Baked Acorn Squash Recipe
This baked acorn squash recipe is simple, wholesome, and delicious. If you’ve never tried squash before, this is a great recipe to start with. It also makes an easy Thanksgiving side dish.
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Why bake an acorn squash?
Acorn squash are naturally nutty and mildly sweet. If you’ve never tried squash this is a great recipe to whet your appetite because it’s so simple. With so many ways to prepare it, there are lots of great recipes that use acorn squash.
One of the great things about squash is that they’re nutrient dense. Acorn squash have tons of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium. They are also full of antioxidants.
Thanks to those antioxidants and all those nutrients, squash are great for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Is this an easy recipe to make?
My baked acorn squash recipe is very simple. I consider it a very easy recipe to make! There are only four ingredients and a few simple steps to make it. This is basically the traditional way to roast an acorn squash, so I hope you’ll give it a try.
When it comes to fall recipes you can’t go wrong with a baked squash! If you are looking for more awesome fall recipes check out some of these:
- Butternut Squash Noodles
- Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Parsley
- Baked Brussels Sprouts With Bacon And Cheese
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

What you need to make baked acorn squash:
In addition to acorn squash, you’ll also need some butter, brown sugar, and some salt. That is it! Can you believe that those four simple ingredients will make this tasty side dish?
This basic recipe is one of the simplest ways to enjoy acorn squash in the fall. If you find that you like the flavor, give one of these delicious acorn squash casseroles a try.

This recipe goes great with everything. You can throw in a baked acorn squash to go with your favorite protein or a tasty fall salad!
How to make this delicious fall squash recipe:
Now it’s time to dive in and learn to make this delicious baked acorn squash. It’s really simple and you’ll love the end result.
Preheat the oven to 350.˚ Wash the outside of the acorn squash. Split it in half and scoop out the insides.
Before filling, score lightly with a paring knife (see photo). Put ½ the butter, brown sugar in each of the two squash halves. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Place cut-side-up in baking pan. Add ½ inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until soft. Serve hot.

Wondering what to serve with this fall squash recipe?
Here are some recipes that would be great to serve with this baked fall squash! Everyone will love it and you can pair it with just about anything, try some of these options if you are stumped for meal plan ideas!
- Lemon Rosemary Chicken
- Easy Apple Pork Tenderloin Dinner
- Crockpot Italian Beef Recipe
- The Tastiest Quinoa Salad Recipe!
- Mexican Street Corn Salad | Elote Salad
Printable Baked Acorn Squash Recipe:
Not making this delicious baked squash tonight? That’s okay! You can print this recipe for use at another time. Thankfully, this recipe is great year round though it is popular for the fall!
Baked Acorn Squash
This baked acorn squash recipe is simple, wholesome, and delicious! If you've never tried squash before, this is a great recipe to start with!
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash
- 2 Tbsp butter
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚
- Wash the acorn squash. Split in half and scoop out the insides
- Before filling, score lightly with a paring knife.
- Put ½ the butter, brown sugar in each of the two squash halves.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Place in baking pan.
- Put ½ inch of water in the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes or until soft. Serve hot.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 168mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 5gSugar: 22gProtein: 1g

In addition to adding apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spices to it, I also add diced apples. When there’s about 15 minutes cooking time left, I also add dried cranberries.
That sounds delicious!
,,Or scoop it out once baked, and make a good soup.
This is so good we sometimes put strips of bacon across the hole after putting butter and brown sugar inside.
Can this be made ahead?
I haven’t tried that.
My.mom would give everyone a half of squash . she also put a sausage patty inside.
Or cut it in half if large. She put Brown sugar inside up to top.
my mother- in law made this in the 50s so good
I scrape out meat- add butter- cinnamon touch of clove- brown sugar- maple syrup – splash of cream- mix well
I really enjoy this. Skip the salt. Sprinkle with black pepper. Makes a wonderful side dish for pork chops or turkey breast.
What do you use to cut it in half?
I use a large serrated knife, the same one I use to cut melons. But you can also use a non-serrated knife along with a mallet to tap it through the hard shell. If you Google “how to cut an acorn squash,” you’ll see many videos showing the different methods.
This is my favorite way to bake Acorn squash but I do not put salt on it. I sprinkle cinnamon on it. So good!!
This is pretty much how I make them, but instead of brown sugar, I use 2 tbsp per half of the glaze powder that comes with a spiral ham that we never use for the ham… basically the same thing with some extra spices.
I cut back on the sugar by adding some unsweetened applesauce and cinnamon. It gives it great fall flavor, but helps with blood sugar.
Very smart!
What other dish would go with it
I think any chicken or turkey would go well with it.
I learned to make this from my grandma and I sprinkle some nutmeg on it also
Is the rind/skin eaten, too? Do you scoop the squash and leave the rind or does the cooking make it a “slice and eat “ that includes the skin?
No, you just scoop it out and leave the rind.