Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberries, Almonds & Brown Sugar is the ultimate fall side dish packed with loads of classic fall flavors and spices!
Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberries, Almonds and Brown Sugar
Growing up I was very blessed to be able to have a mom who was a good cook. She almost always made things from scratch and loved to have her kiddos in the kitchen to help. I guess that’s why my brother and I both feel comfortable in the kitchen and love to experiment. Who needs a recipe! 🙂
A fall favorite for our family growing up was roasted Acorn Squash! My mom would put tons of butter and brown sugar in the center of the squash. Roast it. Then scoop out the flesh. It was absolutely amazing! The acorn squash had a sweet taste and then with the butter made it creamy. It was totally my favorite fall time side dish.
I still make it at home today, just less sugar and butter.
When I found out the ingredients for this months Mystery Dish Challenge which were: Sweet Potato, Kale, Squash (any kind, including pumpkin), Nutmeg, Venison, Turkey, Cranberries, Caramel, and Candy Corn. I knew I was going to feature a squash and I thought of this Acorn Squash dish my mom use to make. I roasted it the way she normally does and then “loaded it” with some of the mystery dish ingredients. Kinda like you would load a baked potato. The texture combination of the soft squash with the crunchy almonds and cranberries in this dish was perfect, I will definitely be making this again!
How to Make this Acorn Squash
To get started, preheat oven to 375º. Cut 2 acorn squash in half and clean out the inside. {the seeds and such till it is smooth}
Put 1 Tablespoon of butter in each half and cover top with tin foil. Place acorn squash on a baking sheet, cut side up.
Bake in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until flesh is tender and you can pierce with a fork easily.
In the meantime, toast sliced almonds in a small saute pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes, or until just browned. Set aside.
Once acorn squash is finished. Using a fork gently scrap acorn squash flesh away from sides. {be careful not to pierce through the shell} Lastly, top each half with 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1 Tablespoon of craisins, and 1 Tablespoon of toasted almonds. Enjoy!
Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberries, Almonds & Brown Sugar
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Prep Time: 10 mins
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Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
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Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins
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Yield: 4 Servings 1x
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Category: Side Dish
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Method: Oven
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Cuisine: American
Description
Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberries, Almonds & Brown Sugar is the ultimate fall side dish packed with loads of classic fall flavors and spices!
Ingredients
- 2 Acorn Squash, halved and seeds removed
- 4 Tablespoons of butter
- 4 Tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons of craisins
- 4 Tablespoons of sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
- To get started, preheat oven to 375º.
- Cut acorn squash in half and clean out the inside. {the seeds and such till it is smooth}
- Put 1 Tablespoon of butter in each half and cover top with tin foil. Place acorn squash on a baking sheet, cut side up.
- Bake in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until flesh is tender and you can pierce with a fork easily.
- In the meantime, toast sliced almonds in a small saute pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes, or until just browned. Set aside.
- Once acorn squash is finished. Using a fork, gently scrap acorn squash flesh away from sides. {be careful not to pierce through the shell}
- Lastly, top each half with 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1 Tablespoon of craisins, and 1 Tablespoon of toasted almonds.
- Enjoy!
Keywords: acorn squash recipe, how to make acorn squash, easy vegetarian recipe, vegetarian recipe for dinner, easy squash recipe, easy recipe for squash, easy side dish, healthy side dish, healthy appetizer recipe
Other dishes I made for this month’s Mystery Dish:
1. Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream2. Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberries, Almonds, and Brown Sugar3. Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup4. Pumpkin Magic Bars5. Pumpkin Pie Cake6. Sweet Potato, Smoked Turkey, and Cranberry Croque Madame7. Caramel Candy Corn Poke Cake8. Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Kale and Ricotta9. Sweet Potato Cranberry Quick Bread10. Venison with Sweet Potato Hash & Fried Egg11. Orange Cranberry Bread12. Sweet Potato Pie with Cranberry Compote
This look so delicious! I think I’m going to have to try it over the weekend! I made a stuffed acorn squash for my dinner club girls last week and made enough so I could have one for lunch Monday – Thursday. I was a little sad on Friday when I was out! I look forward to checking out more of your recipes.
Awesome! And can I just say, love that you have a dinner club. Kinda jealous, I need to start one up. ๐ Hope you get a chance to try these girl!
Eating this right now . . . YUMMMMM!!!! I didn’t have craisins so I used golden raisins and they’re delicious in the squashy goodness : )
YEAH!!!! I know right!! I bet the golden raisins were good, still just a touch of sweet. So glad you had a chance to try it Erin!
I switch back and forth from eating acorn and butternut squash all winter long for my dinner. I get teased a lot for it! But, I love it and never get sick of squash! This looks like something I’m gonna have to try to switch up my normal! Thanks! I love this one!
haha.. your too cute. At least you know what you like and are eating vegetables. ๐ I never get sick of squash either, they are inexpensive and super easy to make. ๐ Hope you get a chance to try this one my friend!
This look delicious! I have never been much of a squash person, I just never knew what to do with them. I am definitely picking up an acorn squash this season and making this!! I love anything with butter and brown sugar ๐
Totally understand, sometimes you just don’t know what to do with a big squash. But sometimes simple is so much better! ๐ Hope you enjoy my friend! Thanks for stopping by!
Krista this looks amazing! we love acorn squash, cant wait to try this, pinning!
Thanks! It is definitely one of my favorite fall time squashes. ๐ Thanks for the pin!
What a beautiful dish! I have so many acorn squash laying around from my CSA box and have not had much to do with them. I can’t wait to try this!
Oh Nora, they are so good. You will love it! Plus you get to use up those squashes, extra bonus! ๐
I’m sooo lazy. I always buy squash pre-cut. I love the presentation of this Thanksgiving side dish. You’ve got me inspired!!
haha. your too funny! This dish is so easy, cut in halve, scoop, put in oven. Then top with whatever you have.. You can do it!!! ๐
This is just perfect for Fall. I love how you loaded the squash with the ingredients. So comforting!
Thanks Zainab! I usually don’t load it with ingredients, but this time I did and loved all the crunch! ๐ Definitely perfect for the fall!
Love your dish Krista! We just had acorn squash for the first time here at our house, and we loved it! I love how you compare it to a loaded baked potato. Perfect analogy! I’m sharing your post on twitter ๐
Thanks Allie! It is one of my favorites, and not alot of people use that type of squash but the taste is awesome. Plus its so fun to eat out of the squash shell! ๐ Thanks for sharing via social media. You rock! Can’t wait to see what you came up with!
I love how simple this is. I have a hard time seeing kids being intimidated by squash when it looks this good and is so easy to make. Load it up with some yummies (I say yes to crunchy almonds and cranberries!) and you’ve just won over my heart as well as my future children’s.
haha.. I know right! ๐ It was always fun for me to eat it out of the little cup of squash, I felt so cool and fancy! ๐ Glad your future children will enjoy this dish my friend, thanks for stopping by!
I love acorn squash! This dish looks so pretty, and so delicious! I love the combo of flavors that you used!
Me too! It’s the hidden jewel of squashes! ๐ I hope you get a chance to try this dish, it is awesome! Thanks for stopping by Cate!