Recipes With Acorn Squash | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

What is good to eat with acorn squash? ›

For instance, you can add roasted squash to a fall salad, cook it alongside chicken, or serve it up with bacon and eggs. Of course, one of the most popular ways to serve acorn squash is to stuff it. The edible bowls act as a vessel for anything from mac and cheese to sausage to taco fillings.

Good news: you don't need to peel acorn squash. Its hard, grooved skin softens significantly as it cooks, and it's edible, too. If you do want to remove the skin, wait until after you cook it, at which point it will peel right off.

Acorn squash is easily recognizable by its ridges and small, round shape. When cooked, the flesh is sweet. Also, you can eat the skin–with roasted or baked acorn squash, the skin turns tender and is easily pierced just a fork. Acorn squash, simply prepared, makes a wonderful side dish.

Make sure you buy enough acorn squash for your recipe—keep in mind that a 2-pound squash will make 6 cups of cubed squash.

Acorn squash is packed with both soluble and insoluble fiber. Though they have different functions in your body, both play important roles in digestive health. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stools while soluble fiber softens them, preventing constipation and supporting regular bowel movements ( 13 ).

Acorn squash has more carotenoids than any other food. Carotenoids are a powerful antioxidant that help fight inflammation and prevent cell damage.

Yes, You Can Eat the Skin of Acorn Squash and Other Winter Squashes—Here's How. Some varieties, like acorn squash and honeynut, have tender, tasty skin. Others, not so much.

Dr. Klein explains that the best types of squash to feed your dog are butternut squash, pumpkin, zucchini, and acorn squash. In particular, zucchini is the squash most easily digested by dogs.

Acorn squash is a starchy vegetable, meaning it's higher in carbs than non starchy ones, like broccoli and spinach. If you're watching your carbs, limit acorn squash to one cup or about 25% of your plate.

The principal difference is that a butternut is starchier than an acorn. This makes it smoother in texture, which gives it more versatility in how it is cooked or served. Acorn squash is generally eaten just the way it comes out of the oven or steamer, while butternut can be mashed, puréed, made into soup, etc.

When should you throw out acorn squash? ›

If it's no longer firm to touch, don't use it. If you're unsure, cut the squash open to take a look at the flesh and seeds. Warning signs to look for are dull flesh and seeds that are slimy and gray. Likewise, if the squash smells bad, throw it away.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place acorn squash halves cut-side down onto a cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until flesh begins to soften, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Give your acorn squash 6 hours of sunlight a day, 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water every week, and balanced fertilizer when blooms and buds first appear. Harvest your squash 45–55 days after flowering when the rind hardens and begins to turn orange. Cut the squash stem with shears and use it within 2 months.

You will begin to be able to harvest your acorn squash approximately 80-100 days from first sprout. The best time to harvest is when the temperatures start to dip down close to freezing at night and the leaves and vines begin to die off. Cut the squash from the vine and leave the stem as long as possible.

This squash has a lot of antioxidants, which can boost your immunity and help your body to fight off certain diseases. Acorn squash contains antioxidants like vitamin C that help strengthen bones and blood vessels. It also has vitamin A, which helps improve the health of your lungs, heart and other vital organs.

Acorn squash is nutrient dense and definitely worth eating more of! Acorn contains less beta-carotene than butternut, but similar amounts of folate + vitamin C.