Winter Squash

These are here so I don’t have to google the directions every time I make them. Cut them all in half longitudinally (through the stem and butt) first unless noted otherwise. Remove seeds if there are any. Trim the stem if it’s going to interfere with baking. Oil and spice to taste before baking unless noted otherwise.

Acorn Squash

Bake cut side up, filled with butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and/ or garlic, etc., at 375° for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size.

Butternut Squash

Bake cut side down at 375° for 1 hour.

You can also poke it with a knife then roast it whole at 425° for 1 hour. Cool a bit before prepping.

Calabaza Squash

Bake at 475° for 40 minutes.

Carnival Squash

Bake cut side down at 375° for 40 minutes, optionally in a half-inch of water.

Delicata Squash

Bake cut side down at 400° for 20 minutes. The entire squash is edible, so afterwards you can cut it up into handy pieces or stuff the halves like a pepper with something pre-cooked.

Alternately, slice the squash before cooking, spice it, and roast the slices at 425°F for 30–35 minutes, flipping halfway through. Salt, pepper, and olive oil are enough spicing, but you can go in the apple pie spice direction if you want, and even roast some apples with them (they take about 5 minutes less time). You can get fancy by stacking the slices with apples and/or onions.

Kabocha Squash (Japanese Pumpkin)

Rub with olive oil and optionally add maple syrup, cinammon, and salt to taste. Bake cut side up at 400° for 45 minutes.

Optionally you can slice this up into handy pieces (possibly after a bit of pre-baking, because it’s a tough squash). Toss with a similar mixture of toppings, and bake only 20 minutes at 400°. I haven’t tried it yet, but it might reduce some of the crumbliness of this squash.

The skin of kabocha squash is edible.

Pumpkin

Don’t try to roast a monster pumpkin or a mini pumpkin. Get a sugar-sized one and save the seeds for roasting.

Oil the flesh, pierce the skin, and bake cut side down at 350° for 45 minutes.

Coat the seeds with oil, salt, and spices to taste and bake 20–30 minutes at 325°. If you want to make them alongside the pumpkin (350°, preferably with convection), you can just brine them, spread them on an unprepared cookie sheet, and bake 15 minutes (or to taste), stirring once.

Spaghetti Squash

Bake cut side down at 375° (or 400° without convection) for 30-40 minutes. If you don’t have bigger plans, spice it first with salt, pepper, and olive oil (and/or cumin, or apple pie spices). Let it cool enough to scrape out the spaghetti.

Once spaghettified, you can top it with pasta sauce or some other sauce, or even turn it into kugel.