Easiest Way to Roast Winter Squash and the Simplest Squash Casserole

Raw winter squashes are beautiful, yummy and great nutrition on cold days. But they are hard and difficult to cut. Cutting, peeling, cubing… forget that! Frankly, if I’m going to be cooking all my meals at home, I prefer to find the easy way to do most things. Plus it’s fall and you need to be able to make healthy versions of all the pumpkin spice things without too much effort. So today, I offer the absolute easiest way to roast winter squash and the simplest squash casserole. Easy enough for a weeknight.

The Easiest Way to Roast Winter Squash

It’s sometimes recommended to cut winter squash in half, scoop the seeds then place it in a baking dish to roast. You could even add a tiny bit of water to the pan to allow the steam to help with the cooking. While that’s not super complex. there is an easier way. It’s so easy, it’s almost embarrassing to mention. But here goes… the easiest way to roast winter squash.

1. Take a whole, clean winter squash or pumpkin and place it in a baking dish or tray. If the skin breaks, it will leak and sound the dinner bell, er, I mean smoke alarm.
2. Bake in the oven at 425* until a butter knife easily pierces through the soft flesh. The time will vary based on the size and type of squash. A small squash with a large seed cavity, like an acorn squash, might only take 30-45 minutes, whereas a larger, denser one, such as a butternut, might take over an hour.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle
4. Now, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and their stringy friends.
5. Scrape the flesh from the skin.
6. The squash can be used immediately, refrigerated for use within a couple of days or frozen. I freeze 2 cup portions in quart size zip bags for most recipes and 4 cup portions in gallon bags for a side dish.

The simplest squash casserole

1. Mash the roasted squash into a baking dish.
2. Dot with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and add a slight drizzle of maple syrup.
3. We also add chopped walnuts and pecans. Actually, I just crush these with my fingers over the top, remember simple and easy and fewer dishes.
4. Bake at 350 until butter is melted and casserole is heated through. It’s almost like Thanksgiving.

Note

• This makes warm, delicious, lumpy, mashed, cooked squash to use in pies (you might want to puree it in the blender), pumpkin bread and pumpkin spice all the things, but it doesn’t make pretty little squash cubes.
• You can clean the seeds, season and roast them for a snack, though the seed coat on most winter squash seeds is a bit tough.
• Chickens love roasted winter squash; guts, seeds, and strings are some of their favorite foods.

Shop the Supplies

• Glass Baking Dish

Watch the Video

Where Did We Grow These?

Tour Our Summer Garden!