Oven Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you eat the skin on roasted Delicata squash? ›

Wofford and our test kitchen editors will leave the skin on delicata, acorn, and honeynut squash to save time, add nutrients, and reduce food waste. These varieties have thin skins that soften readily when cooked. Next time you slice a delicata into rings ready to roast, don't peel it.

Your large butternut squash halves should be perfectly baked after about 90 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. If you're using a small or medium squash, adjust the bake time.

To save time, you can slice delicata squash in advance. Delicata cubes, rings, and half-moons keep for up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store delicata squash in the freezer for three to six months.

Place the squash in one layer in a roasting tray and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the seeds, cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until the skin of the squash is soft, then remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes until the squash is golden and crisp.

"Squash contains a toxin known as Cucurbitacin E, which can give the squash a bitter taste. If too much of the toxin is consumed it can cause illness. It is rare, but if the squash has a bitter taste, stop eating it, and grab another one."

Extreme cold, heat, drought or too much irrigation, or even a lack of plant nutrients, excessive pest infestation or disease can all create these elevated levels of cucurbitacin in the squash resulting in a bitter flavor.

Delicata squash also has a ton of potassium: One cup delivers a whopping 500mg of the mineral, which can help control your blood pressure. As with many varieties of squash, it's also full of vitamin C, which plays a role in the growth and repair of body proteins.

The maturity of the squash may be at play. Generally, younger squash has more tender skin so it could be that last year you harvested earlier. The environment also plays into squash formation. Not so usual weather conditions may have contributed to the squash developing a very thick skin.

Squashes behave very differently when cooked in the oven or on the stovetop. Generally, a squash that is roasted in the oven is going to have a much softer texture, one that can get mushy if mixed with other ingredients, but making it ideal for a purée, soup, or being mashed.

Begin checking around 20 minutes, rotating the pan (if you feel like it). Once it's passed the fork test (or is cooked to your liking), you can take the squash out of the oven and let it cool until it's easy to handle. Then, scoop the flesh out of the skin and do what you will with it!

How do you give squash more flavor? ›

Braise your winter squash in stock to enhance its flavor -- try adding a glug of maple syrup to the stock to bring out the squash's sweetness. Or give it an Asian kick by braising it in mix of dashi, mirin, soy, and chili garlic paste. Turn the heat up on your standard roast and caramelize your squash.

Because you can eat the skin, there's no need to peel the squash before you chop it. Start by slicing it in half lengthwise. Then, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and the stringy flesh. Finally, cut the seeded squash halves into thick slices.

You can eat the skin, so there's no need to peel it. Simply halve it, scoop out the seeds and chop it into chunks, then roast it and add it to a warm winter salad or throw it into curries, stews or soups. You can also roast the seeds and eat them as a snack or sprinkled over a finished dish.

They look like mini butternut squash and are particularly sweet. Honeynut squash are especially delicious roasted with a little cinnamon and butter. The only winter squash skin to avoid eating altogether, even if well cooked, is spaghetti squash because of its thick, eggshell-like quality.

Some squash skin is edible, while other types of squash have tough skin that can be removed before cooking. Remove the skin of butternut, hubbard, buttercup, and turban squash. If you enjoy the taste, leave the skin on acorn, spaghetti, kabocha, and zucchini squash.