Now is the perfect time to assemble a sheet pan overflowing with roasted acorn squash, apples, and sweet onions. We're happy to turn on the oven on these crisp autumn days and enjoy this beautiful combination of sweet and savory fragrances as it roasts. The aroma is tantalizing!
This is a simple side dish that's just right with ham, turkey, or roast pork. The combination of squash, apples, and onions would be a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving menu and an awesome thing to serve with sausages for your Oktoberfest get-together.
Fall offers a wonderful selection of plentiful, colorful, and delicious food choices. You'll find apples in vivid reds, greens, and yellows and an abundance of sweet potatoes and squash in colors from orange to yellow and white.
You only need a few humble, plentiful, reasonably priced ingredients because they are in season. Assemble the ingredients for this roasted acorn squash dish, and it practically makes itself in the oven.
Acorn squash has pretty tough skin, and the characteristic scalloped shape is a little challenging to peel. I found it easiest to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and lay it down on my cutting board with the cut side down.
Next, I sliced it into sections from top to bottom and cut it into pieces about three-fourths of an inch in size. It was easy to remove the peel from the sections. I used about half of a rather large squash; it made about two cups of chunks.
Then I cored four crisp, unpeeled apples and cut them into chunks about the same size as the squash. Finally, I removed the outer skin from two medium-sized sweet onions and cut them into chunks.
I put it all on my well-seasoned old Pampered Chef sheet pan and drizzled it with olive oil. I slid the pan into a 350 oven and let them roast for about thirty minutes.
Next, I stirred everything, drizzled pure maple syrup and balsamic vinegar over the pan, and sprinkled it with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
I popped the pan back into the oven and let them roast for about another thirty minutes until the edges of each ingredient got a teeny bit crisp and brown. Before serving it, I added toasted, sliced almonds and sweetened dried cranberries for crunch, color, and chewiness.
My roasted acorn squash turned out beautifully! You could substitute butternut squash and use any apples and onions you prefer. Cumin, garlic, or smoked paprika would be good choices to add if you want the dish to be more savory.
You can also experiment with basil, thyme, oregano, and marjoram. Each of those herbs pairs nicely with the earthiness of squash. I encourage you to try different combinations, get plenty of practice, and find your perfect recipe in time for Thanksgiving Day!
Learn to enjoy and take advantage of the foods of each season! When you purchase produce in season, the flavor will be much better, and the prices will be much lower! The closer to the source and peak season, the better the quality and taste of the fresh ingredients you buy!
What's great right now? There are loads of wonderful apples and pears in the produce aisle, and watch for beautiful red pomegranates and bright, cheerful orange persimmons. Buy fresh cranberries and freeze them right in the bag to use in recipes all winter long!
Winter squash like pumpkin, butternut, kabocha, acorn squash, and delicata are abundant and will be for the next several weeks.
Sweet potatoes are at their best, as are root vegetables like turnips, beets, and parsnips. For greens, look for kale, chard, and Brussels sprouts. Look for freshly harvested nuts in the fall, too, like almonds, pecans, and walnuts!
Here is a recipe for a wonderful combination of acorn squash, crisp apples, and sweet onions. Roast them in the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and pure maple syrup, then season to taste. It's a great side dish for all our most cherished fall events.
Another fall recipe you might enjoy is Stuffed Butternut Squash! The addition of Italian Sausage makes it a main dish! And while pears are still plentiful, try this amazing Pear Crisp. It would make a great dessert when you have the oven on already!
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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Why not use butternut squash. Easier to peel.
I use both kinds because I like both and sometimes, people give me squash! 😀