Beginning in October early winter squash is in abundance. They’re in all shapes and sizes, each tasting delightfully delectable. Delicata Squash is grown at the beginning of summer and is ready to pick within 80 – 100 days. There are so many ways to serve it but I was inspired to create this recipe using gouda cheese and fresh thyme.
Enjoy this Delicata Squash with Gouda Cheese recipe!
- 1 Delicata Squash
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- pepper
- ½ cup shredded Gouda cheese
- ¼ cup of chopped fresh thyme
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Split the Delicata squash in half and scoop out the seeds
- Place the squash halves into a baking dish
- Drizzle the tops of the squash with olive oil
- Season with sea salt and pepper
- Bake the squash for 45 minutes
- During the last 5 minutes, take the squash out of the oven and fill the cavities with the shredded Gouda. Sprinkle with chopped thyme.
- Continue to bake until the cheese is melted.
- Serve
It’s delightful and perfect for a light lunch and a savory treat.
Delicata squash and other winter squash are some of nature’s healthiest foods.
Winter squash is an important source of carotenoids, which are antioxidants. The carotenoids in winter squash include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin.
Even though we think of it as a type of starch, it comes from polysaccharides found in the cell walls. They are anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and will regulate insulin. One cup of baked winter squash will provide you with approximately 340 milligrams of omega-3 fats in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Although it doesn’t contain an as high amount of omega-3 fats as food like walnuts, it’s still beneficial and not as fattening.
If you’re an official cheese head like me, you’ll find it hard to resist. But you can stuff it with just about anything like quinoa, nuts, seeds, etc.
This recipe was originally published in Oct 2013 and updated in Oct 2020
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What do you like to stuff in squash? Please leave a comment below.
Love this blog and recipe…thyme is fantastic. Here’s a tomato-y way that you can add squash too. Just use squash instead of stringbeans/mushrooms, or “in addition to” (but then increase the sauce).
http://www.engineeringwellness.com/sexysoup/tomato-season-michele-the-trainers-spicy-heirloom-tomato-string-bean-sauce
Oh my gosh, I love love love squash! It is a great side dish and oftentimes a dish in itself by stuffing it with some kind of ground lean meat in place of the cheese in your recipe 🙂 Your photos look so scrumptious I will have to give it a try too. Thank you!
Hi Wanda. I love that you love squash because it’s so good. You’re right about adding ground meat or other fillings. The meat with cheese on top would be scrumptious. (a little higher in fat though) Thanks for your enthusiasm about such nutritious and tasty vegetables.
I combine with garlic, tomatoes, small broccoli pieces, pasta, water from pasta. Mash squash, add in flat pan combine all hot water from pasta, add about ounce or two of goat cheese, blend all together. Add seasoning (salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder).
That sounds absolutely yummy, Hazel. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks, for sharing your recipe.
Loves delicious! I’ll have to try that. Pinned.
Thanks Laurie. I hope you enjoy it!