Name: Recipe for Slow-Cooker Baked Winter Squash
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: varies; refer to chart below
Yield: varies
Cuisine: Vegetables
Ingredients: One or more kinds of winter squash (butternut, acorn, pumpkin, spaghetti squash), washed

Seven chunks of butternut squash with parsley garnish

Vegetables Warm, Autumn Flavors

The humble squash is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops, and it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals. Spaghetti squash is especially nutritious. Winter squash includes varieties such as butternut, acorn, and pumpkin; their tough outer rinds protect the fruit for use months after harvest. Winter squash cooks perfectly in a slow cooker, either baked whole or cut into pieces. Clean-up is quick and easy, and leftovers freeze well.

Recipe courtesy of

JoAnn Rachor

Prep Instructions

Serving size: 1 cup
Yield: varies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: varies; refer to chart below
Total Time: varies

Recipe Ingredients

One or more kinds of winter squash (butternut, acorn, pumpkin, spaghetti squash), washed

Squash may be baked whole. Baking whole takes longer, but the only preparation needed is to wash the squash and drop it in the slow cooker!
Squash may be cut in pieces and seeded; it is easiest to remove seeds before baking.
Smooth-skinned squash (i.e., butternut) may be peeled, cut, and seeded before baking.
Put squash in the slow cooker and cover (see tip #2 below). Do not add water. Refer to the chart below for baking times.
Because cooking temperatures vary from one slow cooker to another, cooking times span a wide range. Get to know your cooker; some are extra-fast, some are fast, and some are slow to average!

	Low	High
Most squash, whole or in pieces (pieces bake faster)	4–6 hours	1¼ – 1½ hours
Spaghetti squash, whole	5–7½ hours	2¼ – 3¾ hours

TIPS:

The cooker may be plugged into a lamp appliance timer to begin baking up to 6 hours later. This is handy if you want the food to start cooking when you are not home or if you won’t be around to turn it off when the food is done. Inexpensive timers are available in the electrical or hardware sections of many stores.
If the squash is too big to allow the cooker lid to close completely, regular or heavy-weight aluminum foil may be used as a lid. Set the squash-filled crock into the cooker base. Cover with foil and then shape and crimp the foil for a snug fit. You may need to overlap two pieces of foil to cover large cookers. That’s all there is to it!
Squash may be cut, seeded, bagged, and refrigerated for baking at a later time. This is a handy time-saver!