Easy baked acorn squash recipe, perfect for the fall. Squash is cut in half, insides scooped out, then baked with a little butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup.
How To Cook Acorn Squash
Always a favorite at our Thanksgiving table is baked acorn squash. They’re so easy! The hardest part is cutting the squash in half—you need a sharp sturdy knife and a strong, steady hand.
But then all you have to do is scoop out the seeds, score the inside, dot with butter and brown sugar or maple syrup and bake. To eat you can cut them in wedges, or keep them in halves and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
Acorn squash are winter squash. When shopping for them, choose squash that feel heavy and have a blemish-free and mold-free skin. They should also not have any soft spots, but should be quite firm. They should be dark green and may have a patch of yellow or orange where they were on the ground before picking.
Like other winter squash, the whole acorn squash store very well in the cold months, just keep them cool and dry; they’ll last a month or more.
They’re a great source of iron, Vitamin A (from all that beta-carotene filled orange flesh!), Vitamin C, and riboflavin.
How to cut acorn squash
Like most winter squashes, acorn squashes are dense and can be challenging to cut. Here are some tips to help:
- Stabilize the squash: Knife skills 101, right? Make sure what you are cutting is stable on the table. If the stem is short, the most stable position for the squash is likely to prop it up with the stem end down. If the stem is too long, and you can’t easily remove it, lay the squash on its side and roll it until you find the most stable position for it.
- Use a sharp, heavy chef’s knife: A sharp knife will really help getting through the squash, a dull one is at risk of slipping while you cut. A heavy chef’s knife has the heft and length you need to cut through the squash.
- Rubber mallet: Have a rubber mallet? Using one to tap on the knife can help it go through if it gets stuck.
- Microwave: If you have a microwave, zap the squash for a minute (each) before cutting into it. That will soften the peel and flesh just enough to make it easier to cut through.
Try these other great squash recipes
- Stuffed Acorn Squash with Brown Rice and Mushrooms
- Butternut Squash with Walnuts and Vanilla
- Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup
- Stuffed Delicata Squash with Quinoa and Mushrooms
- Roasted Winter Squash with Cilantro Chimichurri
Video: How To Bake Acorn Squash
Baked Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.
Ingredients
- 1 Acorn squash
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
- Dash of Salt
Method
1 Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).
2 Prep the squash: If you have a microwave, microwave the squash for a minute each, to make it easier to cut. Stabilize the squash on a cutting board as best you can, stem end down if the stem is short enough, otherwise on the side. Using a sharp, sturdy chef’s knife, carefully cut the acorn squash in half, from tip to stem. If on its side, the squash can rock back and forth, so take care as you are cutting it.
Use a sturdy metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy bits inside each squash half, until the inside is smooth.
Take a sharp paring knife and score the insides of the acorn squash halves in a cross-hatch pattern, about a half-inch deep cuts.
Place the squash halves cut side up in a roasting pan. Pour 1/4-inch of water over the bottom of the pan so that the squash doesn’t burn or get dried out in the oven.
3 Add butter, salt, brown sugar, maple syrup: Rub a half tablespoon of butter into the insides of each half. Sprinkle with a little salt if you are using unsalted butter.
Crumble a tablespoon of brown sugar into the center of each half and drizzle with a teaspoon of maple syrup.
4 Bake: Bake at 400°F (205°C) for about an hour to an hour 15 minutes, until the tops of the squash halves are nicely browned, and the squash flesh is very soft and cooked through.
It’s hard to overcook squash, it just gets better with more caramelization. But don’t undercook it.
5 Remove from oven, spoon brown sugar butter sauce over squash: When done, remove the squash halves from the oven and let them cool for a bit before serving.
Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.
