Baked Acorn Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should acorn squash be baked cut side up or down? ›

How to Bake Acorn Squash. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the squash halves cut side up on the baking sheet. (Cut side down works too, but I prefer the slightly firmer texture that you get when you roast it cut side up.)

Place 1/2 tablespoon butter and ½ tablespoon maple syrup in the cavity of each squash. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle the squash with 3 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash, until tender when pierced with a small knife.

Good news: you don't need to peel acorn squash. Its hard, grooved skin softens significantly as it cooks, and it's edible, too. If you do want to remove the skin, wait until after you cook it, at which point it will peel right off.

Yes, You Can Eat the Skin of Acorn Squash and Other Winter Squashes—Here's How. Some varieties, like acorn squash and honeynut, have tender, tasty skin.

You'll know when the squash is done when you can easily insert a fork in the flesh. You want it tender, yet not mushy. If the squash is already cut in half, you can easily test if it is done by sticking a fork in the flesh of the squash. If it's fork-tender, it's done cooking and ready to eat.

Skip eating most hard-skinned squash raw. "Hard skinned squash is difficult to eat raw," Marz says. "They are usually much larger in size, have a harder flesh, and are much more fibrous." Examples of hard-skinned squash that should not be eaten raw include: pumpkins, delicate, butternut, Hubbard, and acorn.

This squash has a lot of antioxidants, which can boost your immunity and help your body to fight off certain diseases. Acorn squash contains antioxidants like vitamin C that help strengthen bones and blood vessels. It also has vitamin A, which helps improve the health of your lungs, heart and other vital organs.

Food Safety and Storage

Scrub winter squash with a vegetable brush under cool running water before cooking or cutting. Do not use soap. Do not wash squash before storing.

Acorn squash: It has less vitamin A than butternut but provides even more fiber (9 grams per cup) and potassium (896 mg).

The one-size-fits-all method for cooking acorn and other hardy squashes is to roast them whole. You can avoid the precarious task of cutting them when they're raw, and the flesh steams to tenderize without drying out while the skin softens enough to eat.

How do you peel acorn squash after baking? ›

You can place the squash in cold water for 5 minutes to speed up the process or wait until the squash is cool enough to handle. Just make sure to fully dry off the squash before proceeding to cut away the peel. Use a knife or a serrated peeler to slice off the softened skin.

Is it better to roast butternut squash face up or down? I personally prefer to roast my butternut squash with the cut-side-up. In my opinion, roasting it cut-side-up allows for the butternut squash to caramelize, rather than just steam and cook.

Putting it cut-side down creates a sort-of steam chamber for the flesh, helping it cook faster and retain moisture (no dried out squash here!).

Larger/thicker squashes will be more like an hour or an hour and 15 minutes. If you are doing the cubed up squash method you can go as little as 30 minutes and they will be soft with just a little bite left to them – or as long as 45 minutes or so and caramelize the top a little bit.