winter squash recipes

How to Fix Winter Squashes

Are you looking for a few delicious ideas for winter squash dishes? It’s fall, and that means local farmers and grocery stores are rolling out a lot of unfamiliar squash that no one knows what to do with. Many of us don’t even know what most of them are called. It’s even hard to know which ones to cook and which ones are for pure decoration!

I did not grow up eating winter squash; the closest thing we got to it was frying a little zucchini or yellow squash in the summer. The only other thing remotely familiar to fall squash was eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. My mom did make it but used a canned pumpkin.

The pumpkins we carved were the closest I ever got to winter squash as a kid. I probably did not meet one until I was in a college foods class at the University of Missouri in Columbia. At that time, I learned that they were rich in beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and lots of fiber. When we tried them in class, they were pretty darn good!

After my husband and I got married, we looked around at the fall squash and decided to try some acorn squash. We stuffed them with breadcrumbs and chopped vegetables, and we enjoyed eating them! It was about 10 or 15 years before we tried butternut squash and most of the ways I found to make it were into soup.

Even though the soup was delicious, my husband got tired of the sweet curry soup, so we came up with a more savory one. We enjoyed it during the fall/winter season, but we really could only eat it about once a month until we got bored. With all that squash lying around all winter, I wanted to find other things to make with it, and I wanted to learn the names of some of the less familiar ones besides butternut and acorn squash.

So, I wanted to share some of the things I learned about them and a few delicious ways I put together to use them. I hope you might try to include more of these beautiful, delicious vegetables in your diet! You should increase the number of times you eat them this fall and winter while they are plentiful and find new ways to fix them besides that sweet-tasting butternut squash soup. Not that there is anything wrong with it! So, join me on this squash journey…….

Delicious Ways for Cooking Winter Squash

You can easily prep and cook winter squash ahead of time then toss it in some of your favorite recipes. Here are some ways to do it!

Stuff it! However, go beyond the acorn, butternut, spaghetti squash, and things you aren’t as familiar with; learn its name, and eat it! There are a lot of great ones out there!
Peel, chunk it, and roast it! (With a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.) Use it for taco or burrito filling or pasta sauce with thyme, sage, and parmesan cheese. I love adding the chunks to a fall salad and also include them in a mix of fall vegetables to add to the top of a grain pilaf like quinoa or farro. It is so yummy! It is also wonderful for breakfast or Buddha Bowl!
Puree it! Use them in desserts in place of pumpkin or soups.
Cook them whole, but poke some holes in them.
Steam, simmer or stew.

Here are a few of my favorite ways cooking Winter Squash

Try these winter squash dishes:

And you can change up the type of winter squashes that you use,

The blog post below features Delicata Squash & Apple Saute Over Millet, Winter Squash Pot Pie with Cornmeal Crust, Butternut Squash & Poblano Pepper Tacos, and Mediterranean Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.

4 Fabulous Fall Squash Recipes

2. The blog post below features Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Pears & Goat Cheese and a Southwestern Pumpkin Soup.

2 Savory Fall Pumpkin Recipes

3. The blog post below features Kale, Apple & Butternut Squash Saute and Butternut Squash Penne Pasta.

2 Tasty Recipe Ideas to Get Squashed!

4. The Thanksgiving recipe below: Kouri and Vegetarian Sausage Stuffed Squash.

7 Survival Tips for a Healthier Thanksgiving!

5. Try this Kale and Butternut Squash Risotto recipe below to get your greens and winter squash.

Seeing Green and Eating Your Greens

6. This delicious make-ahead brunch recipe, Butternut Squash, Poblano Pepper & Coconut Chilaquiles, below features the best of winter squash!

Make-Ahead Holiday Breakfast Ideas

A few years ago in October, a non-profit called Slow Food Asheville hosted an event featuring a native winter squash; check it out below!

Slow Food Candy Roaster Rendezvous

What Are the Benefits of Eating Winter Squashes Seasonally

Fall and winter are the time for local There are a lot of great benefits of eating seasonally, here are just a few reasons:

Eating seasonally focuses more on what grows on the farms in your local community, so it supports local farmers.
When we buy directly from local farmers, there may be cost savings over going to the store.
Eating seasonally helps you get more variety because new foods are available every season!
When foods are picked fresh, and we eat them soon after, they are tastier and may be more nutritious. Check out additional benefits about organic foods here.

Here is an app that will help you find local food where you are!

Here are some seasonal food posters for Western North Carolina. If you would like to download them for free, they are available here at the Vine Ripe Nutrition Shop.

Spring Summer Fall and Winter Veggie Posters — Enjoy the seasons with the veggies available this spring, summer, fall and winter!

Make These Winter Squash Recipes

I hope that you enjoy these winter squash recipes and winter squash dishes. They may be one of the most versatile vegetables to cook, and there are so many ways to do it! I have found that if I bake or microwave it with the skin on, it will peel more easily.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist in Asheville, I love sharing the benefits of eating seasonally and recipes to keep people healthier so that they will enjoy and explore foods they would not otherwise try! I am so glad that you stopped by to check out these recipes. I would love to know if you try them or some other ways to prepare them! You can find out more about me on my introduction page!

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Try These Delicious Easy Winter Squash Recipes

How to Fix Winter Squashes

Delicious Ways for Cooking Winter Squash

Here are a few of my favorite ways cooking Winter Squash

Try these winter squash dishes:

What Are the Benefits of Eating Winter Squashes Seasonally

Make These Winter Squash Recipes

Here Are a Few Seasonal Recipe Eat Healthy Ideas

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Fall Recipes

Winter Recipes

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Denise Barratt, Asheville Registered Dietitian Nutritionist