Easy Instant Pot Acorn Squash Recipe

Instant Pot Acorn Squash is a healthy winter squash that makes a great side dish recipe. Learn how easy it is to make this winter vegetable in an electric pressure cooker in a matter of minutes. Sweeten up the nutty flavor of acorn squash with brown sugar and butter for an easy side dish recipe. That would be perfect to serve for a holiday dinner.

Acorn squash is a winter squash that has a thick tough skin that is dark green color. Sometimes there are patches of orange on these smaller-sized winter squashes.

When we use to have a vegetable garden and we would grow acorn squash. Not only are acorn squashes easy to grow but they are easy to cook thanks to the Instant Pot. I use to cook a whole squash in the oven for over an hour. The pressure cooker has cut the cook time by quite a bit.

Acorn and butternut squash are two of my favorite winter veggies. If you are looking for a great butternut squash recipe we have an Oven Roasted Butternut Squash recipe you will want to check out.

Today I'm going to teach you how easy it is to make a whole acorn squash in the Instant Pot.

Prepping The Instant Pot Acorn Squash

Instant Pot acorn squash is a winter squash that is healthier than most other squashes. It's not as starchy as the other winter squashes and it is loaded with nutrients making it a great vegetable.

This is a pretty simple recipe to make. Like all vegetables, you should wash and dry the squash before cooking it.

Since acorn squash has that rougher thicker skin. I find that placing it in the microwave for a minute or two helps with cutting. The heat from the microwave heats the squash up making it easier to sink the knife into it.

Place the semi-heated acorn squash on a cutting board. With a longer very sharp knife cut the ends of the squash off then cut the whole acorn squash in half.

I find it easiest if I place my knife blade in the middle of the squash while it's standing on a cut end. Cutting towards the other end of the squash then turning the squash around and cut the other side.

With the squash cut in half, I will take a large spoon and scrape the seeds out. You can save the seeds and roast them for a treat just like you would pumpkin seeds. Or they can be dried out to use as seeds to plant in a vegetable garden.

Cooking The Acorn Squash

Place a trivet, silicone sling, or steamer basket into the inner pot of the pressure cooker. You don't want the acorn squash sitting on the bottom of the pot. Add the amount of water that is needed for the size of your IP, I used my 6-quart so I needed 1 cup of water. To help get to know your IP a little better we have a list of Instant Pot terms that may help.

With the acorn squash cut in half and the seeds are removed. Place the squash halves onto the trivet or into the steamer basket cut side facing up. Depending on the size of the acorn squash you may have to play around to get it to fit. If you have a stackable egg trivet, you could place one-half of the squash on each of the trivets.

In the inside of each half of the squash add a tablespoon of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar. As the squash cooks the butter and sugar will melt together and adding a buttery sweetness to the squash. Some people like to add maple syrup and that will work. You could also sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon or black pepper onto the acorn halves.

Place the lid onto the IP and press the pressure cook button, make sure it says high pressure. Adjust the cooking time using the plus-minus buttons to 10 minutes. Make sure your steam release valve is set to sealing.

The pressure cooking time could vary depending on the size of the squash. The smaller-sized squashes will take around 7-8 minutes and large squashes will take around 10-12 minutes. The size I cooked was 2.32 pounds and it took 10 minutes to cook with 7 minutes to natural release.

Finishing Touches

It will take a few minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will start to count down. Once the timer has gone off and the cooking time is done let the IP do a natural release for 10 minutes or until the pin drops on the lid.

A natural release is when you let the steam naturally release from the Instant Pot. You don't have to do anything to the IP, when the LCD screen says L10 or you hear the pin drop that means there is no remaining steam in the pot. Turn the knob to the steam release valve to let out the remaining pressure.

Carefully remove the trivet with the squash from the inner pot. Give the squash a few minutes to cool so you can pour the brown butter into a bowl. Then start scooping the squash out from the green skin. The easiest way I have found to do this was by putting the half of squash on a pot holder in my hand. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop to remove the cooked acorn squash.

Once you have all the squash removed from the skin take a spoon and mix the squash with the brown sugar butter together in a bowl. This makes for a great side dish to have with chicken breast and wild rice.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to up to 4 days. Cooked acorn squash can also be stored in the freezer for up to 10 months. Allow the cooked squash to completely cool before placing it into a freezer-safe container.

Serve and enjoy. This Instant Pot Acorn Squash is a great side dish recipe that goes really well with turkey, chicken, and pork.

The Instant Pot has become my favorite way of cooking acorn squash.

Other Instant Pot recipes you may enjoy are:

• Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
• Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
• Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce