This gluten free maple ginger butternut squash tart is healthy and delicious...and yet fancy enough for any holiday party. Maple and ginger flavors pair beautifully with the sweetness of butternut squash.
If you love winter squash as much as we do, both in sweet and savory recipes, check out all of my delicious gluten free winter squash recipes!
Fall is in the air and the holidays are around the corner. Every year I make several desserts to see which is the best for our family's Thanksgiving celebration. Tart recipes look impressive but are so easy to make.
My husband has it easy... every year he makes the same showstopper gluten free pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. He has been making this dessert for at least five years now and everyone always insists he makes it each year. It is a lovely gluten free pumpkin bourbon layered cheesecake...totally irresistible.
Me? I like variety and I bring something different every year. It keeps people guessing, and gives me the opportunity to try a lot of recipe ideas out.
This gluten free maple ginger butternut squash tart may be my new favorite!
I think this squash tart recipe is going to be a winner. The candied ginger with the subtle maple and butternut are too good to pass up. I buy my candied ginger at Trader Joe's, but this candied ginger recipe is easy if you prefer to make your own!
How to make butternut squash puree
I used organic canned butternut squash because it is pureed so smoothly, it is perfect in this gluten free tart recipe.
If you prefer to make your own homemade butternut squash puree, here are the directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Take a butternut squash and cut it in half. Use a sharp knife because butternut squash tends to be very tough to cut.
- Scoop out the seeds.
- Brush coconut oil onto the inside of each squash half. Place the butternut squash halves in a baking pan facing upwards. (You can also use olive oil, but coconut oil adds a little sweetness for this dessert.)
- Place the baking pan in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes until the butternut squash halves are soft.
- Remove the squash and allow it to cool.
- Use a spoon to scrape the soft butternut squash out and put it into a Vitamix or blender. Add a little water (quantity depends on how thick you want the pumpkin puree to be) so that it purees smoothly. (You can also use a mixer if you prefer, but the blender will get the pumpkin puree smoother.)
This delicious tart is great for Thanksgiving, or anytime. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream!
Instructions:
The first step is to add the dry ingredients for the crust to a bowl. Whisk to blend them.
I have tested two gluten free flour blends in this recipe. I liked King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend. This doesn't mean other blends won't work, I just haven't tested any others. Try to avoid flour blends that are high in starch.
As always, if your blend does not contain Xanthan Gum, you will need to add 1 teaspoon.
Mix up the wet ingredients and pour over the dry ingredients.
Mix well so that it forms a nice dough.
Press the dough into a greased tart pan. (**TIP: I love the tart pans with the removable bottoms because it makes it really easy to remove the tart from the pan.)
Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350F degrees. Remove from the oven.
Add the butternut squash and tart filling ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend. Pour the wet tart ingredients over the half-baked crust and bake for another 20 minutes
Tools You Need To Make This Butternut Squash Tart Recipe:
- Tart pan...this pan makes it so easy to get the tart out, especially when it has a scalloped edge.
- Almond flour makes gluten free crusts so easy.
Gluten Free Maple Ginger Butternut Squash Tart
Ingredients
- For Crust:
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¾ cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour Blend (*Note, my flour blend has xanthan gum included. If yours doesn't, add 1 teaspoon.)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons whipping cream
- ½ cup butter cold
- For Filling:
- 1 14 ounce can organic butternut squash puree I like this vs roasting butternut because the texture is so smooth
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup grade B maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whipping cream
- optional: candied ginger pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a tart pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, add crust ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to blend.
- Mix well with your hands.
- Put dough into tart pan and press down along the edges to form the crust along the bottom and the walls of the tart pan.
- In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and pour the filling in to the tart pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until firm in the middle.
- Remove and allow to cool.
Nutrition
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(*This post was updated from an older 10/2016 post.)
Kimberly
The recipe calls for 1 1/4 oz pureed butternut squash. Is this a typo? I've made butternut squash pie with fresh cranberries and it's great. But it uses a lot more than 1 1/4 oz of squash. Thanks.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kimberly, thank you so much for your note. It looks like the recipe card autofilled and I am so sorry. It should read one 14 ounce can of pureed butternut squash. I get this at either Trader Joe's or my local grocery store.
Ramona W
What a terrific treat and I would not have thought to use butternut squash in a dessert. Love this idea. 🙂 Yummed and Stumbled you. 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you Ramona 🙂