This butternut squash hummus makes a great holiday appetizer. With cranberries, pomegranates and rosemary, it’s a festive and fun dish to share!

Gosh I love this time of year.

While summer is my favorite and always will be, there’s something fun and magical about fall as it creeps into the holiday season but hasn’t yet been dark, dreary and cold for 3 months straight sucking all the life out of your soul (you may think I’m bring dramatic but that’s exactly what NY winters feel like).

*This post is sponsored by Sabra. All content and opinions are my own.
This butternut squash hummus makes a great holiday appetizer. With cranberries, pomegranates and rosemary, it's a festive and fun dish to share!

I actually love the fall/winter up until New Years because it’s filled with fun holiday activities, it’s the 3-4 months after that make me a sad, seasonally depressed mess.

I’m seriously considering a light box this year to cope…

But let’s focus on the good for now, like this holiday butternut squash hummus and how perfect it is for any and all your holiday gatherings this season, especially a Friendsgiving!

This will be the third year I’m involved in a Friendsgiving party (last year I brought these green beans with cranberries, bacon & goat cheese and the year before, I made this slow cooker cranberry sauce when I hosted – it’s just 5 ingredients!) and I have to say, they are so much fun!

While Thanksgiving is always a good time, it’s more family oriented and structured (last year, we suggested something other than turkey for the main course and WWIII ensued in my family over such blasphemy). 

Friendsgiving is an opportunity to change things up and encompass everyone’s unique traditions and tastes in one potluck sort of meal. It’s filled with laughter, good times and lots of fun flavors.

To Sabra, hummus is the same way.

It’s a way to have people connect over shared interests while still emphasizing uniqueness and creativity in all the topping possibilities.

It’s why this butternut squash hummus recipe is the perfect holiday appetizer for your Friendsgiving!

A holiday hummus recipe with butternut squash, cranberries, pomegranates and fresh rosemary.
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How To Make Butternut Squash Hummus

This holiday hummus recipe uses Sabra classic hummus as the base. The first step is transferring it to a festive plate and using a spoon to swirl it into a circle with a nice deep well in the center for the festive butternut squash topping.

The butternut squash topping consists of:

  • roasted butternut squash (or try air-frying it!)
  • fresh cranberries
  • pomegranate arils
  • fresh chopped rosemary
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

The butternut squash is roasted in a 400°F oven with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary until it’s softened but not yet crispy on the edges. 

Then, it’s tossed with the cranberries, pomegranates and more fresh rosemary in a large bowl.

Once combined, it’s spooned into the hummus well and served with your favorite hummus scooper like toasted bread slices, pita chips or even fresh vegetables.

If you want to substitute roasted buttercup squash instead of butternut you absolutely can because they’re so similar in taste!

Impress your guests this season with holiday hummus featuring butternut squash, cranberries and pomegranates.

I like adding the butternut squash on top of the hummus rather than blending it into the hummus for a few reasons:

  1. Allows for both flavors to shine – you get the creamy chickpea and tahini flavor of the hummus with the subtly sweet butternut squash.
  2. Makes for a beautiful appearance – it’s hard to deny how festive and pretty the butternut squash, cranberries and pomegranates all look atop the hummus!
  3. Easier and less mess to clean up! – if you were to blend the butternut squash and hummus together you’d dirty a food processor or blender and who wants to clean that up?!
Serve this holiday butternut squash hummus with your favorite bread crisps, pita chips or even raw veggies for an impressive seasonal appetizer.

What does this butternut squash recipe taste like?

If you love lots of flavors and textures, you will love this recipe!

Since plain hummus is used you get a creamy and bean/tahini (sesame) forward base.

The toppings bring a punch of slight sweetness (butternut squash), tart freshness (cranberries) and sweet crunch (pomegranates).

All of which are balanced nicely by savory rosemary, salt and pepper.

It’s an explosion of fall flavors and texture in each bite and kind of similar to this fall hummus pizza in taste just without the pizza crust obviously!

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can definitely prepare the butternut squash topping ahead of time.

I would roast the butternut squash and store it separately from the cranberries and pomegranates.

When you’re ready to serve, combine all the toppings, season to taste and spoon on top of the hummus.

You could also assemble everything, cover and keep refrigerated for a few hours before guests arrive. This whole recipe only takes 25 minutes from start to finish.

Rosemary roasted butternut squash, fresh cranberries and bright pomegranate arils top creamy hummus for a fun holiday twist on this classic appetizer.
Butternut squash holiday hummus is an appetizer recipe that's easy yet impressive for all holiday entertaining.

What else can I serve at Friendsgiving?

Besides this butternut squash hummus recipe, this tart cherry chestnut stuffed turkey roulade is a favorite for a Friendsgiving main dish idea! It’s still turkey but with a really great twist (not to mention, it cooks much quicker!)

Sausage cranberry apple stuffing muffins are a cool spin on stuffing and creamy cauliflower pumpkin mash is a nice healthier twist to a mashed potato/sweet potato dish.

You can also check out these 100 healthy Thanksgiving recipes for a ton more inspiration!

Need an easy but impressive holiday appetizer this season? Try this rosemary roasted butternut squash hummus that everyone will love!

If you love the idea of this holiday hummus recipe with butternut squash, you might like these recipes too:

Chipotle Hummus Fundido

Butternut Squash Pita Nachos

Butternut Squash Goat Cheese Dip with Tart Cherry Compote

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Dip with Caramelized Onions

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5 from 8 votes

Holiday Butternut Squash Hummus

Servings: 8 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
butternut squash hummus
This butternut squash hummus makes a great holiday appetizer. With cranberries, pomegranates and rosemary, it's a festive and fun dish to share!

Ingredients 

  • 10 ounce container Sabra classic hummus
  • ¾ cup diced butternut squash
  • ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, chopped and divided
  • ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • Toss butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and half the chopped rosemary then spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  • Roast for 12-15 minutes, tossing halfway through until softened and just starting to brown on edges.
  • Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
  • Place roasted butternut squash, cranberries, pomegranate arils and remaining rosemary in a bowl and toss to combine
  • Scoop hummus out onto a plate or shallow bowl creating a well in the center. Fill the well with the butternut squash mixture.
  • Serve with pita chips, toasted bread slices, etc. and serve warm.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 26kcalCarbohydrates: 5gFat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 38mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizers
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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