We have a little tradition in our family: we love tea times!  The whole set up with beautiful china and delicious finger food.  This tradition started several years ago when we had an English afternoon tea at the Brown Palace in Denver; they served gluten free scones, tea pastries and tea sandwiches while we enjoyed the soothing sounds of a harpist!  We loved it so much that we started having tea times for special occasions, holidays and birthdays at home.  Of course, I developed a menu of appetizers and finger food that was autoimmune paleo compliant; these little bacon wrapped butternut squash bites are part of it.
The practice of afternoon tea originated in England during the early nineteenth century.  At the time, people ate only two main meals; breakfast and dinner at around 8pm.  The Duchess of Bedford, who was understandably hungry during the afternoon, started requesting a pot of tea and a light snack to be served in her boudoir.  As she invited her friends to come and share this light collation in her company, the idea spread around and soon the fashionable society was sipping tea and nibbling sandwiches in the middle of the afternoon!
It takes a little bit of preparation in advance but the sweet and salty combination of the butternut squash and the bacon is truly delectable! Â Worth the time you will spend preparing these little bites. Â I like to use sage as a garnish for these. Â If you don’t have fresh sage on hand, dried sage will work perfectly well.
You will need to cut up your butternut squash in little 1″ cubes for this recipe.  The best way to tackle your squash is first to cut off both ends with a serrated knife (or a bread knife).  Using a vegetable peeler, peel away the thick skin until you reach the deeper orange flesh of the squash.  Next, slice your squash down the middle lengthwise and scoop away the seeds and pulp with a spoon.  Lay both sides down on a cutting board and  cut the squash into long strips.  Then cut the lengthwise strips crosswise to create 1″ cubes.  Here is a nifty step-by-step guide with pictures if you feel confused by my explanations!
- 2 1/2 cups diced butternut squash (1" cubes)
- 1 pack of bacon (340gr or 11 slices)
- For the marinade: 1 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 TSP salt, 1 TSP cinnamon
- 1 TBSP of chopped fresh sage or crushed dried sage for the garnish
- Bake in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Yields 22 appetizers.
- Mix the cubes of butternut squash in a big bowl with olive oil, salt and cinnamon.
- Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Prepare your bacon while the squash is marinating.
- Cut your bacon slices in half (NOT length wise but across in the middle).
- Take your butternut squash out of the fridge.
- Have your baking sheet ready, no need to oil.
- Wrap each little dice of butternut squash in a piece of bacon.
- Repeat until you are out of bacon and place the rolls on your baking sheet.
- Sprinkle your sage on top for the garnish.
- Bake in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes or until the bacon becomes brown and crispy.
- Bon appétit!
This post has been shared over at Phoenix Helix’s AIP round table. Check out all the other AIP recipes! You are sure to find something that will tempt you! Â It has also been shared on Real Food Wednesday.
I love simple, but flavor-packed recipes, and this looks like a great one! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
You are welcome! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment 🙂
I’m brand new to AIP so I’m searching everywhere to find out all I can I’m so happy to find your blog. Someone had pinned these and I found you. I’m a new subbie now, awesome blog 🙂
Hello Tracey,
So glad to meet you 🙂 If you are new to AIP and looking for some community support and recipe ideas, I would recommend these 2 groups on Facebook:
Autoimmune Paleo Recipes
The Paleo Approach Community(this is the AIP group of Sarah Ballantyne, aka the paleo Mom.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but you can purchase organic squash already cut up at Costco. 🙂 Super excited to give this a try tonight!!
Hello Katie,
You are totally right! I saw them last time I went to Costco! hehe the hardest part of the recipe was in fact cutting up the squash 🙂
Thus recipe sounds delicious as I eat a lot of squash. Thinking of making to take to family Christmas. Can I make these ahead and reheat or is it better to have them prepped and kept chilled until bake time?
Hello Tiffany!
I would prepare them in advance and keep refrigerated, but bake on the day you serve them! Reheated bacon tends to become really hard. Happy holidays!
Hello! Having noticed squash/bacon combo a few days ago I searched and looked at many and decided on yours. I cut mine like for fries. Cut bacon in half and wrapped around each in a spiral. Cracked black pepper over all. A spare grating of cinnamon and nutmeg over and, thanks to you, fresh sage….love sage! Never would have thought of it here. So happy to find your recipe!
Popping in oven later for a smalllllll get together of 4 this evening.
Thank you so much.
From my little corner of Massachusetts, USA. Have a nice weekend.