Fall is here, and that means it’s harvest time for squash! We like using squash as a delicious side dish and as a substitute for starchy potatoes and pasta. Today I’m sharing my recipe for roasted maple walnut carnival squash.
Carnival squash are small pumpkin shaped gourds with a thick variegated orange, yellow, and green rind. The green tells you that the squash is at its peak maturity. Carnival squash keeps well in a dry, cool place (we keep ours in the garage), but as it gets older, the green will start to fade to orange and yellow.
I’ve written this recipe for carnival squash, but you can use acorn or butternut squash as well. Winter squashes like carnival, acorn, and butternut are a delicious source of potassium, fibre, and vitamins A and C. They’re simple to cook, delicious, and good for you!
Start by cutting your squash in half from top to bottom. Scrape out the seeds and stringy bits just like you would with a pumpkin. Butter the inside and drizzle some maple syrup on all the surfaces. Add just a pinch of sea salt, and dust on some cinnamon and nutmeg on top if you like. I love the warmth and depth these spices give to the squash!
Place the cleaned halves in a deep baking tray or baking dish with about a quarter of an inch of water in the bottom. The water helps keep the squash from drying out. I like to loosely fold some aluminum foil over top too.
Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. The squash is done when it’s soft all the way through. Take off the foil and add chopped walnuts into the bowls of your squash. Spoon the buttery sauce over all the surfaces, making sure the walnuts are well coated. Pop the squash back into the oven for 15 more minutes so the walnuts get toasted and the top of the squash browns a bit.
Slice up each piece into halves or thirds and serve hot.
Roasted Maple Walnut Carnival Squash
Ingredients
- 2 carnival squashes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of cinnamon optional
- Pinch of nutmeg optional
- 1/3 cup walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut squash in half from stem to stem and clean out the seeds and strings.
- Place each cleaned half, cut side up, in an oven-safe baking dish. Add about 1/4" water to the pan.
- Coat inside of each squash half with 1/2 tablespoon of butter and lightly sprinkle just a touch of sea salt. Drizzle one teaspoon maple syrup inside each half. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg if desired.
- Loosely cover each half with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes until squash is soft all the way through.
- Remove foil and add one quarter of chopped walnuts to each squash half. Coat the walnuts and cut surfaces of squash with the sweet butter sauce.
- Bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.
- Cut each half into 2 or 3 slices and serve hot.
This sounds so yummy! Once it’s cool enough to turn on the oven here I will give it a try 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
My Mom has always been a lover of squash, the acorn squash is her favourite
Thanks for sharing,this sounds very good .
Just love maple syrup and walnuts – not too sure about the squash though, think I’d use melon instead 🙂
This is a timely recipe. I have given up white sugar as part of a book study I am doing with my church group. AND we have a ton of squash in the garden to use up. This looks delicious. I’m going to try it for supper tomorrow.
This sounds as delicious as dessert!
This looks so good. I am gonna have to give it a try.
Never really tried squash so this is nice that it’s on my radar. Thanks!
I will try this, I love walnuts and have not made squash with walnuts before. The aroma must be so comforting too
This sounds so yummy. I think it would be perfect for Thanksgiving too
This looks so delicious. We love squash!
I have never heard the term carnival squash before but the kids would sure go for this one
I have recently started trying different fall squash. This looks like a great recipe!
This looks so good. I hope my family likes it.
Mnnn that sounds very tasty, I would give it a try.
This recipe sounds amazing! Will try it soon!
I love squash!
This sounds oh so yummy! Thanks
this looks so delicious! will try
I love winter vegetables. That looks amazing…
It’s always fun to try new squash recipes.
This recipe was just too tempting to not check it out!! It looks delicious to me and I love aquash as avegetable.This one will goo into my favorites file.Thank you.
(Roasted Maple Walnut Carnival Squash #Recipe) This sounds like a great way to make squash at home, I eat a lot of it during the crisp fall months-
I like walnuts and maple syrup but I have never tried squash
Thanks for the recipe this sounds delicious
This delicious squash recipe is just what you need to turn a hard days frown upside down, a real delight to enjoy and amazingly scrumptious this dish really won me over!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now, and I just love it. I’m a big butternut, spaghetti, and acorn squash fan, I’ve never seen Carnival squash till this season. It goes with any meal I’m preparing. And it’s so simple.
My daughter had two Carnival squash on her front porch for Thanksgiving display. I wound up with them and cooked per this recipe. Magnificent!!
Did anyone actually make this recipe? All of the comments just seem to say about how good it looks. Can anyone say how it came out, and if any tweaks were needed to the recipe?
I just made these today. I think they need more syrup and spices. The flavor does not permeate the squash. Maybe it’s not supposed to but if I made again I’d increase the syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Hope this helps.