Acorn Squash

This easy acorn squash recipe with butter, brown sugar, walnuts and cranberries is the perfect side dish to any autumn feast you're preparing especially for Thanksgiving.

It's easy to make and comes out perfect every time. The only thing difficult about this recipe is cutting it open...but there are tips included below.

Check out all the other Easy Recipes for Thanksgiving to create the perfect holiday meal for your family.

When my children were babies, we used to stop at a local farm and purchase a butternut and acorn squash every week so I could make for them.

Fast forward quite a few years and my husband and I now grow our own squash in our vegetable garden. I love to roast acorn slices in the oven with Parmesan cheese and herbs!

One year we had an abundant crop of acorn squash and I prepared this recipe to serve as a side dish along with the classic stuffing, roasted butternut squash and mashed potatoes.

Table of Contents

• How to Cut Acorn Squash
• Kitchen Tool Spotlight
• 🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
• Main Ingredients Needed
• Substitutions and Variations
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Baking Instructions
• Prepare the Walnuts and Cranberries
• Before You Begin!
• Storing and Reheating Tips
• Top Tip
• Indulge in Flavor, Not Ads - Get Your Ad-Free Digital Cookbook Today!
• 📖 Recipe Card
• 💬 Comments

How to Cut Acorn Squash

If you want to make Roasted Acorn Squash Thanksgiving, you would proceed to slice the acorn squash into individual slices to roast and serve!

First, you must make sure you have the squash on a stabilized cutting surface. You do not want it moving around while you're attempting to slice it.

• The easiest way to cut an acorn squash is to start at one end and make a small cut into the squash. Don't cut it all the way through though.
• Remove the knife and then stick the point of the knife in the first small cut and slowly repeat the process all the way down one side of the acorn squash each time using the previous entry point as a guide.
• Most of the time I try to cut part way through the one side and then flip the squash and repeat on the other side.
• Sometimes it helps to use a kitchen mallet to "hammer" the knife into the acorn squash.
• If you find the acorn squash is particularly hard, you can place it in the microwave in 30 second intervals to try and soften the skin.
• Once you have both sides sliced, put down the knife. Pick up the squash and see if you can twist and pull it apart. If not, try to go through the previous slices again with the knife.

🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools

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Main Ingredients Needed

Here's a quick overview of the ingredients for this recipe. Find the exact amounts and click the Instacart button to easily add them to your cart – all in the printable recipe card below!

• Acorn Squash
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Dried Cranberries
• Chopped Walnuts
• Pure Maple Syrup

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cut the acorn squash in half following the tips above.

Step 2: Once the acorn squash is cut in half, scoop out the seeds. You can use a small spoon or even a melon scoop for this step.

Step 3: Place the halved squash in a baking dish and add a ¼ to ½ inch of water to prevent drying out during baking. Top each cavity with butter and brown sugar.

Baking Instructions

Step 4: Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 1 hour or until the squash is fork tender. Once the squash is fork tender, remove from the oven.

Prepare the Walnuts and Cranberries

Step 5: While the squash bakes, toast chopped walnuts and cranberries in butter until warmed. Fill the squash cavities with this mixture and drizzle with maple syrup before serving.

Storing and Reheating Tips

Refrigerator: Store any leftovers in an airtight storage container.

Freezer: These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Reheating Tips: You can easily reheat any leftovers in the microwave until warmed through.

📖 Recipe Card

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2012 with new photos, information and a new printable recipe card that includes nutritional information. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them!