Acorn squash are a perfect side dish to go with almost any meal. They have a very mild ‘squash’ taste and aren’t as sweet as butternut squash or pumpkins.

The skin is edible, I like it. Some people don’t. I’ll show you two ways to cook it, one you scoop the flesh out the other you eat it skin and all. Try both and see which you prefer.

Like most winter squash, acorn squash are very hard to cut. Before cutting your squash, then you can microwave winter squash for about 3 minutes to make them easier to cut.

Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds, use a melon ball utensil or a grapefruit spoon to make the scooping easier.

I roast all my winter squash in a 425F oven and start checking for doneness after about an hour. If the squash is cut in smaller pieces check for doneness sooner, like 35 or 40 minutes. It’s pretty hard to over cook squash.

Put your squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment. I like acorn squash sweet since they are pretty bland so I put in a pad of butter and some maple syrup or a little brown sugar and salt and pepper. If you don’t want sweet you can rub it with olive oil and just salt and pepper.

I scored the squash after about 45 minutes in the oven so the butter and maple syrup would soak in a little. I finished baking it for about an hour total. That’s it. A tasty easy side.

Here is my favorite way to cook acorn squash. Scoop out the seeds and slice the squash in about 1/2 inch wedges. I like to make a rub of equal parts miso, maple syrup and olive oil and salt and pepper. You can just use olive oil and salt and pepper. Then spread the wedges evenly on a sheet pan and bake.

Start checking for doneness after about 35 – 40 minutes.

I had some romesco sauce I served with this. Pesto or chimichurri sauces are great with this, pretty much any sauces you have will work, or just eat it as is.

Look at the blisters and caramelization. Yum.

I hope you all are doing ok and are well and stay that way.

Mo