Oven Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What temperature do you roast delicata squash at? ›

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Trim both ends of each delicata squash. Stand one squash up on the larger cut side and, using a chef's knife, slice it lengthwise, down through the center of the squash, creating two even halves.

Wofford and our test kitchen editors will leave the skin on delicata, acorn, and honeynut squash to save time, add nutrients, and reduce food waste. These varieties have thin skins that soften readily when cooked. Next time you slice a delicata into rings ready to roast, don't peel it.

Most recipes say to either bake or roast butternut squash—but what's the difference? While both cooking methods will turn the tough, raw gourd into a soft, sweet ingredient, roasting butternut squash is the more common process for achieving browned, crispy edges and a creamy interior.

If your squash is too hard to cut, soften it slightly in the oven or microwave before slicing it in half. Option 1: Roast the squash whole. Prick it all over with a fork and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until it's soft enough to slice in two.

"Squash contains a toxin known as Cucurbitacin E, which can give the squash a bitter taste. If too much of the toxin is consumed it can cause illness. It is rare, but if the squash has a bitter taste, stop eating it, and grab another one."

The higher the levels of cucubitacin, the more bitter the squash will taste. The most likely cause for a bitter taste in squash is due to an environmental stress of some sort, most likely a wide temperature flux or irregular irrigation. Either of these will create an excess of cucurbitacins to concentrate in the fruit.

You'll know delicata squash has gone bad if it has wrinkles or soft spots. Also, if the seeds look slimy or their color is off, you'll know it's spoiled. The seeds are normally a cream or white color. Typically, they'll be covered in the flesh of the squash.

Delicata is a long, small, striped winter squash with thin skin and uniform sweet (but not too sweet) non-stringy flesh, great for roasting and easy to work with due to it's size and edible skin (all squash skin is edible, but some is more tender than others.

Is it better to roast butternut squash face up or down? I personally prefer to roast my butternut squash with the cut-side-up. In my opinion, roasting it cut-side-up allows for the butternut squash to caramelize, rather than just steam and cook.

What is the oven setting for roasting? ›

Top/Bottom heating is the most effective setting to use when you are baking or roasting on a single level. The heat is emitted evenly from above and below, making it ideal for baking cakes.

Mushy veggies are also often the result of overcooking. When the interior is loaded with moisture, you have to cook it for much longer to evaporate all of the water and avoid the interior having the unappealing, spongy, raw texture that eggplant and zucchini are notorious for.

Most squashes are at their "driest" immediately after harvest... not in terms of their moisture content, but in their cooked consistency. At this point (provided the squash was fully ripe) the starch content is very high, and the cooked texture will resemble mashed potatoes.

Not Using the Right Cooking Technique

Squashes behave very differently when cooked in the oven or on the stovetop. Generally, a squash that is roasted in the oven is going to have a much softer texture, one that can get mushy if mixed with other ingredients, but making it ideal for a purée, soup, or being mashed.

You'll see best storage results when you stash squash in a cool, dry spot. For most winter squash, store at 50º to 55º F with relative humidity of 60 to 70 percent.

Proper curing will improve the shelf life of winter squash too. If the weather conditions are right, you may cure your squash in the field for 7–10 days after cutting off the vine. Look for dry, warm days at 70–80°F. If outdoor conditions are not suitable, bring fruit to a warm building such as a barn or greenhouse.

Temperatures in the 32-50F range make squash languish with unhappiness. When temperatures are steadily above 90F, squash flowers may fail to set fruit. Typical North American summer highs of 70-85 with nighttime lows of 50-70 are perfect for squash.

Cut fruits from vines and handle carefully. Sun cure by exposing fruits for 5-7 days or cure indoors by keeping squash at 80-85°F/27-29°C with good air ventilation.