I did not eat much squash growing up. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times it was served to me before the age of eighteen and each occasion was at my maternal grandma’s house. My grandma is an amazing cook. I learned a lot from her and she generously passed on her coveted book of recipes to me. Unfortunately, I don’t recall her squash fondly. Now, I’m not bashing my granny’s squash. It wasn’t bad at all. I just think that squash sometimes needs a little something extra. The something extra in this dish is fresh lemon…and that’s pretty much it! There are only five ingredients in this side dish and the simplicity doesn’t disappoint. Even the smell of the squash when you pull it out of the oven is amazing. From the moment you decide to create this dish, you will only be about 15 minutes away from a flavorful roasted-to-perfection addition to your table, meal-prep, or whatever! I used calabaza squash–also known as Mexican gray squash, but you could easily substitute with yellow or zucchini squash without disaster. I am serving this squash alongside my garlic mashed potatoes and bacon-wrapped steak medallions for Valentine’s Day, but it is a good addition to any plate.
I’d love to know what your go-to simple side is. Let me know below. Thanks for reading!
- 4 calabaza (gray) squash you can also use yellow or zucchini squash
- 1 lemon
- olive oil
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash into quarters, vertically, then into chunks.
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Add squash, sea salt, and black pepper to a baking pan then drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze juice from lemon over everything then set lemon aside for later. Toss to evenly coat squash with all ingredients.
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Spread squash out into a single layer in pan. I like to arrange the pieces skin side down, but that's optional. Roast for about 15 minutes.
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In the meantime zest the lemon. Garnish squash with zest before serving.
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I love this! I have also used lemon infused olive oil and that was delish too!
Thanks, Shelia! That infused olive oil sounds good–I’ll have to give it a try.
Squash in any variety are always popular at my house. This sounds like my kind of recipe!
Mmm this squash sounds so good! I never really liked squash or zucchini until I was older, and now I love adding it to my recipes! So good!
Oh nice, lemon squash! Oh YEAH
This looks like such a fresh and delicious way to enjoy fall veggies
So simple and tasty! I love roasted squash, actually roasted anything 🙂
Ooh I love squash! I can’t say I’ve seen this variety before I’ll have to look for it at the farmer’s market! Thanks!
Yes, check it out for sure! Thanks for reading, Heather!
Wow this looks delicious! Printing it out so I can make it tomorrow night!
This looks amazing!! We are obsessed with zucchini so I might have to try it with that.