Drew Barrymore’s Recipe for Delicata Squash Gratin Is Holiday Comfort Food at Its Finest

You could say Drew Barrymore is comfortable in the kitchen. While we could comically be talking about how she played with kitchen knives in Scream or settled into a zombie lifestyle for the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, the Golden Globe-winning actress has really been embracing her role as a culinary Jackie-of-all-trades as of late. 

In addition to showcasing recipes and cooking tips in the “Drew’s Kitchen” segment of her eponymous talk show, Barrymore also launched Beautiful Kitchenware (her adorable sage green air fryer achieved immediate sold-out status) and has boasted about her separate cookbook closet with an Instagram Live show (“Drew’s Cookbook Club” ) to prove it.

With all this know-how, it made sense when she recently shared her amazing side dish recipe —  Delicata Squash Gratin — just in time for your holiday dinner table.

Found in her new cookbook Rebel Homemaker  — which is co-written with her private chef, Chef Pilar Valdes — the actress calls the dish “delicious and cozy for the holidays, with woodsy sage, warm nutmeg, flavorful squash, and delicate onion-cashew cream.”

As Barrymore herself has flirted with a vegetarian lifestyle, this vegan recipe forgoes the traditional staple of gratin (grated cheese) and instead relies on a cashew cream that decadently balances white miso paste’s unami with the tang of Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar.  The recipe also subs in festively striped delicata squash for potatoes, decreasing precious prep time for your already-hectic holiday feast planning.

“[Delicata] has a thin skin, which is fully edible (no need to peel!), so using it also cuts down on prep and cooking time,” the actress told People magazine.

The sweet-meets-savory casserole also blends ingredients like red onions, black pepper, nutmeg, and smoky sage to boost the flavor and almost guarantee it a spot as a new holiday favorite. “It’s rich yet still very light,” she explained.

You can check out the full recipe here and if you’re still hungry for more veggie-based gratin recipes, check out our recipe for Fennel, Grain, and Leek Gratin to satisfy your appetite.