Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe with Rosemary and Garlic (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook Ina Garten acorn squash? ›

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.

You can quickly soften an acorn squash before cutting it by using a microwave. Using a knife or fork, make a few small incisions in the squash to allow steam to escape. Place the squash in a microwavable bowl and heat on high for three minutes.

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.

Next time you roast a squash like acorn, butternut or honeynut, try leaving the skins on and give them a nibble. Be sure to scrub the skin well, Joyce recommends, to remove any dirt or debris. The pleasantly chewy texture may just surprise you, plus you can never go wrong with more fiber.

Wash it thoroughly.

Start by running the squash under cool water and using your fingers to rub away any dirt spots. Yellow squash does not need to be peeled, because the skin is so tender and thin. If you do prefer to peel your squash, peel it just like you would a carrot or a potato.

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.

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.

Selection: Acorn squash should be uniformly green and matte—streaks/spots of orange are fine, but too much orange indicates over ripeness and the squash will be dry and stringy.

Nutritional Facts

Acorn squash has very low-fat content, with only 0.1 grams per 100g. Most of this fat (0.042grams) is polyunsaturated, a beneficial source for weight loss. Furthermore, it contains fewer sugar molecules than other winter and summer varieties. As a result, squash is a perfect low-carb diet.

How to tell if acorn squash is bad? ›

A squash with soft spots and is soft to the touch, is a sign that the squash has gone bad. And if it starts to leak fluid, that's a sure sign that the squash is spoiled. Likewise, if the flesh and seeds of the fruit are mushy and slimy, that's a clear sign that it shouldn't be eaten.

Set the squash on a clean cutting board, and use a paring knife or chef's knife to score the squash about 1/4 inch deep once around the circumference, resulting in a shallow groove around the entire squash. This groove will make it easier to halve the squash after you microwave it.

Freezing raw squash:

Cut the squash halves along the “valleys” so that you have wedges of squash. Use a paring knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Cube the squash into smaller, like-sized pieces and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.

As others have said, cutting lengthwise gives you even halves and even cooking time. It's also easier to remove the stem this way. It doesn't really matter. If you are going to serve the squash in it's shell I would slice it from stem end to flower end.