18 Amazing Acorn Squash Recipes That Taste Like Fall (2024)

FAQs

Is acorn squash a fall food? ›

Acorn Squash

“I love the fall season because that means it's time for squash,” says registered dietitian Jenn Fillenworth, MS, RD. Acorn squash is a small type of winter squash with a light yet slightly sweet flavor.

Acorn squash is a delicious type of winter squash, alongside other gourds like pumpkin, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash. As with other fall favorites, their peak season is October to March, but it's available year-round.

Storage life varies by squash type. Acorn squash stores the shortest amount of time: 4 weeks. Spaghetti stores four to five weeks; Buttercup, 13 weeks; Butternut, up to six months; Blue Hubbard, six to seven months.

While it may be best known as the star of everyone's favorite fall soup, butternut squash has other charms as well, including its mild butterscotch flavor and a unique “bar bell” shape that makes it easier to peel and prepare than some of its peers.

Description. Bred specifically for the UK climate, including the North of England, Autumn Crown Squash combines the best characteristics of colour of a butternut type along with the familiar shape of Crown Prince. These are pale orange coloured on the outside but have deep orange flesh inside.

Fall/winter squash are hardier outside to survive the season—and those grown at The Chef's Garden combine the best of both world because, inside, they're tender and delicious. We'll highlight two of our favorites. Our butternut squash 898 packs a powerful punch of sweet and nutty flavor in tender, juicy flesh.

Table Ace Acorn Squash is well-known as the best tasting acorn squash on the market.

This squash has a lot of antioxidants, which can boost your immunity and help your body to fight off certain diseases. Acorn squash contains antioxidants like vitamin C that help strengthen bones and blood vessels. It also has vitamin A, which helps improve the health of your lungs, heart and other vital organs.

The Acorn squash was a favorite of early civilizations as it could be baked whole in their outdoor clay and brick ovens. Dating back to 4000 B.C., acorn squash, sometimes called Danish squash, is an edible gourd that grows on a vine.

Extreme cold, heat, drought or too much irrigation, or even a lack of plant nutrients, excessive pest infestation or disease can all create these elevated levels of cucurbitacin in the squash resulting in a bitter flavor.

How to know acorn squash is bad? ›

You may eat and cook with overripe Acorn Squash, but if the inner flesh contains any dark or mushy spots, throw it out.

Depending on the type of pumpkin or squash, it should last 2 to 6 months when stored at the ideal temperature of between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit; a cool basem*nt can work well. Under ideal storage conditions, acorn squash can last up to 2 months, butternuts 2-to-3 months, and hubbarbs 5 to 6 months.

Honeynut Squash: The sweetness and flavor made this a clear winner. Delicata Squash: This is actually tied with acorn squash and both are similar in texture and flavor which is why they are ranked at the top.

Hubbard Squash

Because of their size, hubbards are often sold in seeded pre-cut chunks, making the squash more appealing to home cooks. Hubbards are slightly tear-shaped with dark green to pale grayish blue skins and remarkably sweet flesh with a clear pumpkin flavor.

If you're looking for a tasty, low-calorie addition to your dog's diet, you're in luck: Dogs can eat squash safely. In fact, this garden staple has many potential benefits when prepared correctly and given in moderation.

You can find squash year-round in most grocery stores and farmers markets. Winter squashes — such as butternut, acorn, hubbard, delicata, and pumpkin — are abundant from early fall through late spring. They have green, yellow or orange skin and brightly colored flesh in different shades of yellow and orange.

"Summer squash is harvested in the warm weather months and doesn't store for long," says Josh Kirschenbaum, vegetable account manager at PanAmerican Seed. "Winter squash is harvested in the fall and has a hard rind, which allows it to keep well for months."

Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo var. turbinata), also called pepper squash or Des Moines squash, is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal ridges on its exterior and sweet, yellow-orange flesh inside.

Contrary to its name, summer and fall are the harvest times for winter squash, which include butternut, acorn, turban, and spaghetti squash to name a few. With the exception of spaghetti squash, most varieties can be substituted for each other in recipes and benefit from roasting, pureeing, and steaming.