.
WOW! What a wonderful recipe! Definitely one of my new favorites! Happy birthday month!
Does this go in the fridge covered or uncovered and how long does it last? Thanks!