I serve a roasted vegetable with almost every meal. Some of my family’s favorites include roasted butternut squash, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus and this lightly sweetened acorn squash recipe.
Roasted Acorn Squash Ingredients
For your roasted acorn squash you will need acorn squash, olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Enjoy this roasted veggie with hearty main dishes like grilled turkey breast, mushroom pork chops, steak Diane or turkey meatloaf. Add a starch like sour cream mashed potatoes for a memorable meal.
How Do You Make Roasted Acorn Squash?
For such a flavorful dish, roasted acorn squash is surprisingly easy to make. First, make a sauce that brings out the natural sweetness of the squash by mixing olive oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and seasonings in a bowl. Cut the acorn squash into slices taking care to remove all the seeds and fibers in the middle of the squash. Coat the squash slices in the sauce and they are ready to go into the oven for about 20 minutes. Once the slices are baked and tender, they are ready to serve.
Tips For Roasted Acorn Squash
In order to choose ripe acorn squash, look for squash that are dark green without a lot of yellow spots. The skin should be hard and should not be shiny. Riper squash will have a better flavor when roasted. If you want to avoid some cutting, you can roast and serve entire squash halves. Simply bump up the cooking time a few minutes and make sure to take the squash out of the oven when it is nice and tender.
How To Prepare Acorn Squash
Give the acorn squash a quick wash in cold water. Cut off the top of the squash on the stem end. This will allow you to avoid trying to cut through the hard stem. Next cut the squash lengthwise from stem to end. This will allow easy access to the seeds and fiber. When halving the acorn squash, cut it down a furrow between two ridges. Feel free to move the knife around the squash instead of cutting straight through. You can rest the acorn squash on the cut top end for stability. The seeds and fiber can be removed with a spoon or a melon baller. A melon baller with a comfortable handle is particularly useful to cut the hard flesh of the uncooked acorn squash. After the seeds are removed, I like to cut the squash into horizontal slices perpendicular from the cut splitting the squash in half. Slicing an acorn squash this way gives more surface area to get caramelized and gives each slice decorative ridges.
Acorn Squash Variations
While this squash is a perfect fall and winter side dish and is delicious as-is, feel free to change up the recipe to suit your taste.
Veggies: Feel free to add other veggies to the sheet pan like red onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips or butternut squash. Toppings: You can add a sweet topping like candied pecans or walnuts. You can also try a savory topping like chopped parsley or sage. Flavoring: Instead of cinnamon, try a sprinkle of a similar warm spice like nutmeg, ground ginger or ground cloves.
This recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. It happens to be my very favorite way to prepare acorn squash. Serve it at your next meal and watch the rave reviews come in!
