Easy roasted acorn squash recipe topped with an utterly delicious mixture of butter, walnuts and cranberries. Jump to the Roasted Acorn Squash with Walnuts and Cranberries Recipe or read on to see our tips for making it.
We love this roasted acorn squash recipe. It’s easy. Simply cut the squash into wedges the brush with olive oil and season with brown sugar, salt and pepper.
Bake for about 1 hour then serve the roasted squash with a mixture of melted butter, walnuts and cranberries spooned on top.
For more easy winter squash recipes, check out our Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash, our Parmesan Lemon Baked Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Easy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup and our Homemade Pumpkin Puree Recipe.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, review it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #inspiredtaste on Instagram. Happy cooking!
Recipe updated, originally posted November 2010. Since posting this in 2010, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe with Walnuts and Cranberries
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Roast acorn squash in the oven and top with butter, crunchy walnuts and sweet cranberries. It’s stunning on the table and everyone’s loved it.
You Will Need
2 medium acorn squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar, maple syrup or honey
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Directions
1Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2Cut squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds from the middle. Carefully cut each half into 2 wedges.
3Place the wedges into a large baking dish then brush all sides with the olive oil. Scatter the brown sugar evenly on top then season with salt and pepper. Bake until soft and caramelized around the edges, about 1 hour.
4When the squash has roasted, add the butter, walnuts and cranberries to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to bubble around the nuts then spoon over the squash.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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Wow, this was delicious! What a great flavor combination. Thank you for the recipe!
Delicious,healthy and so easy! Made w pecans for Thanksgiving, and roasted squashes in halves (took 30 min). We didn’t eat the skin – just scooped out the tasty and pretty insides. Added maple syrup to the butter mixture rather than when roasting. Will definitely make again!
I loved this recipe! I got an acorn squash in my farm box and didn’t know where to start. I added a little syrup to the butter/nut topping to sweeten it up a bit more, and roasted the seeds, too!
Silly question…..do I place the squash with the cut side facing up or down. Thank you as this sound delicious!
Both will work, but in our photos, we have cut-side facing up.
Greetings! I purchased acorn squash in November for Thanksgiving but, they didn’t reach the dinner table. Christmas was upon us, I made Acorn Squash Bread, and saved the seeds. In April I put the seeds in the yard for the birds. In return I got several squash plants. In June the plants began produce. This Roasted Acorn Squash w/walnuts and cranberries made it to dinner table four times in four weeks.
Delicious and so easy. We all loved it. Five Big Stars.
I have all ingredients, except Walnuts! Would you make it with only cranberries, or roast with butter and the brown sugar only?
The squash will be great with the cranberries, butter and brown sugar.
Hello. This looks perfect for my vegetarian Thanksgiving. Dumb question… & I pray you can answer quickly, because it is Thanksgiving Eve!… is the “shell” of the squash edible?? I’ve always assumed it’s not! The photo appears to include the rind. Please reply! Thank you.
Hi Lynn, the skin is definitely edible but depending on who is eating it they may prefer to leave the rind on the plate.
Is there anyway to make ahead?
Hi Rebekah, Yes, this can be made ahead of time then reheated before serving. You might want to roast the squash ahead of time then make the butter-walnut mixture just before serving.
Any suggestions on a substitute for the butter on the topping for allergy/intollerence for milk?
Coconut oil, walnut oil or an olive oil would be nice.
Earth Balance vegan ‘butter’, for the butter flavor, might work also.
I baked the squash in my convection oven and the halves were tender in 35 mins. Added a little fresh parmesan on top which gave a nice salted contrast to the sweetness. Great recipe.
It’s hard to find vegetarian dishes for one. This recipe was perfect for me and I got two meals out of it! It was more delicious than I had expected it to be. Thank you so much!
Just made this for dinner! Eating is as I’m typing! SOOO good.
I’ll have to double or triple this recipe for thanksgiving. what would that do to the cooking time?
Hi there! As long as you keep the squash in one layer, the cooking time should be about the same. If you are using two baking sheets/two oven racks, you might want to rotate halfway through cooking to make sure they cook evenly.
Thanks!