Butternut squash and sweet potato both roast to the same sweet, orange-fleshed finish — but one carries meaningfully more calories for the same weight.
| Nutrient | Butternut Squash | Sweet Potato |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 48.1 kcal | 79 kcal |
| Protein | 1.15 g | 1.58 g ✓ |
| Total Carbohydrate | 10.5 g | 17.33 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.96 g | 3 g ✓ |
| Total Sugars | 2.2 g ✓ | 4.18 g |
| Total Fat | 0.17 g | 0.38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.021 g | 0.018 g ✓ |
| Sodium | 0 mg | 0 mg |
Notable compounds in each
Butternut Squash
No standout compounds recorded.
When to choose each
Butternut squash is the lighter option calorie-for-calorie — nearly 40% fewer calories than sweet potato for the same weight — while sweet potato carries more protein and meaningfully more potassium. Both owe their orange colour to a well-known depth of beta-carotene. Either works as a starchy-vegetable side; butternut squash is the better pick when you want the same roasted-orange-vegetable satisfaction for fewer calories.
Common questions
Is butternut squash lower in carbs than sweet potato? Yes — butternut squash carries around 10.5g of carbohydrate per 100g versus roughly 17g for sweet potato, making it the lighter option if carbohydrate intake is a specific focus.
Do butternut squash and sweet potato have similar vitamin content? Broadly, yes — both are excellent sources of beta-carotene, the plant compound the body converts to vitamin A, which is exactly what gives them, and carrots, their characteristic orange colour.
Nutrition values are USDA FoodData Central approximations — see our editorial approach for how we source and verify data.