Roasted Kabocha Squash is the best way to cook my favorite winter squash!
I’m just tickled pink when it’s autumn ‘cause I love me some winter squash, especially kabocha! When cooked, this Japanese pumpkin has the taste and texture of roasted chestnuts.
Even uber-picky Lil-O will swipe roasted slices off the communal plate and gobble them down. I normally keep the skin on when I roast them but if you’ve got autoimmune issues, peel them.
Time to make Roasted Kabocha Squash!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 medium kabocha squash
- 2 tablespoons ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment:
- Vegetable peeler
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Measuring spoons
- Large bowl
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 F with the rack in the middle. Rinse the squash under running water, and dry it. (If you’re gonna peel it, do so now with a sharp vegetable peeler.)
Like all winter squash, kabocha takes a sharp knife and a bit of brute force to cut up. I’ve found that the best way to attack it is to cut off the top and the bottom…
…’cause once the flesh is exposed, cutting it in half is a breeze.
Scoop out the seeds…
…and cut the squash into thin wedges.
Next, toss the squash with your fat of choice and sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper.
Place the squash in a single layer on a foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking tray…
…and pop it in the oven.
Roast the squash for 30 minutes, flipping them over at the midpoint. The wedges are ready to eat when they’re slightly crunchy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside.
Got leftover roasted kabocha squash? Throw it into a quick and easy Whole30-friendly Thai Chicken Curry!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
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Roasted Kabocha Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium kabocha squash
- 2 tablespoons ghee olive oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F with the rack in the middle. Rinse the squash under running water, and dry it. (If you’re gonna peel it, do so now with a sharp vegetable peeler.)
- Like all winter squash, kabocha takes a sharp knife and a bit of brute force to cut up. I’ve found that the best way to attack it is to cut off the top and the bottom, ’cause once the flesh is exposed, cutting it in half is a breeze.
- Scoop out the seeds and cut the squash into thin wedges. Toss the squash with your fat of choice and sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash in a single layer on a foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking tray and pop it in the oven.
- Roast the squash for 30 minutes, flipping them over at the midpoint. The wedges are ready to eat when they’re slightly crunchy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best way to cook kabocha! The ghee adds a delightful nuttiness that goes perfectly with the pumpkin. Sometimes I use magic mushroom instead of salt. It’s delicious both ways.
Delicious! Thank you.
Easy and delish!!! I used Black Truffle salt….
Made it exactly as you said to and it was fantastic! I had to google squash images first to see what I had even bought, then just went for it with your recipe. So so so delish, I love the texture most of all!
best way to cut up big squashes (Kabochas, pumpkins)–1. drill a half inch hole in side of squash
with hand drill. 2. Get a drywall handsaw. Stick tip of saw in hole and saw away. Like a hot knife through soft butter!–
What an awesome tip!!! Thanks Amos!!
I bake it whole for 10 minutes @425 to soften the squash so it’s to cut.
Sounds great Nancy!
great idea!
I’ve *never* cooked anything with kabocha before, and after trying this recipe I’m just kicking myself over why I never tried anything as delicious as this (it really does taste like a combination of potatoes and chestnuts!). I’ll definitely be using this recipe for the rest of my life!
Mine didn’t come out crunchy?
What could have I done wrong?
They’re tasty, yet soft.
They don’t come out crunchy. The outside is browned and there may be some crunch, but it’s more like a well-baked potato.
They won’t be super crunchy but should have a crunch when bitten. Perhaps you used too much fat ( too much oil, ghee etc) — or could be your oven temperature is not correct. Try calibrating the oven to see accurate temperature specific to your oven
Do you eat the out side
Yes – no need to peel!
We had our first Kabocha squash tonight. We don’t have a microwave to soften it, so my husband cut it up for me. We kept the skin on. This was really good. I had to cook it a lot more than 30 minutes, though. I should have kept track of how much longer, but I didn’t. I hope I can find some more now.
Great recipe! Just curious why you suggest to remove skin for autoimmune issues.
Love this! I’ve made it this way and also baked and mashed. However, saying it’s easy to cut once the flesh is exposed is a bit of an overstatement—I’m cursing my knife, the cutting board and the squash right now, but it’s sooooo worth it. Having said that, I’d pay a premium to be able to buy this pre-prepped.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Japanese markets have hacked up kabocha squash for sale!
Best knife (not saw) for cutting squash? I’d appreciate recs.
I use a cleaver-type knife I picked up in Thailand — all the Thai cooks I saw use it for every type of cutting, from garlic to pumpkin. It’s got the big blade and some heft, so cutting through the kabocha is no problem. You can probably pick one up at an Asian market.