Maple Baked Sweet Potato Acorn Squash

White acorn squash is halved and then baked with maple syrup, butter and sugar for a deliciously easy fall-inspired side dish. The perfect combination of savory and sweet!

How to Cook Sweet Potato Acorn Squash

The easiest way to cook it is therefore halving it, scooping out the seeds and baking in the oven until it’s so tender you can easily scoop the flesh out.

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• 1 white acorn squash

• softened butter

• coconut sugar

• maple syrup

• sea salt
  

Once you’ve halved the squash and removed the seeds (save them to make roasted squash seeds!), place the squash in a baking dish.

Rub the softened butter into the cavity and bit on the edges of each half of the squash. Sprinkle the coconut sugar all over the cavity then drizzle the maple syrup on top. Finish prepping the squash with a generous pinch of Kosher salt then place in a preheated 375°F oven.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until the squash is fork tender and caramelized and golden brown along the edges. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

RECIPE SUBSTITUTIONS

While already vegetarian and gluten-free (it’s even paleo too if you consider grass-fed butter acceptable on the paleo diet), you can easily make this maple baked squash vegan too.

In fact, that’s what I did by using a plant-based butter. Melt or Miyokos are my favorite brands for that. Ghee or coconut oil can also be used in place of butter.

Coconut sugar can be swapped out for brown sugar if preferred. I don’t like white sugar as an option nearly as much as it won’t caramelize and provide the depth of flavor that coconut or brown sugar does.

And lastly, honey can be used instead of maple syrup.

It’s obviously a pretty flexible recipe but no matter which substitutions you may use, the result will be the same – a deliciously savory and sweet side dish that epitomizes fall and winter cooking!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

This maple-baked sweet potato acorn squash goes perfectly with almost any seasonal meal.

This squash would also go well with a simple skillet pork chop along with your favorite vegetable.

And if you’re thinking of serving this as a side dish on the holidays, this stuffed turkey roulade and butterflied leg of lamb make great main courses for that!

For a meatless meal, consider serving this alongside a baby kale salad or this winter chopped kale salad. Something about the combination of kale + squash makes my winter heart happy.