butternut squash still somewhat green but edible
This Waltham butternut squash broke off the vine too early in my garden and is still somewhat green.
It's still very edible, and I won't let this one go to waste!

Why is My Butternut Squash Green?

Butternut squash is green before it turns the orange-beige color we know and love.

If your squash is still on the vine and you can leave it on for longer, do so. Given enough time, green butternut squash will blush and then eventually cure on the vine for better storage.

butternut squash small unripe green on vine with big yellow flower
This Mayo Kama butternut will lose all its green coloration and get much bigger on the vine over the coming weeks.

If your squash broke off the vine, a frost is approaching, or a new crop needs to go in and you're stuck with green butternuts - keep reading to find out what you can do with it.

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How to Tell if Butternut Squash Is Ripe

Ripe vs Unripe Butternut Squash

butternut squash waltham and mayo kama 3
The Waltham butternut on the left is almost fully ripe, but not quite. The green streaking gives it away. The tan color would also have become more pronounced if left on the vine a little longer.

Ripe Butternut Squash

Unripe Butternut Squash

butternut squash on vine sand hand with thumbs up
This butternut is still a little green on the bottom and hasn't turned fully tan yet. I'll check back next week and see how it's doing.

When to Harvest Butternut Squash

Let's look at how you'll know when it's time to harvest your butternut squash:

Butternut Squash Ripening

Butternut squash ripen when their green color fades and they blush tan.

If they're still green, they're not yet ripe.

curing butternut squash hanging from trellis tunnel in garden
These still have some green striping, and the vines are still green - they need more time. Expect the leaves and vines to die back while the squash finish ripening and cure.

When Are Butternut Squash Ready to Pick?

Ideally, butternut squash should be left on the vine for a couple weeks after their tan color fills in and the vine starts to die back.

This allows them to cure on the vine, an important process for storage as well as for the best flavor.

Check out our Butternut Squash Curing Guide to learn all about the curing process - and when to harvest your cured squash.

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Harvesting Butternut Squash Too Early

butternut squash hanging on trellis still green with yellow flowers
This Waltham butternut is not quite ripe, but it's getting closer. This should hang on the vine for another couple weeks ideally, but would be totally edible if you had to harvest it early

For any number of reasons you may end up harvesting your butternut squash too early. These can include:

  • Coming frost
  • Hail, flooding, or bad storms
  • Accidental early harvesting
  • Squash broke off the vine
  • Pest pressure
  • Need to harvest before vacation or commitments
  • Only have time for 1 harvest, and some of the squash are not quite ripe

In any of these cases (and more) you may end up with unripe butternut squash and wonder what to do about it.

Will Butternut Squash Ripen Off the Vine?

Unfortunately not, winter squash will generally not continue to ripen once it comes off the vine.

butternut squash harvest and pumpkin from garden lying on sand
Most of these butternut squash are ready, but a few of them still have some green on them, as does the pumpkin. Those should have been harvested later.

Winter squash needs to be left on the vine if you want it to ripen fully (and then cure), and you're usually better off leaving it on the vine the longer than you think you need to, rather than picking too soon.

That said, you can still eat butternut squash when it's partially green, so keep reading to find out how to cook green butternut squash if that's what you've got.

Can You Eat Green Butternut Squash?

Yeah green unripe butternut squash is totally edible for humans!

If you've got some squash that broke off the vine or didn't finish ripening up before the frost hit, you can absolutely still eat it.

Just remember to cook it first!

mayo kama butternut squash part green part tan hanging on trellis
These Mayo Kama butternuts have distinct green webbing patterns before they're ripe, which completely fade away during the last few weeks of growth.

You could eat this now if it broke off the vine early, though the seeds likely wouldn't be viable for saving at this point

A small warning though: If on the off-chance the squash is super bitter after cooking, it's best to avoid it. This isn't common, though, and I've never experienced it personally - and I grow a lot of butternut squash.

What Does Unripe Butternut Squash Taste Like?

Green (unripe) butternut squash will be less sweet than what you're used to. The flavors and sugars have often not yet developed, so you should expect a more savory and bland taste from butternut that's still green.

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butternut squash ripening on the vine
These Waltham butternuts are not yet ripe and could use a few more weeks on the vine - but in a pinch they could be harvested and roasted now and still taste pretty good.

I definitely won't promise that it will taste as good as a ripe butternut squash, it won't.

Will it be edible and give you some calories, though? Absolutely!

And if they're very small still, they may be softer and resemble summer squash more. Some folks even report being able to fry or sautee these small butternuts instead of roasting or baking.

How to Cook Green Butternut Squash

Just bake it or stew it like you normally would with ripe butternut squash.

Try 400F for around 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Hit it with a couple minutes of broiler if you'd like a little caramelization (though the flavor won't be as sweet as fully-ripe butternut).

You can always blend the baked or stewed butternut into a soup, too! That's a favorite of mine, and goes great with homemade bread & toasted butternut seeds from the same squash.

butternut squash pumpkin and summer squash from garden on stainless steel prep table in kitchen
Some of these are going in butternut squash soup 😋 the hint of green on a few of them won't matter one bit

The seeds might not be full-sized yet in unripe butternut, but you can still toast them and eat them at any size.

Of course if the seeds are big enough you can toast them for other stuff too, such as granola.

I would not, however, recommend saving seeds from underripe butternut, as the viability of the seeds will be questionable. If your butternuts didn't fully ripen, you'll want to start over with a new packet of seeds for next year and try again if you intend to save seeds.

butternut squash seeds dried and saved for planting
If the seeds don't look like this yet, they likely won't be viable for next season - though it's always worth a try!

What if I Don't Like It?

If you really don't like it, don't eat it.

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Remember that as long as you compost or have some way to recycle the nutrients back into your garden, you don't need to feel guilty about not eating everthing you grow. It's oq, just return the nutrients to your soil and try again.

Sometimes squash snap off the vine early, or a frost comes too soon and you're forced to harvest them before they're ready.

green butternut squash on the vine not yet ripe sandy soil desert garden organic
This vine would end up dying too early from drought, so I had to harvest this butternut soon after the photo was taken

You might just be stuck with too much of something you really don't enjoy at all.

That's ok, compost them!

Or feed those green butternuts to your chickens or goats. They'll have a fabulous time turning your problem into fresh manure to be composted for your garden.

Most-Asked Butternut Questions

Are Butternut Seeds Edible?

Yes! Just like pumpkin seeds, you can also roast and eat butternut squash seeds.

Just as delicious as pumpkin seeds, I like to add mine to my homemade granola mix 😋

Can Dogs Eat Unripe Butternut Squash?

I couldn't find much info about this online, but as I understand it dogs will need their squash cooked and probably in small amounts.

They can likely tolerate a bit of cooked unripe butternut squash just like we can, but introduce it slowly into their diets if you try it.

Can Chickens Eat Unripe Butternut Squash?

Chickens are a great animal for recycling your green butternut squash, they'll happily eat it and turn it into eggs or meat for you.



Can Rabbits Eat Unripe Butternut Squash?

Rabbits probably shouldn't eat unripe squash.

They've got sensitive digestive systems and don't do well with more than a little ripe squash as it is.

You could experiment, but there's limited information online about how they do with green squash. If you do try it, give them just a little.

Can Goats Eat Unripe Butternut Squash?

Goats can eat practically anything, and green butternut squash is no exception. It's perfectly safe to give your unripe butternut squash to your goats, they'll love it.

They'll even eat squash leaves, vines, and gobble up the fruit raw whether it's green or not.


That's all for now, thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, comments, or would like to connect with fellow gardeners, head on over to the forum and post there.