By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour
- Rating
- 4(336)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Acorn squash has a mild flavor and goes well with sweet and nutty seasonings. This makes a nice Thanksgiving side dish, though you might want to cut the baked halves in half again for smaller portions.
Featured in: Baked Acorn Squash With Walnut Oil and Maple Syrup
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Ingredients
Yield:Makes four large servings or eight medium servings
- 2acorn squash
- 2tablespoons maple syrup
- 2tablespoons walnut oil
- Freshly ground nutmeg
- Ground walnuts
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until soft enough to easily cut in half. Cut in half, and scoop out the seeds and membranes.
Step
2
Cover a baking sheet with foil. Stir the maple syrup and walnut oil together in a bowl, then brush over the cut surfaces of the squash. Sprinkle with a very small amount of ground nutmeg. Place in the oven and bake 1 hour, brushing every 10 minutes with more oil and maple syrup. When the squash is tender, brush once more, then spoon a tablespoonful of finely chopped walnuts into each cavity and return to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the walnuts are toasty. Remove from the heat. Serve hot or warm.
Tip
- Advance preparation: This can sit for an hour or so after it’s done. Cover with foil.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Ratings
4
out of 5
336
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Cooking Notes
Bjean
Be sure to stab the squash a few times before the pre-bake to release steam buildup to prevent it from exploding. I forgot to do that and the pressure caused the squash to rock back and forth in the oven like it was possessed. Very appropriately Halloween-y but I also had a mild heart-attack - it appeared as if it was trying to escape the oven.
Emily
I put my squash in microwave for about 4 minutes to soften & skipped the first step. So good!
Sara
Great simple side. Will definitely make again. I baked most of it the day before because I usually get home kind of late from work. I baked it for half an hour the day of consumption.
Lisa in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Delicious! Love it when vegetables are as good as candy! It also works to cut the squash in half when it's hard -- good excuse to do some loud banging on the cutting board -- and add the oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper so you don't have to do the two-step thing. Remember to cut the squash crosswise -- NOT from stem end to pointy end as I might have done -- to help it sit a little flatter.
Penni Gladstone
Delicious subtleness. Easy to fix. First time eatingAcorn squash and it was tastey. Friends love it.
Tristan
Delicious. Only change I made was to roast the squash seeds with a little olive oil, salt, and za’atar and use them instead of the walnuts the recipe calls for. I roasted the seeds at the same temperature of the squash (@5 minutes to dry then @20 minutes with olive oil, salt, & za’atar on a baking sheet covered in foil). Also, I didn’t need to poke holes in the squash, as someone else recommended. No explosion happened!
Hope
Meh. Followed the recipe as written using peanut instead of walnut oil which I couldn't find. Results were bland and nothing to write home about. Probably would help if salt and pepper was part of the recipe. Don't know why they're left off... And having to pull the sheet pan out of the oven to baste the squash halves six times in an hour was a pain.
Anna
While this recipe is time consuming, it's definitely worth it. The result is a wonderful caramelized squash which pleased even the pickiest of our veggie eaters. Also, remember that the rind is edible & super tasty prepared this way!
JC
I bought a very small acorn squash as it's just for two of us. I had no trouble cutting the squash into quarters. I used parchment paper, and it worked fine. Very easy to make, and delicious! I had some candied pecans, they really added to the squash.
KellyMSD
This is the Perfect side to Turkey breast with apples (amazing recipe - search this site). . Used candied pecans instead of walnuts, and served with a scoop of cornbread stuffing. Thanksgiving any time of year!
Catherine
Agree with cutting squash in advance. Cut both ends, measure height, mark halfway point with knife. Turn squash on side, position knife, tape with mallet. Perfect. Wanted to have this with pork tenderloin. Placed squash in 400 degree oven and about 25 minutes later added tenderloin to sheet pan. Continued for another 20 minutes. Worked beautifully. Terrific recipe!
Abbella
Rinse then roast the seeds on the same pan for about 15 mins. Maple walnut seed brittle on top, yum!
Linda
This is delicious and so simple. I even loved it as a cold lunch the next day.
Lisa in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Delicious! Love it when vegetables are as good as candy! It also works to cut the squash in half when it's hard -- good excuse to do some loud banging on the cutting board -- and add the oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper so you don't have to do the two-step thing. Remember to cut the squash crosswise -- NOT from stem end to pointy end as I might have done -- to help it sit a little flatter.
Emily
I put my squash in microwave for about 4 minutes to soften & skipped the first step. So good!
trudy
I liked baking the acorn squash whole for 20 minutes & then preparing it. I would use 2 Tbs walnut oil and 3 Tbs maple syrup next time. Loved the chopped walnut finish.
I give this recipe 4 1/2 stars-
I liked this way of partially cooking the squash, then cutting it to remove seeds and strings. I didn’t have walnut oil so I used half and half melted butter and toasted sesame oil. The glaze and ground walnuts formed a delicious coating. Cooking time after cutting was more like 1 1/4.
Penni Gladstone
Delicious subtleness. Easy to fix. First time eatingAcorn squash and it was tastey. Friends love it.
Bjean
Be sure to stab the squash a few times before the pre-bake to release steam buildup to prevent it from exploding. I forgot to do that and the pressure caused the squash to rock back and forth in the oven like it was possessed. Very appropriately Halloween-y but I also had a mild heart-attack - it appeared as if it was trying to escape the oven.
Sara
Great simple side. Will definitely make again. I baked most of it the day before because I usually get home kind of late from work. I baked it for half an hour the day of consumption.
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