The ultimate show down – which Roasted Delicata Squash will be better…the oven roasted or air fryer version?
Delicata Squash Recipes
A few weeks ago, we polled our social media peeps to find out their favorite winter squash. The clear winner was Delicata Squash. We were so surprised! It also really motivated us to buy some delicata and get to work in the kitchen.
We’d seen this version of winter squash in the store but our experience with it ended there. So we did what any food blogging, self proclaimed nerd would do…research.
The short summary – it’s an oval shaped winter squash variety that is named so because of it’s “delicate” skin. Meaning you don’t have to peel it before eating.
Before we could even start playing around with recipes, we had to figure out the best way to cut into it. After a lot of trial and error, we finally found out How to Cut Delicata Squash. It’s surprisingly easy.
Oven Roasted versus Air Fried
We wanted to create a simple, roasted recipe that would work well in a variety of situations. Something that could stand alone as a side dish, be added to salads or mixed in with other meals. We kept the flavor simple but tasty – garlic, parmesan, lemon, salt and pepper.
The final step was deciding whether we wanted to roast it in oven or give it a try in the air fryer. We couldn’t decide, so we tried both! The ultimate showdown so to speak.
The ingredients and methods were the same in both the air fryer and oven roasted version –
- Slice a delicata squash into half moons, about 1/4 inch thick
- Place in a large bowl with olive oil, lemon zest, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
- The oven roasted gets placed on a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper
- The air fryer version gets placed in the air fryer basket
- Each is tossed halfway through
- Once done, both versions are topped with a little more parmesan cheese and some fresh chives
Which do you think would be better?
The Method We Preferred
In the end, we ended up liking the Oven Roasted Delicata Squash better. Since it was a highly scientific research experiment, here is the background on our tasting panel of experts…
- Myself – only a handful of things I won’t eat. Describes almost everything as “good”
- Dan (my hubby) – man who will eat anything and everything placed in front of him
While both were good in taste and flavor, the oven roasted was slightly better in both of our opinions. Here are some pros and cons of each method.
Oven Roasted Method
- Con – Takes a lot longer to cook (30-40 minutes vs only 15 in air fryer)
- Con – Have to flip each slice individually halfway
- Pro – Have a nice caramelized color and flavor on the outside
- Pro- End up with a slightly crispy outer edge and soft, melty inside
Air Fryer Method
- Pro – Cook much faster
- Pro – Easy to flip around by simply shaking the air fryer basket
- Con – Doesn’t get the same caramelized coloring that the oven roasted ones do
- Con – Slightly more crispy all around than the oven version
In the end, we enjoy both versions. We’d make both versions again because they each offer pros and cons. However, the oven roasted came out slightly ahead.
Grab both Recipe Versions
Roasted Delicata Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium Delicata squash
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, zested (save half for after cooking)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (+1 tbsp for garnish after cooking)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp chives (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside for now.
- Prepare the delicata by cutting in half lengthwise, scooping seeds out with a large spoon, placing cut side down and slicing into 1/4 inch thick half moon slices
- In a lage mixing bowl, combine the sliced delicata, tablespoon of olive oil, minced garlic, 1/2 the lemon zest, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
- Spread squash mixture onto lined baking sheet in a single layer. Pour any remaining oil and herbs from bowl over squash
- Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, flipping each piece of squash halfway through
- Remove and place on serving platter/bowl. Garnish with remaining lemon zest, additional tablespoon of parmesan cheese and chopped chives.
Notes
How We Would Serve this Recipe
This roasted squash tastes great all on it’s own, as a side dish. It would also be wonderful in the following ways –
- Served in a salad with a light, olive oil based vinaigrette. This Fall Roasted Sweet Potato Salad would be great with this squash in place of sweet potatoes.
- In a simple pasta dish with pesto and plenty of parmesan
- Served on a slice of toast with goat cheese and sage
