All of the colors you love about fall are in these sautéed autumn vegetables, making it the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving or fall festival table.
With Brussels sprouts and butternut squash being especially plentiful this time of year, I've come up with this colorful side dish recipe I hope you will enjoy as much as we do!
Sauteed Autumn Vegetables will make an amazing side dish to grace your Thanksgiving table. Rr by leaving the bacon out, you can serve this as a healthy vegetarian main course if that's the option you're searching for. However you serve it, I know you're going to love all the colors, and flavors, of fall.
**Please Note - The printable recipe card with detailed instructions and complete ingredient measurements for making this delicious fall vegetable side dish is available near the end of this post.
Jump to RecipeThe ingredient list for making Sautéed Autumn Vegetables;
- fresh Brussels sprouts; trimmed, halved or quartered
- fresh butternut squash; peeled, seeded and cubed
- red onion, chopped
- bacon, cut into 1" pieces (optional for vegetarian version)
- reserved bacon grease
- baby portobello mushrooms; cleaned and halved or quartered
- minced garlic
- avocado oil (if making the vegetarian version)
- butter
- grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Can this Thanksgiving side dish be made in advance?
Yes, you can precook this dish and keep it in the refrigerator, well covered, for up to 3 days.
To reheat, spoon the sauteed autumn vegetables into an oven-safe casserole dish. Allow the veggies to come to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and cook until hot approximately 15-20 minutes.
Can the bacon be omitted from this recipe?
Of course. No need to add the bacon if you prefer just vegetables.
The easy instructions;
- Prepare the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, onion, and mushroom. Set aside.
- In a large, high sided skillet, cook the bacon until almost crisp. Remove and drain. Set aside. *Note - skip this step if preparing the vegetarian version.
- Add the butternut squash and Brussels sprouts to the pan with the bacon grease. *Note - If making the vegetarian version, add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil to replace the bacon grease.
- Sauté the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add the freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the skillet and stir well. Cook an additional 1 - 2 minutes.
- Remove the butternut squash and Brussels sprouts to a bowl and keep warm.
- Add the prepared mushrooms and onions to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping up the fond (brown bits from the bottom of the skillet) until the onions are tender and the mushroom are browned (approximately 3 minutes).
- When the mushrooms are browned, stir in additional salt and pepper along with the minced garlic. Stir well.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cooked bacon, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts into the skillet. Stir well and continue cooking over medium-low heat for an additional 5 minutes.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Add-in suggestions:
- sunflower seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- crispy onions
- croutons
- chopped ham
- diced apple
- diced pear
- pomegranate seeds
- fresh thyme leaves
- sweet potato (diced and pre-cooked)
For other delicious fall vegetable side dishes please click on the following titles for;
- Autumn Chopped Fruit and Vegetable Salad (pictured below)
"This fall chopped salad has all the colors and flavors you love about autumn! It will easily grace any table, for any occasion."
*Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes from Know Your Produce
- Low-Carb Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower with Peas (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
"Mashed cauliflower is mixed with cream cheese, butter, cream, garlic and horseradish sauce for an extra zip of flavor!"
*Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Farro and Bacon from Adore Foods
- Fennel and Onion Gratin (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
"Fennel Onion Gratin is a deliciously cheesy side dish that is wonderfully flavorful and simple to make. It’s the perfect accompaniment to any main course, or it can become the main course all on its own."
*Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese from Sidewalk Shoes
- Zippy Pimento Cheese Mashed Potatoes (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
"It seems like everyone’s favorite side dish is always mashed potatoes. Not that traditional mashed potatoes needed help in the favorites category, but then again why not give them a little update? These Zippy Pimento Cheese Mashed Potatoes are EVERYTHING!"
*Easy Corn and Avocado Salad from My Organized Chaos
- Sauteed Autumn Vegetables (pictured below) This is the place!
**The following affiliate links are some suggested products I’ve chosen that will aid you in the making and serving of this recipe for autumn vegetables if needed.
Below is the printable recipe card for today’s Colorful Sautéed Autumn Vegetables.
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe and look forward to making it (or have already made it), I’d appreciate if you’d take a moment to give it some feedback by way of stars near the comment section at the end of this post. Thank you so much!
Printable Recipe Card
Colorful Sautéed Autumn Vegetables
Ingredients
- ¾ pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 3 cups fresh Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved or quartered
- 3 cups fresh butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1" chunks
- 1 large red onion rough chopped
- 4 cups baby portobello mushrooms cleaned, halved or quartered
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg grated or ground
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large, high sided skillet. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
- Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash to the skillet along with the bacon fat, salt, and pepper.
- Cook the sprouts and squash over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for approximately 7-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and nutmeg.
- Remove the sprouts and squash to the bowl with the bacon and set aside.
- Add the onion and portobellos to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 - 7 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and bacon back into the skillet with the onions and mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 5 minutes.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's Thanksgiving side dish recipe for fall vegetables with bacon as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
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Ashley says
We love this combination of ingredients and flavors! So delicious.
Terri says
I will be making this for Thanksgiving dinner. I was never a fan of red onion, so my question is... what would compliment this dish the beast as a substitue for red onion, shallots or yellow onion?
Renée says
Personally, I would go with shallots. Yellow onion, eaten raw, can be overpowering. Shallots will be milder and will complement the salad nicely.
Great question. Thanks for asking and enjoy the salad!! Happy Thanksgiving, Terri!!
Sues says
omg this salad is the stuff my fall dreams are made of!! There's nothing not to love about this and it's a must-make for Thanksgiving and any other fall gatherings!
Renée says
I agree! Glad you've enjoyed this recipe! Thanks.
Wilhelmina Wessel says
Amazing flavors! I could make a meal of just this!
Renée says
LOL. I can, and I have!
Linda says
This sounds delicious and just what I need to add to our holiday menu. It cooks up a lot faster than roasting the vegetables in the oven and that's a plus. And I bet the crispy onions and pumpkin seeds on top would be the perfect touch.
Renée says
I wish I would have thought about the crispy onion topping or the pumpkin seeds before I wrote the post. LOL. Next time.
April says
This salad is sooooo good! The bacon totally makes it!
Renée says
My husband thinks so too. For me, I'm more about the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash 😉