47 Winter Squash Recipes You Have To Try - You Should Grow (2024)

FAQs

Can you eat immature winter squash? ›

Did you know you can eat under-ripe, immature butternut squash? They are gourd-eous! Kidding aside, knowing this fact can help reduce local food waste as Maine farmers and gardeners move forward with the winter squash harvest.

Just cut out any bad spots when you're prepping the squash and removing the seeds. If there are too many bruises to deal with, peel the squash with a potato peeler and cut it into chunks and cook it that way.

You can eat green or unripe butternut squash, as well as other gourds. They make a good substitute for zucchini.

When cooked, banana squash has a rich, sweet, earthy taste. Use banana squash in place of other varieties, like butternut or kabocha. It's great for roasting and in soups and stews. Butternut squash offers a sweet squash flavor with nutty nuances and is extremely versatile.

Acorn squash, delicata squash, and butternut squash are just a few examples of winter squash that are as nutritious as they are delicious. Try incorporating the winter squash varieties listed above into your diet this fall and winter for an easy way to care for your health from the inside out.

While the high beta-carotene content in squash can provide many benefits, studies also suggest that consuming too much of this compound can increase the risk of lung cancer.

As a certified executive chef, Tiner says the short answer is simple: Yes, you can. "You can eat raw squash, however, the taste may not be to everyone's liking," Tiner notes. "Squash contains a toxin known as Cucurbitacin E, which can give the squash a bitter taste.

Most winter squash have pretty good frost tolerance, as long as they don't get exposed to a hard freeze where the temperature might get down to 28° for more than a couple hours. If a heavy frost or freeze is predicted, you can cover your squash with old blankets or a tarp to provide some protection.

Freezing raw squash is not only simple, it's preferred. You may decide to blanch the squash before you freeze it if you're worried about the taste, texture, color, and nutrients staying intact, but it is truly unnecessary, and the vegetable will last just as long whether you complete this extra tedious step or not.

Keep your eye out for any brown spots or blemishes; these can indicate the start of spoiling. Any soft spots or slimy areas are also a sign that your squash has gone bad. Old squash tends to have soft flesh, leathery skin, and a hollow feel. And, of course, any spots of mold mean it's time to toss your squash.

What to do with immature winter squash? ›

Really underripe butternut types can be used like a summer squash with peels and seeds left in. They are good in stir frys or as pieces in a veggie soup. I call those fall squash as they're what's left immature at the end of the season and get harvested before frost.

But delicata squash is my favorite by far. Nicknamed the “sweet potato squash,” it has a sweet, velvety flesh that caramelizes beautifully in the oven. But that's not all.

Although delicata is typically considered a winter squash variety, it actually belongs to the same species as summer squash varieties like cousa, zucchini, pattypan, etc. The delicata squash is sometimes referred to as a sweet potato squash or a peanut squash.

Really underripe butternut types can be used like a summer squash with peels and seeds left in. They are good in stir frys or as pieces in a veggie soup. I call those fall squash as they're what's left immature at the end of the season and get harvested before frost.

Unripe winter squash taste different from ripe, but you can treat unripe, peeled butternut like summer squash with good results. My personal preference is to pluck any later flowers rather than let unripe fruit develop. These can be eaten raw or stuffed and cooked (my go-to method is seasoned cream cheese and chive).

Winter squash that requires curing includes Blue Hubbard, Buttercup, Butternut, and Spaghetti. Curing actually reduces storage life and quality of Acorn squash—no need to devote time or space to curing these.