Our parmesan roasted delicata squash is buttery, nutty, and sweet. We love this recipe so much. It’s easy enough for any night of the week and works beautifully as a holiday side!
We roast delicata squash slices with melted butter, parmesan cheese, and garlic. Since we roast the squash slices on top of the cheese and garlic, they melt down to create a lovely, cheesy crust on the bottom of each slice. They look beautiful and taste amazing.
We served this to a good friend who isn’t the biggest winter squash fan, and she loved it! For more roasted squash recipes, see our cinnamon roasted butternut squash or this roasted acorn squash with cranberries.
Key Ingredients
- Delicata Squash: I use one medium squash. This is my absolute favorite winter squash because it’s incredibly easy to prepare. You don’t even need to peel the skin (it’s thin enough to eat). Delicata has a nutty, buttery, and slightly sweet flavor that reminds me of a cross between butternut squash and sweet potato.
- Butter: You can use either butter or olive oil for this recipe, but I prefer butter as it really enhances the squash’s natural buttery flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese: This adds a cheesy crust to the roasted squash. For the best flavor, I love to use finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Garlic: I love the subtle hint of garlic in this recipe. I only use two cloves, so it’s not overpowering and it develops a sweet flavor when roasted in the oven with the squash.
How to Make Parmesan Roasted Delicata Squash
This roasted delicata squash recipe couldn’t be easier. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. There’s no need to peel the squash. The skin is really tasty and has a great texture.
Then, you’ll add some garlic butter and parmesan to a baking dish and line the squash slices on top. Finish by brushing over more garlic butter and sprinkling parmesan cheese. Then bake until golden brown and tender. So good!
The recipe takes 20 to 30 minutes int eh oven, so this is quick, too. I love it for a weeknight side, but have also made this for Thanksgiving. It’s actually one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes!
Parmesan Roasted Delicata Squash
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Roasted delicata squash is buttery, nutty, and sweet. We love this recipe with garlic and parmesan. It’s easy enough for tonight and works beautifully as a holiday side.
There is no need to peel the squash. The peel is thin and is delicious once roasted.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 medium delicata squash, about 1 ¼ pounds
2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 small cloves
3 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
1 ½ ounces grated parmesan cheese, about 1/3 cup
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Set a 13×9-inch baking dish aside. You can also use a rimmed baking sheet.
2Cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut each squash half into 3/4-inch-thick slices.
3In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter and garlic.
4Spread half of the melted butter and the garlic over the bottom of the baking dish. Then, sprinkle all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese on top.
5Arrange squash slices on top of the cheese. Drizzle the remaining butter mixture over the squash and use your fingers to spread it over each piece. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
6Roast the delicata squash for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and tender. You might need to rotate the dish in the oven once during roasting to prevent the back bits of garlic from over-browning. If some cheese stays on the dish, it is easy to scrape up and serve sprinkled on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Vegetarian substitutions: Use a vegetarian-friendly cheese like cheddar instead of the parmesan.
- Vegan substitutions: Use olive oil or a vegan butter and substitute the parmesan cheese with 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, or leave the “cheese” out completely.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This was incredible. I couldn’t stop eating it! Used a mixture of olive oil and butter and my garlic was from a jar. 10 out of 10 for sure! I had to tell everyone I know to check out your site for this! Thank you!
This was the first time cooking delicata squash and I don’t know if there could have been a better recipe to experience the sweetness, texture and flavor. The crispness of the parmesan cheese was the perfect offset to the softness of the squash. We will definitely be making this again.
This recipe is extremely simple and extremely tasty. For those two reasons, it could certainly make a great festive side dish, as you suggest. I also (as did Keeley) used half butter and half extra virgin olive oil. I keep a jar of chopped garlic in my fridge, so there was no work to that part of the recipe. I probably used more than 1/3 cup parmesan, as I didn’t measure, but just grated it right into the baking dish and on top of the squash. Now I’m wondering what else one could do, such as use different vegetables. Do you think carrots, parsnips, a different squash or red sweet potatos would work? Would any other cheese work, such as the grated Tex Mex I have in my freezer? (I do note you recommend cheddar.)
Hi Linda, So happy you enjoyed it. Yes, other veggies like carrots or potatoes would work well in this recipe. Other cheeses, too! Anything you can grate should do the trick.
This was so delicious and easy! This is something I will make over and over. Thank you for such a yummy recipe.
I melted the butter and put in the garlic briefly under heat. Half of the mixture on the bottom of baking dish the other half on the side to dip sliced squash in. Dipped squash goes into the parmesian on both sides then into the baking dish. Any extra parmesian I sprinkle where needed. Tasted wonderful and basically your recipe.
Delicata squash is one of my very favorite recipes, and I usually bake it pretty plain with coconut oil only. I just made this recipe and it might not last until dinner time. It is soooo good and I give it 6 out of 5 stars. I did half butter, half olive oil and baked for about 28 minutes. Thank you for upping my delicata game!
Someone gave me a couple delicata squash, and I didn’t know what to do with them, until I found your recipe. What a fantastic way to prepare this variety of squash! I will be making this again.
easy to make, I used garlic powder and mixed half butter/EVOO. Really good!