Mmmm, fall and winter squash season!

The majority of fall/winter squash recipes have a sweeter flavor profile. It’s common to dress them up with brown sugar, maple sugar, cinnamon, and allspice, even the ever-popular marshmallow topping on Thanksgiving yams and sweet potatoes.

Here’s where I admit my unpopular opinion. Unless the squash is being used deliberately as a dessert, such as sweet potato pie, I prefer my squash to be savory. I especially love when it’s dressed up with common poultry herbs and spices, such as garlic, sage, and tarragon.

Oven-roasted squash is incredibly easy to prepare! We’re sharing two different ways to prepare it, either halved or cut into slices. The hardest part is cutting through the tough skin, but sharpening your knives can take care of that. Otherwise, your oven does all the heavy-lifting.

While there are many squash varieties to choose from, I prefer acorn squash when I bake. However, feel free to experiment! Butternut, kabocha, and delicata would be great types to use in this recipe, as well.

If you prefer, skip the individual seasonings and just use a poultry seasoning mix. We especially like the Poultry Seasoning Mix from Litehouse Herbs. It’s an easy way to get similar flavors quickly.

Savory Baked Acorn Squash, Two Ways

1 acorn squash, washed and dried
3 TBSP butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375F.

Using a sharp knife, cut the acorn squash in half vertically. Spoon out the seeds and stringy flesh in the center. (You can clean and roast these seeds for snacking, if you wish!)

To roast the squash in halves

Use your knife to carefully cut a grid pattern over the entire inside flesh. Use your hands to spread the room temperature butter all over the inside, pressing it into the cuts you just made. Sprinkle all herbs, spices, and salt over the entire face of the inside.

Place them on a baking sheet in the oven flesh side up and roast for 75 minutes or until flesh is tender all the way through. As it cooks, the butter will melt all those seasoning flavors into all the cuts you just made, infusing your squash with incredible flavor. Once they’re done, use a fork to pull all the flesh away from the skin, mash it up, and stir it to combine the herbs and butter evenly throughout.

To roast the squash in slices

Place each squash half flesh-side down on a cutting board and cut into slices horizontally. Discard the stem. Toss the slices in a bowl with the butter and all the seasonings until each piece is evenly coated.

Place each slice on a baking sheet, spaced evenly. Roast for 25 minutes, flip them over, and continue roasting for another 25 minutes, or until the flesh is tender all the way through.