A slightly healthier version of my acorn squash bread – this contains no oil or butter and uses less sugar than the original! Plus, it features whole wheat flour!
Don’t get me wrong. I love sugar and sweets. But sometimes, it just doesn’t make sense to eat too much sugar first thing in the morning. I’ve been on a breakfast baking frenzy lately and have made lots of quick breads for my family.
Several of the recipes I’ve tried contain a ton of processed sugar. And while I’m not watching my daily sugar intake, I do want to make smart substitutions where it makes sense. I revamped my original acorn squash bread and made it slightly healthier. I swapped the granulated sugar for brown sugar and reduced the amount. I also substituted the oil for unsweetened applesauce and even used whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose.
I’m not claiming that this is health food (it is far from it), but at least it’s a bit healthier than the previous acorn squash bread I made. It was still a big hit with my family, and nobody knew about the ingredient substitutions that I had made.
What makes me happy is that when I tell Addie that I am making a pumpkin/squash item, she gets all excited. She now likes squash and associates it with good food, so I’m turning her into a fan. That’s worth a million bucks right there.
Healthier acorn squash bread
Ingredients
- 1 small-medium acorn squash
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 and ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the squash in half and scoop out the insides with the seeds and stringy stuff. Put the squash cut sides down on a high sided baking tray and fill the tray with ½ an inch of water. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the squash is very tender. Remove from the oven and let the squash cool. Scoop out the fleshy bits with a spoon puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside 1 cup of the puree for the bread. Keep the oven on.
- In a medium size bowl, blend together 1 cup of the squash puree, brown sugar, the applesauce, and the eggs.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this to the squash mixture and mix until no longer lumpy.
- Grease and flour your bread pan and pour in the batter. Bake for 45-55 minutes until set. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean.
Notes