This easy recipe for brown sugar maple Baked Acorn Squash takes ordinary squash to an entirely different level and makes it special enough for Thanksgiving or other holiday dinners!
I love how acorn squash looks. I love the shape and the color, so I buy some early in the
season, put them in a large wooden bowl and use this as my kitchen table centerpiece until I’m ready to cook the squash.
It makes a natural, beautiful arrangement, but I just have to remember to cook it! So right before Thanksgiving, when I’m planning my Christmas decorations, I’ll take the centerpiece apart and serve it for dinner — fun, huh?!
We always have sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, but if I ever decided to change the menu, I would use this recipe, instead. It’s that good!
Acorn squash is super easy to prepare, and really, the hardest part is cutting it in half. So I sometimes cheat and have the Hubs cut it for me, and then I do the rest. First, scoop out the seeds with a fork. If you’ve ever scooped out pumpkin seeds, this part is a breeze!
A lot of recipes recommend baking the squash with the cut side down first, but I skip this step and stick it in the microwave for a few minutes. Then, I fill the cavity with maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon and bake the squash until it’s nice and soft.
When the squash is done, it’s filled with a sweet, caramel-like filling that makes it taste like dessert.
I usually cut the squash in half, which makes the sauce spill out, but I scoop it up again and drizzle the sauce over the cut squash, and everyone’s happy, especially the kiddos since this is about the only way they eat squash!
How to Make Brown Sugar Maple Baked Acorn Squash
- 3 in acorn squashes cut half
- pinch of salt
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter
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Scoop the seeds out from the center with a large spoon.
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Microwave the squash for 3 minutes or until slightly soft.
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Sprinkle the insides with salt, and add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to each squash half.
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Add some of the cinnamon to each half.
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Rub the top of each half with butter, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until insides of squash are soft.
This recipe for baked acorn squash is impossible to mess up, and you can play around with the amounts to suit your own tastes. If you don’t have maple syrup, you could use honey or even just butter and brown sugar. It’s completely up to you.
Have a super day, friends!
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This looks so GOOD! I like the simplicity of this recipe. It's easy and healthy. And that syrup, indeed, makes it more special.
YUM! cant wait to try- thanks!
Thanks so much! It really does taste amazing! 🙂
Thanks. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Your Baked Acorn Squash looks delicious. Your recipe is awesome, I have pinned it. We really enjoy you sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again soon!
Miz Helen