Here, squash gets a similar treatment to roasted beets or oven-friend potatoes: a light toss in oil and salt, space on a baking sheet to crisp up, and a hot oven. The result can be a healthy mid-day snack, a toddlers’ favorite finger food, or a building block for many a dish. For people following a keto or low-carb diet, squash roasted in this way can replace pasta as the center of the plate in your favorite fettuccini carbonara or spaghetti bolognese recipe and arguably make it better than ever. This is a basic master recipe that is a delicious by itself but also a platform for innovation: roast squash with other vegetables or fruits, add spices to complement any cuisine, and experiment with your favorite squash variety.
Which squashes work best to slice and roast?
Sweet Dumpling Squashes
Delicata squash is my favorite for roasting in slices because the skin is thin gives a nice crunch, and the nutty sweetness of the flesh is enhanced by this dry-heat treatment. The pieces that result after scooping the seeds and slicing the squash are the perfect shape and size. Sweet dumpling is another small squash similar to delicata but acorn-shaped, and also in the Cucurbita pepo family. Candy Roaster squash, a C. maxima, has a smooth skin that is easily peeled. If you don’t like the idea of eating roasted squash peel, Candy Roaster is a good choice. Butternut is so good just cut and half and baked that I don’t often slice and roast it, but it too is easily peeled and works well. It will turn out more sweet and less vegetal-tasting than delicata.
Tips and tricks to achieve sliced, roasted greatness
Start your squash prep by cutting each squash in half starting from the stem end. This will allow you to lay each half on your cutting board and easily prep perfect slices. On most squashes I could call this “the long way,” but some, like the carnival squash in this photo, are wider than they are tall, so that could be confusing.
Safety First: In the photo I’m using a strong cleaver to cut right through the stem, but note that I’ve first cut a little slice off the bottom to help the squash stand stable and strong. Foods with round bottoms that move or rock while cutting are dangerous! Cutting right through a dried winter squash stem is a risky move, so don’t be like me: either start right beside the stem, or try to wrest it from the squash first with a strong pair of pliers.
Use a strong spoon with sharp edges to scoop out seeds and pulp.You want to scrape firmly to remove any soft and stringy bits, and it’s easy to bend a wimpy spoon handle.
I’ll be adding posts about eating squash seeds and saving squash seeds for planting, later on. Until then, drop me a note by email or in the comments if you have questions.
Jump to Recipe
How thick to slice the squash? Having experimented a bit with this question, I recommend a thickness of 1/2 inch (1.5cm) for best results if your squash seems fairly dense and dry. For a softer squash like butternut, you may wish to go a little thicker. The idea is that you want the dry heat of the oven to brown the outside quickly, to result in a slightly chewy slice that’s still soft and sweet on the inside. Much thinner than half an inch and it will not have that soft interior, and pieces near the edge of the pan may burn.
At this point, you’ll grab a big bowl and toss the squash slices with the oil and salt, and anything else you want to add in. The simple salt treatment is perfect, but give yourself permission to go wild! Cooking is all about trial and error, and here you can add the flavors you like or that mesh well with what’s for dinner.
Prepare a pan with parchment or foil and arrange slices in one layer. The slices will shrink, so you can put them close together but each slice should be flat on the pan. While all my photography is from a cheap phone with lousy lighting, this one might seem especially weird as the slices look like they are a fine coating of dirt. This is actually a bit of poultry seasoning (a fine ground mix of sage, thyme, parsley, and other spices) which gave this roasted carnival squash a little bit of Thanksgiving flair.
Do you need to flip the pieces? Depends. With normal baking, the slices will brown more on the bottom than on the top, and you’ll want to flip them halfway through. Flipping a whole tray of quite small squash slices is a bit of a pain in the butt. There are two solutions. You can use the convect roast setting if your oven has it, and this will brown the top as well as the bottom. Or, you can switch to broil for the last few minutes of roasting, after the bottoms have browned.
Master Recipe: Roasted Delicata Squash Slices
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Sharp knife
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 Delicata squash or another squash type of your choice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, or convect roast at 375. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Wash squash and cut in half lengthwise. The peel can be left on.
- Scoop out seeds and pulp.
- Place each squash half face down on a cutting board and cut in one half inch thick slices.
- In a large bowl, toss slices with oil, salt, and other seasonings or add-ins of your choice.
- Arrange in one layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through unless you are using the convect roast setting.