Cooking Acorn squash is incredibly easy, cheap, and can be done many different ways.  You basically have to cut an acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds (which are edible BTW once roasted), add filling, and cook it covered for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.  Maybe five minutes of prep time, wait 45 minutes, and you’re done.

I will give you two versions of this recipe- a savory variety and a sweet variety.  e56dfffdb80bdae854cb150fbeed8b0bresnet7_5

Savory Baked Acorn Squash Recipe- Serves 2-3

 

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Ingredients

  1. One halved and seeded acorn squash
  2. Just enough olive oil to coat said acorn squash
  3. 16 cloves of garlic with skin removed (8 per squash half)
  4. 1 heaping cup of mushrooms
  5. Spices including pinch of salt per squash half, freshly ground black pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp/half), and the following optional spices depending on what you have available: smoked paprika, basil, oregano, marjoram… any of those will taste good with any of the others, so if you have it add a dash of seasoning to each side, if you don’t, don’t worry about it.  Except freshly ground black pepper, that you absolutely have to have.  An even easier option would be using a premade spice mix like steak seasoning or rub… but these often already have pepper and salt in them so don’t worry about adding extra pepper and salt if it’s already in there.
  6. 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Coat each acorn squash half in a thin layer of olive oil.
  3. Combine 16 cloves of garlic, heaping cup of chopped mushrooms, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and spices of your choice using the above combos as a guide. Fill each half of the acorn squash with half of the above mixture.  Don’t worry about having full cloves of garlic in there- they will cook down to be way less pungent than a fresh clove.  Same thing happens if you saute a full clove of garlic- you will be able to just eat it without issue once it is done cooking.  And this way, even less prep time because you don’t have to chop or mince garlic.
  4. Cook uncovered until tender (if you cover it, garlic won’t cook down.  If you chop garlic you can cover the squash).  Check at 45 minutes, if a fork goes in easily it’s done.  If not wait the full hour and check again. It will normally take 45 minutes for a smaller squash and an hour for a larger one.

Sweet Acorn Squash Recipe- Serves 2-3

This is the recipe that more people know and love, and it just reeks of Autumn :-).

Ingredients

  1. One halved and seeded acorn squash.
  2. Just enough olive oil to coat said acorn squash.
  3. 2 Tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar
  4. 1/4 tsp of each: ground cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Coat each acorn squash half in a thin layer of olive oil.
  3. Coat each acorn squash with either maple syrup, brown sugar or coconut sugar.
  4. Sprinkle seasonings on each half of acorn squash until covered.
  5. Cover with aluminum foil, cook until tender, about 45 minutes.

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