Grilled Delicata Squash
Delicata squash is fall’s prettiest vegetable. This simple grilled delicata squash recipe is full of roasted smoky flavor, and will quickly elevate this squash to your fall favorite.
By all accounts, grilling season is almost over. There is frost on the ground, and this time of year most people have moved on to hearty chilis and soul-warming soups. But I’m not quite ready to put the grill away. Not yet. Because it’s delicata squash season.
It never really feels like fall until the squash display makes it to my local grocery store. The mounds of colorful winter squashes are so pretty, and I love them all! Butternut squash is a favorite for soup. Acorn squash and kabocha squash are delicious roasted. But my favorite squash, the one I am always searching the shelves for, is delicata. Delicata squash is a beautiful little yellow oval with dark green stripes and flecks of orange. It has a delicately sweet flavor and creamy texture. And the best part for this busy mom is that it is one of the easiest winter squash varieties to cook because it has edible skin!
My favorite way to cook delicata squash is on my grill. All you need for perfectly delicious golden brown squash slices is a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. The grill gives the squash an amazing smoky roasted flavor that will quickly make it your favorite fall side dish. Add a bed of greens, some diced chicken and a yummy dressing and you can even make this squash the star of a delicious main dish salad. I’m sure after trying delicata squash, you will also be scouring the grocery stores and farmers markets for this little fall jewel.
You Will Love This
- A delicious simple recipe for a favorite winter squash.
- A beautiful and unique addition to your Thanksgiving menu. Get Thanksgiving vibes any night of the week with this squash recipe and our easy air fryer turkey tenderloin.
- Grilling is the best way to capture lots of smoky roasted flavor in your squash – it is my favorite method for cooking delicata.
Ingredients
Gather up your ingredients. For this simple recipe, you will need:
- Delicata squash: Look for a squash that is bright yellow and green. It may also have some orange stripes. Avoid squash that is light green – it is not ripe.
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- For a little salty-sweet flavor, I also love a drizzle of maple syrup on this squash after cooking! (totally optional)
Equipment
You will need a grill and a tongs or metal spoon for this recipe. You can also use a grill wok to make the job of grilling your squash a little easier. A grill wok is basically a special metal pan that sits on your grill grate. It has small holes to let in all that awesome grill flavor, but will keep veggies from falling down into your grill. We love our grill wok and use it weekly in the summer. If you grill often, I would definitely give this tool a try!
Instructions
Step One: Preheat your grill to medium heat. Thoroughly wash the outside of your squash. With a sharp knife, cut the ends off the squash. Then place the squash on a flat end on the cutting board and very carefully cut lengthwise through the squash. Remove the seeds from the squash with a spoon.
Step Two: Cut the squash into approximately 1-inch slices. The squash pieces should now look like half moons. You can also grill the seeded squash halves directly on your grill grate, without cutting it into half moons. I prefer the smaller slices of squash because they cook a little faster and they have more surface area to soak up all that delicious smoky grill flavor.
Step Three: In a large bowl, toss the squash slices in olive oil until they are well coated. Sprinkle the squash with Kosher salt and black pepper. If you are using a grill wok, put the squash slices in the wok and place the wok on the grill grate. If you are not using a wok, place each squash half moon directly on the grill gate over indirect heat.
Step Four: Cook the squash for approximately 20 minutes, until golden brown and fork tender. The cooking time may vary slightly depending on your grill and the size of your squash. If you are using the grill wok, use a metal spoon to stir the squash 2-3 times during cooking for even browning. If you are grilling the squash directly on the grill grate, use a metal tongs to turn the squash slices every 5 minutes or so, and rotate the squash slices around the grill if necessary to keep them cooking evenly over indirect heat.
TIP: When we are grilling squash directly on the grate, we often move the squash up to the top rack of the grill after about 15 minutes to keep the outsides from burning while the insides finish cooking.
Grilled Delicata Squash
Ingredients
- 2 medium delicata squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Thoroughly wash the outside of the squash. With a sharp knife, cut the ends off the squash. Then place the squash on a flat end on the cutting board and very carefully cut lengthwise through the squash. Remove the seeds from the squash with a spoon.
- Cut the squash into approximately 1-inch slices. The squash pieces should now look like half moons.
- In a large bowl, toss the squash slices in olive oil until they are well coated. Sprinkle the squash with Kosher salt and black pepper. If using a grill wok, put the squash slices in the wok and place the wok on the grill grate. If not using a wok, place each squash half moon directly on the grill gate over indirect heat.
- Cook the squash for approximately 20 minutes, until golden brown and fork tender. The cooking time may vary slightly depending on the grill and the size of the squash. If using the grill wok, use a metal spoon to stir the squash 2-3 times during cooking for even browning. If grilling the squash directly on the grill grate, use a metal tongs to turn the squash slices every 5 minutes or so, and rotate the squash slices around the grill if necessary to keep them cooking evenly over indirect heat.
This is my favorite way to eat delicata squash. The grill gives this recipe so much flavor.