Maple-Miso Glazed Squash the quintessential fall dish. It's the the perfect dish dish to serve alongside your vegan roast this Thanksgiving! Make it with acorn, carnival, or buttercup carnival squash — or use whatever your favorite winter squash is. This easy baked squash recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Squash Season
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating: I love autumn! I love the fresh produce that fall brings, the vibrant colors of the leaves on the trees, and yes, I even love the chill in the air. I get excited when I see piles of heart winter squash, buckets of Brussels sprouts, and barrels of freshly picked apples. What should I cook first?
Recently, I came across a farm stands with 6 or 7 varieties of winter squash. I faced the conundrum of which one to choose, and then after selecting a brightly-colored carnival squash, I was faced with the decision of how to cook it. The words “maple” and “miso” kept coming to mind, so I went with it.
How to Cut Your Squash
If your squash is a little tough and difficult to cut through, you can place it in your preheated over for about 10 minutes to soften it a little. You can also microwave it for two or three minutes.
- Cut your squash in half. I like to go through the center from the stem to the bottom, rather from side to side.
- Then scoop out the seeds and stringy bits in inside. I have a grapefruit spoon that I use to make it easy, but you can use any spoon to get it out.
- Then cut each half into slices, about ½-inch thick.
How to Make Maple-Miso Glazed Squash
It's super to easy to make glazed squashed!
- Once you're squash is sliced, you lay the slices out on a baking sheet and brush both sides with a little oil. Sprinkle them with a little salt.
- Bake them for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping the slices at about 15 minutes.
- While the squash is baking, whisk together the maple syrup, miso, and apple cider vinegar.
- Brush the maple syrup mixture onto the squash slices and then bake them for another 10 minutes.
- Serve your squash hot, garnished with pumpkin seeds and parsley.
Maple-Miso Glazed Squash can be made ahead, if you know that you’re going to be short on time, but I suggest adding the glaze and doing the final 10 minutes of roasting shortly before serving, in order to maintain flavor.
Because of the dish’s fall flavors, it’s a welcome addition to the holiday dinner table, but it’s the perfect side dish for weeknight meals as well.
Maple-Miso Glazed Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized winter squash such as carnival, acorn, or buttercup squash
- 2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon mellow white miso
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, and cut the ½” thick pieces.
- Place the squash slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush or drizzle them with the oil. Sprinkle with the salt.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping the slices about halfway through, until they're golden brown on both sides.
- While the squash is roasting, mix together the maple syrup, miso, and apple cider vinegar.
- Remove the squash from the oven and brush the slices with the maple-miso mixture. Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for about 10 more miutes.
- Serve hot, garnished with the parsley and pumpkin seeds.
Other squash recipes you might enjoy include:
- Butternut Squash Lasagna with Kale
- Baked Butternut Squash Steaks
- Quinoa Stuffed Squash
- Roasted Kabocha Soup
- Coconut Curry Noodles and Butternut Squash
- Garlicky Mashed Butternut Squash
Becky Striepe
Oh man. Every time you post a Thanksgiving recipe, I start rethinking my holiday cooking plan! In a delicious way!
Cadry
That's a really great tip to briefly bake the squash if it's difficult to cut. It's been a long time since I've had a carnival squash. They're so cute & squat. Your recipe sounds wonderful!
Dianne
Sorry, Becky. 🙂 There's another one coming later in the week, so you may want to hold off on final plans!
Dianne
Thank you, Cadry!
Susmitha - Veganosaurus
Such a simple yet yummy recipe, Dianne. I have a pumpkin at home, will try this with that ASAP. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Susan
This looks amazing. Maple and miso go so well together. I wish we could get all of the fun squash varieties that you can get.
Dianne
Thanks, Susan!
Dianne
Thank you, Susmitha! I hope you enjoy it.
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
That carnival squash is so pretty! I'm going to look for some and try your recipe soon.
JL Fields
Miso = umami and you can never go wrong with vegan-umami-glazed ANYTHING! This will be stunning on the holiday table!
Jenn
What a beautiful dish and so easy too! Perfect for the holidays!
Dianne
Thank you, Jenn!
Dianne
Thank you, JL!
Dianne
Thanks, Amy! I hope you enjoy it!
Alisa Fleming
I love maple and miso together! What a delicious flavor idea to pair with winter squash!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
I love the maple and miso combo!! I have a dressing that uses those and it's so good. I best this squash with that flavor combo is amazing!
Dianne
Thanks, Sophia! Isn't it the best flavor combo?
Dianne
Thank you, Alisa!
Mary Ellen @ VNutrition
I love autumn too! And this maple miso squash looks like it's going to be one of my favorites for the season. I love anything miso. I wouldn't have come up with that flavor combo but it sounds amazing!
Dianne
I hope you enjoy it!
Linda @ Veganosity
This sounds amazing! Perfect for Thanksgiving. 🙂
Mel |avirtualvegan.com
What delicious looking squash! Those flavours sound amazing. That was one beautiful looking squash too! I've actually never seen a carnival squash.
Dianne
Thank you, Linda!
Dianne
Thank you, Mel! I think it must be a U.S. thing, because others have also told me that they've never seen carnival squash.
Ginny McMeans
My mouth started watering when I read your recipe ingredients. It sounds so good!
Dianne
Thank you, Ginny!
Sarah
I love squash! This looks gorgeous, and so simple too—a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving when you don't have time to fuss about another dish!
Dianne
Thanks, Sarah!
Chocoviv
This looks good.
Dianne
Thank you!
Warrenjharris
Can you eat the skin?
Dianne
Yes.
Jenny P
Hi Dianne,
This thanksgiving I intend to finish the dish at the family member's house 2 hours away.
My thinking is that I would cook for 32 minutes brush it with the glaze, make the drive and then pop it back into the oven for 10 minutes. I just want to try to stay out of the way, so do you think that brushing the glaze on in advance would be ok?
Thanks, I can't wait to make this!
Dianne
Hi, Jenny. I've never cooked it like that, but I'm sure it would be okay. Happy Thanksgiving!
Linda
Do you think you can air fry the squash instead of baking it and for how long? Thanks
Dianne
Hi, Linda! I've never air fried squash, so I don't know. Usually when a recipe is air fried instead of baked, the time is cut in half.