Brown sugar and butter fuel this delicious, fall-inspired side dish. This roasted brown sugar acorn squash recipe hits those sweet and savory notes that are so craveable.
Roasting an acorn squash brings out it’s natural sweetness, and topping it with brown sugar and a little butter with warm fall spices almost makes you feel like you’re eating a dessert. This makes a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas and pairs so well with just about any main dish.
The Biggest Pumpkin
I gave my pumpkin warm milk every single week for many, many weeks in a row because I’d heard that was the secret to growing the biggest, best pumpkin Vancouver Washington had ever seen.
Months of padding through the slowly drying out grass, stopping to see how much produce was growing (aka sneaking raspberries as fast as Mom could can them) had brought me to the reality that my pumpkin was in need of saving.
And I tried. I really did. But in the end, one pumpkin bit the dust while the other looked exactly the same as all my siblings. I don’t remember where I’d heard the tip or why I was so dertermined to make it happen, but looking back I can see that while nothing good came of it, nothing bad did either. I’m trying hard this year to remember that the tips we get for growing a successful garden may not always produce blue ribbon winners, but it did create the desire to see something through.
One good thing did come of the garden my parents planted. Acorn squash to the rescue.
While my little plant didn’t grow up extra ginormous, it did help me to embrace new foods and this is one of them. All these years later and I can sill remember the feel of mashing my little helping of acorn squash, loaded with butter and brown sugar and listening for the sound of the garage door shutting which meant it was time to eat!
Ingredients for Roasted Acorn Squash
The ingredients for this recipe are few and simple which is exactly how a side dish should be! Here is what you will need:
- Acorn Squash: any size will work just fine for this recipe
- Olive Oil: used to keep the squash from sticking to the pan and to help caramelize
- Salt and Pepper: used to season the squash as it roasts
- Butter: adds flavor and helps brown and caramelize the squash
- Dark Brown Sugar: adds sweetness and rich flavor
- Kosher Salt: cuts through the sweetness and enhances all the flavors
- Cinnamon: adds flavor and warmth to the dish
- Cardamom: adds flavor and that signature fall taste
Keep scrolling down to see the measurements needed for each ingredient. All the details are contained in the recipe card where you can also print or save the recipe.
How to Cut Acorn Squash
Cutting an acorn squash, or any kind of squash, can get more exciting than it needs to be. Let’s keep all our digits and do it the right way!
Be sure you are using a sharp knife. Lay the squash on its side on a cutting board