How to roast delicata squash – a photo tutorial showing an easy method for oven roasting squash, along with ideas for incorporating delicata squash into your meals.
Are you curious about delicata squash (or any other variety of winter squash for that matter), but are a bit timid to dive in? Never fear!
The process or preparing most varieties of winter squash is roughly the same across the board. Basically, if you’ve ever roasted one type (butternut squash, for instance), you’ve roasted them all!
And if you’ve never prepared a winter squash in your life, no worries! We’re talking all about how to roast delicata squash in this post.
First things first, let’s talk flavor.
WHAT DOES DELICATA SQUASH TASTE LIKE?
I find the flavor of delicata squash to be extremely pleasing! It is very sweet and buttery in flavor and is nice and creamy in texture. To me, it tastes even sweeter than acorn squash and butternut squash and has a similar sweetness to kabocha squash.
So let’s roast it!
HOW TO ROAST DELICATA SQUASH:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place delicata squash on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the tips and tails off of the squash.
Cut each squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and innerds with a metal spoon.
Drizzle squash with avocado oil (or high-temperature cooking oil of choice) and use your hands to spread it all over the exposed flesh so that it is well-coated. Sprinkle the flesh with sea salt.
Place squash cut-side down on a large baking sheet. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until squash is very soft when poked with a fork.
Serve squash with your favorite main entrée!
CAN I CHOP DELICATA SQUASH INTO CUBES OR SLICES BEFORE ROASTING IT?
If you’re looking for cubed or sliced roasted delicata squash, no sweat! Simply use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off of the squash before chopping it into cubes or slices and roasting it.
If you go this route, roast at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes. Or, check out my Maple Cinnamon Roasted Delicata Squash.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH DELICATA SQUASH?
Once you have roasted (or steamed, pressure cooked, etc) delicata squash, you can use it in innumerable ways. Here are some ideas!
EAT IT AS IS: I enjoy delicata squash so much that I love consuming it fresh out of the oven alongside some animal protein and a side salad. I just sprinkle it with sea salt and use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the peel. You can also drizzle it with pure maple syrup, sprinkle it with ground cinnamon, and/or add butter. It’s just so dang good!
SOUP: You can make a creamy soup out of it by adding it to a blender with broth, onion, garlic, and coconut milk (or cream if you aren’t dairy-free) – just be sure to remove the outer peel first! If you’re looking for a recipe to go off of, you can follow my Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup recipe, using delicata squash instead of sweet potato.
SALAD: Love adding roasted vegetables to your salads? ME TOO! If you add delicata squash to a salad, be sure you peel the squash before roasting it and chopping it into cubes for ease of consumption. Just have a look at my Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Spinach Salad for example.
MAKE IT BOOZY: Many moons ago, I posted a recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash with Bourbon Butter and Honey. Just typing the words makes my mouth water! The bourbon seriously does magical tricks to the winter squash. You can apply the same concept here!
STUFF IT!: My favorite method of eating delicata squash aside from just straight out of the oven with a spoon is stuffing it with a meat, rice, and/or vegetable medley. Check out my Stuffed Delicata Squash with Ground Beef , Ground Turkey Stuffed Delicata Squash, and my Taco-Stuffed Delicata Squash.
PANCAKES: You think I’m joking, but I’m not! Most types of winter squash work marvelously in baked treats and pancakes. Follow my recipe for Butternut Squash Pancakes or Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes using roasted and mashed delicata squash.
And so much more!
CAN I EAT DELICATA SQUASH SKIN?:
Yes! You can safely eat delicata squash skin as there is nothing toxic in it. In fact, all winter squash skin is edible, it’s just a matter of whether or not you like it.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the texture of the skin, so I choose not to eat it. Many people eat the skin simply because they like it, or because it is simply easier to eat the squash skin-on.
Let me know how you like to eat your delicata squash!
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Roasted Delicata Squash
Ingredients
- 2 delicata squash
- 1 to 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place delicata squash on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the tips and tails off of the squash. Cut each squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and innerds with a metal spoon.
- Drizzle squash with avocado oil (or high-temperature cooking oil of choice) and use your hands to spread it all over the exposed flesh so that it is well-coated. Sprinkle the flesh with sea salt.
- Place squash cut-side down on a large baking sheet. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until squash is very soft when poked with a fork. Serve squash with your favorite main entree!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Great post. One thing though… I always eat the skin! It’s edible and adds some fiber 🙂 Not sure this post conveys that to readers
Thanks for the input, Hillary! That’s a great point! Sometimes I eat the skin as well…I don’t love the texture, but you’re correct, it is edible! 😀 xo
@Hillary, thx good to know!
Also, If you have a little extra time and energy. The seed are yummy. I always clean them off and roast them. Then I add them back to the squash and eat up all of it !!
Oooh, yes! I love that idea! Roasting the seeds would be brilliant 😀
I use coconut oil add a bit of real maple syrup and cinnamon ???
Ooh la la! I love it! Thanks for the idea!
Tried this squash for the first time. I loved it and my husband didn’t. My girlfriend who was eating dinner with us loved it too. I will try it again with more ingredients. Hopefully that’ll do the trick for him to like it.
I’ve found the trick to getting folks to like winter squash who aren’t used to it is slathering it with butter and drizzling it with pure maple syrup or honey and a little sprinkle of sea salt 😉
Definitely no to baking at 350. After 30 mins I checked and they weren’t even close, checked another recipe that said bake @450 for 35-45 mins so that’s what I’m doing
@Lisa, Hi Lisa, it could have been that the size of your squash was fairly large. I have seen them very petite, up to the size of a small spaghetti squash! Good luck to you! I’m sure it will be delicious.
We made our Delicatas following these instructions and they turned out perfectly! I will admit that they accidentally got left in the oven for a total of 45 minutes, so they were a bit softer than some might like, but the flavor was all caramelized and perfect. My husband even ate the skin- which never happens! Next time I’ll make sure they’re out at 30-40 minutes. Thank you for posting this; it’s hard to find times for the whole delicata- what’s posted everywhere is the time for them cut into slices. You rock.
I’m so thrilled you and your husband enjoy it! It truly is a marvelous squash. I hope it turns out even better on the next round! xoxo
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Much better roasting it whole instead of slicing, it came out tender and creamy. I’m glad I bought it again considering it turned out kind of dry the last time. This is the way I will roast it from now on. Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed it, Pat! xoxxo
Thank you for the recipe. I loved the squash. I liked it with just salt and pepper, butter. I ate two whole ones. In one meal. They were so good.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Diana! xo
I was the same way. Didn’t care for the texture. With the skin.
Can you sub coconut water in the recipe for Delicata Soup?
Hi Carol! I’ve never tried making a soup using coconut water, but I imagine it would work great! I assume the flavor would be nice and sweet and creamy. I’d say it’s worth a try! Hope you enjoy!
Yum! Easy to get to fully cooked. Tasted wonderful just like that. Works with other winter squash as well. I do use parchment paper to keep cleanup simple.
For a change of pace, I add a tiny bit of onion powder and garlic powder and ground ginger along with oil and salt, but that is because after it is cooked I sometimes stuff it with ground chicken or pork, harissa spice blend, and diced carrots, onion, and bok choy vegetables (all cooked in a sauté pan while squash is in oven), add to squash and top with a bit of shaved parmigiana melted in residual heat from oven. Note: if you decide to stuff, I add a little bit vegetable or chicken stock to ground chicken or pork at end of sauté cooking to keep it moist.
All of that sounds amazing, Sandi! Thanks so much for sharing your creations – I’m so thrilled to her you’re enjoying delicata squash!