I have a huge love affair with squash. I absolutely love it. So much so, that if I were told I could only eat one kind of vegetable for an entire month, I would choose squash. Not only is it good for you (high in fiber, high in beta carotene…I could go on and on!), but it totally fills you up! My favorite squash is butternut squash.
One squash I had been avoiding, but everyone told me to try, was acorn squash. I just found it to be so ugly looking and since it looks like an acorn, it makes me think of those annoying squirrels in our backyard! However, I started researching what to do with an acorn squash and it sounded so good. Well, minus the cinnamon and maple syrup that I kept seeing in a lot of recipes! So I decided to come up with my own recipe and just wing it…hoping it turned out OK! This is what I came up with:
Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Roasted Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 1 Acorn Squash
- 1 TBS Butter, softened
- 2-3 tsp Brown Sugar
- Salt, to taste
- Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 400°.
- Slice your acorn squash in half, lengthwise.
- Take your softened butter and rub it all over the inside of both halves of squash. Make sure you cover the entire thing.
- Spread brown sugar all over the entire inside of the squash. I used about 1 tsp of brown sugar per side. If you have a larger acorn squash, you may need a little more.
- Sprinkle salt and cayenne pepper all over both halves of the squash. I used a lot of cayenne pepper because I like a lot of spice.
- Place both halves in a baking dish and bake for 55-60 mins.
This was absolutely delicious! One thing I noticed about acorn squash is that it seems a little meatier than the other squashes I’ve tried. Immediately after taking it out of the oven, I took a spoon and spoon some of the liquid that collected in the center over the top of the squash. Taste-wise, it was very good! Just the right amount of sweet with a hint of spicy behind it! Next time I will probably use more cayenne pepper and maybe even add a little garlic. I like garlic…a lot!
This looks so good, it incorporates all my faves, sweet, spice and I love squash! So easy too! Yum
This sounds wonderful! I love sweet and spicy together and I’m a huge fan of squash. Gotta make this, for sure! Thanks for sharing~ looks easy enough for me to try! 🙂
Looks great! And not too hard either! Always looking for good vegetarian recipes; surprisingly I don’t cook enough squash, so I will definitely give this a try.
That sounds easy enough for me to make!!! Not sure I’ve seen them here in Texas though. My husband would pore on the Cheyenne pepper for sure.
I like squash but, come to think of it, I’m not sure if I’ve ever bought an acorn squash myself. I might have had one out of someone’s garden though – you know how sometimes you get those random squash assortments when people get a big crop. LOL! ANYWAY, your recipe sounds tasty and easy! I’m also a garlic nut so I think I’d try adding that like you suggested because that also sounds nice!
Now that’s the way to eat an Acorn Squash!! I like the way these look for decoration too.
I really love squash. This would be a fun twist. I haven’t tried adding cayenne before to my squash. Thanks for the great idea!
This sounds like a great way to prepare acron squash! I love finding new ways to prepare veggies.
I usually do butternut squash rather than acorn squash…I bet I could do a similar type of recipe and it would taste delicious!
Oh I bet it would!!!