Easy Acorn Squash in the Slow Cooker or Crock-Pot 

If you are looking for an easy way to prepare acorn squash, here it is! This recipe uses the Crock-Pot or slow cooker method to cook squash to perfection, making a perfect side dish or dessert for busy weeknights.

Why I Love Slow Cooking Acorn Squash

A slow cooker acorn squash recipe is a great way to achieve the perfect texture for cooked squash, without having to use the oven. This means you can go about your day while the squash cooks, and have it ready for the whole family to enjoy! Just place a little water in a slow cooker, throw your squash halves in, and in a few hours your squash will be ready to serve.

I actually threw my Crock-Pot away years ago…

I am a huge fan of slow cooker recipes, but I actually don’t own a Crock-Pot. 

I got rid of my Crock-Pot because it often gave my food a strange taste, and I became concerned about what might be leaching into my food from the glaze on the slow cooker insert. Many people often use a plastic liner in their Crock-Pot for ease of cleaning…but not me! I would rather not cook my food in plastic. There are many side effects from cooking food in plastic materials, as chemicals can leach into food. 

I later realized there was a simple solution to my tragic Crock-Pot dilemma, and that was to use my Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting!  The Instant Pot inner cooking pot is made of stainless steal, rather than a painted ceramic. These means I can enjoy all of my favorite winter Crock-Pot recipes without having to worry about chemicals leaching into my food.

Keep in mind that a slow cooker setting on an Instant Pot will generally still cook food much faster than a Crock-Pot, so it may take some adjusting to. 

A quick side note, upon looking into it, there may be some types of slow cookers with a stainless steal inner pot, so I suggest trying to find one of those if you want to use a slow cooker instead of an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. 

Health Benefits of Acorn Squash

Acorn squash is packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin A. This means it’s a great fruit to include in your diet to help the immune system, as well as to promote lung, heart, bone, and blood vessel health. (Source)

Squash can also act as a prebiotic by feeding the beneficial bacteria in your gut.  (Source)

Prebiotics stimulate growth of beneficial bacteria by passing through the digestive system, and into the colon. They aren’t digested directly by the body, but are metabolized by the microorganisms in the gut. They convert these prebiotics into fatty acids that provide energy to cells in the colon, which then is able to produce healthy mucus and reduce inflammation. This leads to overall better gut health and an improved immune system. (Source)

When to Eat Acorn Squash

Being a variety of winter squash, acorn squash in season from early fall through late winter. You can often find them at farmers markets and many grocery stores during this time. You can also grow your own! Make sure to look up the best time to plant acorn squash for your zone.

How to Serve Acorn Squash

The nutty flavor of acorn squash makes a delicious ingredient that can be used in a variety of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or as a snack!

 There are so many yummy options:

• Simply add a little melted butter and maple syrup for a healthy and delicious dessert.

• Use it as a base for ice cream (like I did with butternut squash in this video).

• Make an acorn squash pie: use cooked acorn squash in place of pumpkin in a pumpkin pie recipe!

• Add a little melted butter and salt for an easy side dish (it’s actually one of my favorite side dishes).

• Blend it into a warming winter squash soup.

• Mix it into a main dish, like a spicy chilli!

• Add some seasoned ground beef for a hearty stuffed acorn squash meal.

How to Store Cooked Acorn Squash

After removing the acorn squash meat from the skin of the squash halves, allow to cool to room temperature, then place squash meat in an airtight glass container.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

How to Make Slow Cooker Acorn Squash

Set acorn squash down on an even, flat surface.

The unique shape of acorn squash can be difficult to cut, but the easiest way I have found is to cut along a groove, avoiding the top stem.  

With a sharp knife, cut acorn squash in half.

With a spoon, remove seeds from each squash half.

Place a cup of water in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Place a steaming tray in in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Place squash halves cut sides facing downward onto the steaming tray- they do not have to be perfectly flat, but try your best to arrange them in a single layer. 

Slow cook in a Crock-Pot or slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours. (If you have a very large acorn squash, cooking time may be a little longer.)

If using an Instant Pot on a slow cooker setting, slow cook on low for 2-3 hours, or on high for 45 minutes-1 hour. (If you have a very large acorn squash, cooking time may be a little longer. )

Acorn squash is fully cooked when a knife can easily slide through the outer skin, and into the inner squash meat.

Remove inner squash meat from the skin with a large spoon.

Serve immediately, or allow to cool to room temperature and store in an airtight glass container.

Enjoy!