Oven Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What temperature should I bake 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.

Butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes, should be perfectly roasted after about 25 to 35 minutes in an oven heated to 400 degrees F. When it's done, the squash should be lightly browned and easily pierced with a fork.

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.

The squash is done when tender.

The squash is ready when you can easily pierce a fork through the flesh all the way to the peel.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the squash on a sheet pan and drizzle with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss well. Arrange the squash in one layer and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the squash is tender, turning once with a metal spatula.

Toxic squash syndrome can result from continuing to eat the bitter fruit. Some of the most rampant symptoms and indicators of toxic squash syndrome include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Toxic squash syndrome can be so severe that it can cause swelling in the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and kidneys.

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.

Planting. Summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) is a warm-season crop that grows best at average temperatures between 65 and 75 °F. Squash seeds do not germinate well in cold soil.

Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly over the interiors of the squash, then place them cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until the cut sides are turning golden and the interiors are easily pierced through with a fork. Small squash will be done sooner than large squash, naturally!

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.

Should delicata squash be stringy? ›

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.

After shaving some raw delicata squash and tasting it, I realized it couldn't have been. The raw squash, while edible, was far too tough to have been the tender shavings I'd enjoyed in my salad. If I was going to make a salad inspired by that dish, I'd have to improvise. I decided to steam the squash briefly.

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.

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.

Don't skimp on the oil.

Some are super-soft and creamy, sort of like a baked sweet potato, while others are a bit more dry and chalky. To prevent these squash from becoming too dry in the oven, make sure to coat them generously with oil.

You can toss the cubes with butter and sea salt/pepper before popping them into the oven! Roast your prepped squash at 475 degrees for about an hour. Smaller squashes will run anywhere from 45-60 minutes. Larger/thicker squashes will be more like an hour or an hour and 15 minutes.

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.

Squashes grow best in air temperatures ranging from 60° to 75°F (16-24°C); established fruit will ripen in temperatures as high as 100°F (37°C) but flowers will drop in high temperatures. Squashes are warm-season crops and very sensitive to cold and frost.

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. STORAGE: Store at 50-60°F/10-15°C, 50-70% relative humidity and good ventilation. Repeated exposure to temperatures below 50°F/10°C may cause chilling damage.