All summer long, you peeked under the leaves, watching them get bigger and bigger. As summer drew to a close, they turned colors, wonderful blues, tans, oranges, and deepest greens. The first light frost came, and the vines withered, revealing the bountiful harvest of squashes and pumpkins. Butternuts. Acorns. Delicatas. Buttercups. The sugar pumpkins are round and orange. But now what to do with all of them? 

If you’ve been bitten by the squash bug (the urge to grow more squash, not the actual garden pest), you may find yourself needing some help enjoying the harvest come autumn. That mound of squash is satisfying, but what comes next?

Winter squash (and other fall vegetables) can be cooked in many ways, including steaming, sautéing, boiling and mashing, toasting, and more. But the classic, and in my opinion, most tasty way is to roast them. It’s also the first step for using squash or pumpkins in recipes that call for puree, like pumpkin pie.

Start With Proper Storage

If you’ve got two squash, you can eat them both this fall, but for bigger harvests, you’ll need to store your prized fruits to keep them in top condition. Some winter squash, including acorns and delicatas, store well for a month or two, and others, like butternut and Hubbard, can store for 3- 4 months or more with proper care. 

Squash should be clean, so rub off any soil that may be sticking to the skin. Winter squash stores best when cured, a process as simple as holding them in a warm, dry area at about 80℉ for a week. The skins will toughen up, and the squash will keep longer. After curing, it’s time to store them for the long haul.

For storage, ensure the squash is dry and identify any fruits with deep wounds on the skin for eating first. Ideally, winter squash should be stored at 50-60℉ and with a humidity of 50-70%. For most of us, finding those exact conditions is difficult, but there’s no need to have perfect storage conditions. Use those numbers as a guide. For example, an unheated garage or shed that stays 30-40℉ in winter is a bit too cool. Your spare bedroom, which is 73℉ like the rest of the house, is a bit too warm. A cool corner of the basement, a closet on an exterior wall, or the mudroom where the back door is constantly being opened might all work. For humidity, there’s no need to monitor constantly. Avoid damp or excessively dry conditions, and you’ll be fine for storage. 

Tip: When storing squash, keep them off concrete floors. Store them on a pallet, shelf, or other location where air can flow around them, and make it easy to peek at them to make sure they’re doing fine. Squash and pumpkins stored directly on concrete floors rot faster. And, like all other produce, avoid storing them with apples. Apples give off a gas called ethylene, which causes other produce to over ripen and spoil faster.

Easy Recipe for Roasting Squash

My favorite way, because it works well and is fast and easy, is to simply whack the squash or pumpkin in half.  Scoop the seeds and scrape the inside clean, saving the seeds if you wish. This recipe works well with butternut squash, delicata squash, acorn squash, sugar pumpkins, and countless other mid-sized squash varieties. For larger squash, like a Hubbard, I often roast them as cubes (see below).

• Preheat your oven. I normally default to 400℉, but 425℉ works fine as well. 

• Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (to reduce the cleanup).

• Using a large, sharp knife, cut the squash in half. I cut squash the long way if they aren’t round. If roasting a pumpkin or a round squash, any which way through the center is fine.

• Scoop out the seeds and stringy parts. A basic metal spoon works fine. Keep going until the inside is firm and clean. While the softer insides are edible, I prefer to keep them out of my roasted squash. 

• Set the seeds aside if you’d like to roast them later, or clean them up and save them to plant next year if they’re from open-pollinated varieties. Otherwise, into the compost they go.

• Brush or rub the cut side of the squash, including the cleaned-out center, with olive oil or melted butter. 

• For savory uses, I sprinkle the cut sides with salt and pepper. For sweeter uses or to freeze for later, I’ll leave it alone or sometimes add a bit of brown sugar.

• Place the squash, skin-side down, on the baking sheet and toss it in the oven. Cooking time varies with the size of the squash, so I’ll start checking them at about 30 minutes. You’re looking for fork-tender and soft.

• Remove the squash from the oven. You can serve directly onto a plate or scoop out the roasted squash with a serving spoon. If the squash is properly roasted, it should easily separate from the skins and be a bit firmer than mashed potatoes. 

The whole process really comes down to cutting it in half, scooping it out, rubbing it with a bit of oil, and tossing it in the oven.  

With a bit more work, you can roast squash cubes, which makes an appealing dish. It’s also my go-to for those larger squashes that aren’t easily cut in half, or are just too big for a single meal. Follow the recipe above, except you’ll remove the skin from the squash with a sturdy vegetable peeler or a paring knife. Cut the skinned squash into 1-inch cubes and toss in a bowl with oil, salt, pepper, and herbs, as desired. Place them on a baking sheet and roast as above until the edges start to turn golden brown, usually about 25 minutes.

Roasting Root Vegetables

Squash and pumpkins aren’t the only produce to come out of our gardens in fall that can (and should) be roasted. If you’ve not tried roasted root vegetables, you are in for a surprisingly different treat. Roasting carrots, parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, and turnips brings out their sweetness and earthy flavors, making for a very satisfying side dish on a cold winter day. And it’s super easy!

• Start off with a pile of your favorite root vegetables. They should be washed and clean. 

• Peel or don’t peel is up to you. I typically leave the skin on carrots and parsnips, but will peel beets and sweet potatoes. 

• Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. About one-inch chunks work well. 

• Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and some minced herbs. 

• Arrange the cut-up chunks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Don’t crowd them. There should be a slight gap between the pieces. If roasting sweet potatoes with other root vegetables, you may wish to use two pans, as the sweet potatoes will likely be done and ready to come out of the oven before the other vegetables. 

• Roast at 400-425℉. Start checking them for doneness at about 25 minutes. Fork-tender is what we’re after. Their colors will deepen, and they’ll start to brown around the edges. 

An easy dinner is a roast chicken and roasted root vegetables. Roast the chicken on the top rack, and at about 30 minutes out, toss the vegetable pan on the bottom rack. They’ll be done at the same time as the chicken.