Gluten-Free Baked Acorn Squash is such a delicious and nutritious vegetable to prepare any time of the year. It’s not just a Fall veggie. Plus it makes your kitchen smell wonderful with the scents of maple syrup, squash, brown sugar, and butter. You could also add some cinnamon and nutmeg to add to the recipe. If you have any of it leftover from dinner, you could fix a small bowl of it for breakfast the next morning. Such a great way to start and fuel the day with lots of fiber and vitamin B-6, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamins A & C, and magnesium!
Cut the acorn in half through the stem. Clean out the stringy flesh and seeds with a spoon, scooping out the center to make them smooth.
Rub in 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each half, add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in each half. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, If desired, add 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg in each half. If you are not a maple syrup fan, omit the maple syrup and just use the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Adjust with your favorite seasonings. The sugars will distribute throughout the squash after you blend each half. Feel free to use less sugar.
When I was growing up my mom would give us each a half to eat by ourselves! You can serve that way with each half in a bowl OR you can scoop out and blend the cooked squash yourself and serve in individual serving bowls. Either way, it’s beyond tasty! I hope you enjoy my mom’s recipe.
Baked Acorn Squash For 2
- 1 Acorn Squash, cut in half and cleaned out to smooth
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon (if desired)
- nutmeg, just a sprinkle (if desired)
- pinch of salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add 1 1/2″ inch, of water to the bottom of the baking dish. This helps the bottoms of the squash halves not to overcook and burn and also cooks the squash more evenly top to bottom. Place squash halves green side down in baking dish. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each half of the squash. Rub all over the inside of the squash. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar & maple syrup to each half of the squash. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until the entire squash flesh is very tender. If you want to make squash halves for more people just adjust measurements for ingredients and use a larger baking dish.
