Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe

You’re going to love this easy fall side dish! This Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash recipe is perfect for enjoying with your favorite pork or chicken dinners. The parmesan cheese compliments the sweetness of the squash perfectly!

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I love winter squash! My most favorite one is spaghetti squash, but acorn squash is another great one that I try to incorporate into our menus, particularly in the fall and winter.

Chances are, you can probably find acorn squash year-round in your grocery store. But, since it’s a winter squash, it’s actually in season starting in October through December. Usually, the price drops during these months, so it’s a great time to buy it and try some recipes, like this Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash that we’re sharing here today.

Ways to Cook Acorn Squash

There are many ways you can enjoy acorn squash. It can be an ingredient in main dishes, particularly for vegetarian dishes. Acorn squash also makes an excellent soup. But our favorite way of serving it is as a side dish.

There are several ways to cook acorn squash:

OVEN: The most popular way to cook acorn squash — and the method we recommend — is cooking it in the oven roasting or baking. This is the method you will need to use to make this Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash recipe.

STOVETOP: If you don’t have an oven or just prefer to not use it, you can also cook acorn squash by cutting it in half and steaming it on your stovetop. You will need a steamer rack for your pot and it will take about 15 minutes. This method can work well if you will be serving the acorn squash as halves or mashing it. You can also cut acorn squash into pieces and saute or fry it in a frying pan. Here’s a great way to make acorn squash on the stovetop: Acorn Squash with Rosemary and Brown Sugar.

MICROWAVE: Similar to the stovetop method mentioned above, you can also use your microwave to cook acorn squash. This method won’t work for the recipe we’re sharing today, but if you only have a microwave for cooking, you can make acorn squash in it. Here is an easy acorn squash recipe using the microwave: Microwaved Acorn Squash.

INSTANT POT: If you looking for an even easier way to make acorn squash, you can cook it in an Instant Pot (or another electric pressure cooker). Check out this recipe: Instant Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash, which not only explains how to cook acorn squash in an Instant Pot but also how to stuff it with a delicious vegetarian filling.

SLOW COOKER: While it’s not as common to use a slow cooker for cooking winter squash, you can if you are wanting a method that is mostly hands-off. This post will help with the steps: How To Cook Acorn Squash in a Slow Cooker.

Ingredients Needed for Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash:

• Acorn Squash
• Olive Oil (2 Tablespoons)
• Parmesan Cheese (1/4 Cup – Grated)
• Garlic Powder (1 Teaspoon)
• Salt & Pepper

Cooking Equipment Needed for Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash:

• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Kitchen Knife
• Large Mixing Bowl

What are Good Kitchen Tools to Use for Acorn Squash?

Multi-Purpose Scraping Spoon: You can totally use a regular kitchen spoon to scrape and scoop out the seeds of your acorn squash, but we’ve found this scraping spoon to be a really great kitchen tool for all the squash we cook. It makes the job so much easier and it’s perfect for any squash that you need to remove seeds or fibers from — spaghetti squash, pumpkins, butternut squash, etc.

Chef’s Knife: For cutting open acorn squash, you’ll want a good quality, sharp knife. We recommend using a chef’s knife that is at least 8 inches long (like this one: Professional 8’’ Chef Knife). If you already have a knife, just make sure that it is sharp. We bought an electric knife sharpener a few years back and we use it often.

Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash Instructions

NOTE: See the recipe card at the end of this post to get the exact ingredient measurements and instructions.

Making this Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash is so incredibly simple, it will be a go-to side dish in the fall and winter.

The first step will be preparing your acorn squash. With a sharp chef’s knife, carefully cut the squash in half from the stem to the bottom. Remove the seeds with a spoon and slice each squash half into half-circle pieces.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the squash to the bowl and toss them with the olive oil mixture. Then, lay each acorn squash slice out on your prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake until your acorn squash is tender and the cheese is golden (about 30 minutes).

What to Eat Acorn Squash With?

What goes well with acorn squash? Well, depending on how you are cooking acorn squash it can be great on its own. It makes a great soup, vegetarian main dish, and they are delicious when they are stuffed.

If you are looking for ideas of what would be best to serve with our Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash recipe – we’ve got you covered! This recipe is very complimentary to pork dishes, so so that would be our recommendation, but it also works well with chicken dishes.

Here are some great pork dinner recipes we think you’ll enjoy:

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
Smothered Pork Chops
Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Herb Butter
Slow Cooker Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin
Instant Pot Pork Chops

We’d love to hear what you serve this Parmesan Acorn Squash with! Leave us a comment below!

Want more winter squash side dish recipes? Check these out!

Bacon-Parmesan Spaghetti Squash
Maple Glazed Butternut Squash with Bacon

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