Don’t be turned off by the unusual mixture of spices in this recipe! The sweet and spicy combo is amazing on top of the mild flavor of a fairly underrated squash. Step aside butternut, acorn is the squash of my heart! You can alter the oil, syrup, and spices level in this recipe to accommodate your preferences, but this is the combo which I like, which is pretty mild in sweetness, spice etc.
Make sure you have a sharp knife and some cutting skills for this hard-skinned vegetable. Here is a video on the best way to cut an acorn squash, broken down step by step:

Roasted Spiced Acorn Squash
A sweet and spicy twist on our favorite squash! Tweak this recipe as you like to fit your flavor desires!
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash
- 2 tsp cinnamon and/or pumpkin spice mix
- 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (or chile powder, whichever)
- 2 TB olive oil on pan and squash mix
- 2 TB maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- dash of salt (and pepper if you’d like)
- half lemon zest and 2 TB lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Will cook for 35 minutes.
- Combine all the dried ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls.
- Cut the acorn squash into about 1 inch pieces, leaving the skin on or off depending on your preference. I leave the skin on because it is edible and you can just eat around it. Alot less work.
- Put the squash pieces in the wet mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Once all the pieces are evenly covered, then put all the spices on top and mix again. Put all the pieces on the pan.
OMG. I am so in love with this dish. I questioned the combination at first but not anymore!
★★★★★