Roasted Delicata Squash
One of the best ways to make roasted delicata squash, inspired by my friend Molly Watson. This recipe uses the pretty, scalloped-edged cross-cuts of the delicata squash, a few small potatoes, chopped kale, radishes, almonds and a bold miso harissa dressing.
I have Molly Watson to thank for the inspiration here. It's the best delicata squash recipe I know. Years ago she created a miso-harissa slather she used on roasted delicata squash. It was a combination of ingredients that had never crossed my mind, but sounded fan-tas-tic. Building on her idea, I decided to do a roasted delicata squash platter of sorts. I used the pretty, scalloped-edged cross-cuts of the delicata squash, a few small potatoes, chopped kale, radishes, Marcona almonds and her miso + harissa idea. You know it was good, right? It really was.
The flavor was bold and vibrant and it was a breeze to make - no need to peel this type of squash. The vibrant yellow-rimmed slices along with pink-skinned radishes and flecks of green kale were a nice way to bring some color to the winter table.
Roasted Delicata Squash: Variations
You can do endless riffs on this depending on what you have on hand, or what is in season. Here, I reached for kale to get some green in the mix, and the nuts for their texture and crunch, but feel free to play around with general idea. here are a few ideas people have mentioned in the comments!
- Sweet & salty: Sagan comments about a related recipe she loves, “I had a recipe on the menu a few years back that had roasted squash, sliced like yours, with pickled red onions, peanuts, and salad greens. the dressing mostly from the pickled onion juice, so a little sweet and salty.”
- Wild style: Kate got a little wild! “ I improvised wildly based on what was in my kitchen, and got this: acorn squash with red potatoes, tossed in a mixture of golden miso, pickapeppa sauce, sriracha, and black olive paste. Swiss chard, tossed with the lemon juice and my version of the miso sauce, with radishes and regular toasted almonds. I thought it was going to be weird but it was great!”
- Sweet potato: Esther struck out on the delicata front, but reports back, “I couldn’t find delicata so made this with sweet potato instead – which was delicious!”
More delicata squash recipes
More Roasted Vegetable Recipes
- Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini
- Roasted Mushroom Sandwich
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Orzo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Farro
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Roasted Delicata Squash with Harissa Miso
Have a look at the post up above if you have trouble sourcing delicata squash. There are people who have done versions with other winter squash as well as sweet potato.
- 1/2 pound / 8 oz / 230 g small fingerling potatoes, washed and dried
- 3/4 pound / 12 oz / 340 g delicata squash
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- scant 1/4 cup / 50 ml white miso
- scant 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 ounce / 45 g kale, de-stemmed and finely chopped
- 4 radishes, very thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 ounces / 45g Marcona almonds, toasted pepitas, or other toasted nuts
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Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C degrees. If the potatoes aren't tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb. Cut the delicata squash in half length-wise, and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch wide half-moons. You can leave the peel on these squash.
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In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, miso, harissa. Place the potatoes and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 cup / 80 ml of the miso-harissa oil. Use your hands to toss well, then turn everything out onto a baking sheet. Bake until everything is baked through and browned, about 25-30 minutes. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep an eye on things though, you can go from browned to burned in a flash.
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In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-harissa oil. Taste, it should be intensely flavorful, but if yours is too spicy or salty, you can dilute it with a bit more olive oil or lemon juice. Stir the kale into the leftover dressing and set aside.
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Place the warm roasted vegetables in a bowl and toss with the kale mixture, radishes, and almonds.
Serves 2 to 4.
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Comments
I made this back when it was posted, and I was reminded of it from one of your recent posts. Was totally craving the “dressing” today, then looked back at the recipe with the kale, marcona almonds, radishes, and now I REALLY REMEMBER how wonderful this dish was! Thank you for all your inspiration! Been following you for about 3 years, and your recipes I try the MOST!
I scraped the last bit of harissa from the little jar for this recipe. I used half of an acorn squash and tossed in some whole garlic cloves for the roasting. Mmmmmm good–another lovely recipe, Heidi! Keep on keepin’ on.
I am chewing on it as I write–just had to pop over to say how yummy it is. That dressing is amazing–I had leftovers and will look forward to using it as a salad dressing.
Didn’t have the radishes and used red miso instead of white. Used the marcona almonds.
I don’t think I would want to change a thing when I make it again (which will be soon!).
great post! I love delicata squash and always wonder why more people don’t cook it. especially, since you don’t have to peel it. I had a recipe on the menu a few years back that had roasted squash, sliced like yours, with pickled red onions, peanuts, and salad greens. the dressing mostly from the pickled onion juice, so a little sweet and salty. Your blog is amazing and very inspiring! I have just recently started blogging. check out my site if you can. congratulations on the saveur nomination!
Great idea! I improvised wildly based on what was in my kitchen, and got this: acorn squash with red potatoes, tossed in a mixture of golden miso, pickapeppa sauce, sriracha, and black olive paste. Swiss chard, tossed with the lemon juice and my version of the miso sauce, with radishes and regular toasted almonds. I thought it was going to be weird but it was great! Thanks for the inspiration.
Even my meat-and-potatoes husband loved this. The thing I love about all your recipes is there’s always one ingredient where you think, “huh?” and in this recipe that’s the radishes. But they add such texture and great flavor to this dish.
I just made this. It was easy to do and fantastic. Awesome! Also, I bought your book and it came in today, double awesome!
Lord! Was that GOOD! So easy and so amazingly delicious! Thanks!
Lovely recipe, a great combination of flavors. So easy to make, thanks for posting it.
Made this tonight – absolutely delicious! I used a grapefruit spoon to clean out the seeds. I so enjoy your unusual combinations, and feel encouraged to experiment, myself.
Looks wonderful. I love the addition of marcona almonds.
sounds SOOOO good. that combo would never cross my mind either but that is why i read!! know what i’m making this week
I made this squash dish last night and it was amazing! So tasty! I loved the glistening kale and the slight crunch from the skins of the squash. The dressing is so flavorful and different. I will definitley make this again!
Heidi – you continue to inspire me! I had never had Delicato squash before, but doing my shopping in Whole Foods last night I saw a small display of them and recalled this recent post. My husband refuses to eat squash, he tries it and doesn’t dislike it – just doesn’t want to eat it, and I am already always cooking multiple dishes for dinner most nights, so I try to make most of the veggies “joint.” Well, I decided to roast one of the Delicatos night, and I am hooked. I roasted it plain, and it tasted almost like toasted marshmallows….heaven! I ate half night and just finished a delicious lunch of brown rice, black beans, wilted spinach, shaved carrot & the other half of my squash. I used a little chipotle chili powder, tiny bit of garlic, salt & pepper, but just tossing those simple ingredients from my fridge together was absolutely delicious. And, by the way, your carrot oatmeal cookies are amazing – we always have a container in the pantry. Thank you for sharing your talent.
I was so excited about trying these flavors when I first saw this recipe this morning. Just finished serving it to amazing reviews (including non-vegetarians). I used acorn squash, potatoes, sauteed red chard & thinly sliced walnuts. I had no harissa so I substituted some similar spices. Delicious! Thank you for the inspiration!
I definitely need to get my hands on some harissa paste. On the kale – why not include the stems? I always do, cut ’em into thin rounds.
i am cooking it now. i used carnival squash. i didn’t find harissa and i would loiev to see how the orginal one tastes like. i made my own one with what i had, it a really nice and colorful dressing. i used barley miso and it tastes great.
any ideas on anothe dish to make it a bigger meal. my hgusband is a runner and i know he will be giving me the look about this as supper
this looks delicious~ and what simple ingredients… mmmmm
thanks!
yum, what an unusual pairing of miso with harissa. really imaginative.
i also wanted to tell you that i have been making the clemenquat salad from super natural cooking as much as i possibly can before clementines and kumquats disappear from the market this spring. the combination is brilliant!!
That dish looks absolutely beautiful! It inspires me to experiment with squash. I love it but never seem to buy it regularly. I do have some acorn squash in my kitchen right now so I’m going to try to be creative with it!
I just tried delicata squash for the first time about a week ago and it was delicious, so I will definitely have to try this!
so funny — i went to a potluck last night and thought about making the delicious pasta w. harissa, kale + olives you made a while back (one of my favorite things — i add feta + hard boiled eggs). instead + in a crunch i quickly threw squash + apples w. olive oil, thyme + curry in the oven and ended up putting them in a brown rice salad (also added sauteed onions + garlic, honey, curry, cayenne etc.). the random rice ended up being really good but now that i’ve seen this post using harissa on squash i’ll go in that direction for my next rice salad:) looks great!
Looks simple in the photo but for sure its richly delish! Kudos again to you 🙂
I don’t comment as much as I read your blog but I have got to tell you, I’m astounded by the array of vegetarian ideas you have on your blog. I love everything here. I especially love the dips you make… they’ve been a huge success in my house and everybody asks me how I made it!
The LA Times’s Amy Scattergood gave us an excellent article on harissa in September 2007 that included recipes for basic and tomato-pepper harissas.
Excuse me now – I have a date with a delicata squash.
Thanks for pointing the way, Heidi
I love harissa. I imagine it tastes really good with the squash and kale. yummy!
Nisrine
I love harissa. I imagine it tastes really good with the squash and kale. yummy!
Nisrine
I would have never thought of pairing miso with harissa….or radishes with squash for that matter! What an interesting recipe. I feel healthier just looking at it.
This was excellent! As usual, I didn’t have all the ingredients, namely miso and harissa. I liked the concept though, so I just subbed some “pasty” things I found in the fridge such as black bean sauce, hoisin sauce, curry paste, soy sauce, adobo sauce from a can of chipotles, and sriracha. Of course it didn’t taste the SAME as miso and harissa, but it had that salty/spicy thing going on. I also had no radishes, so subbed some cabbage. Whatever, it was delicious! Thanks as usual!
this is just a gorgeous jumble of multiple things i love. can’t wait to try it.
squash and Miso, what a good idea
i made this with acorn squash and it turned out great! also, i couldn’t find harissa paste (whole foods on franklin in sf was out) so instead i used a dried herb blend i found at mollie stone’s and followed the instructions on the package to make paste. yum!
What a beautiful recipe! I haven’t made this and looks interesting. Thanks for the lists…will have to add this one to my list!
I couldn’t find delicata so made this with sweet potato instead – which was delicious! I will be keeping my eye out for delicata though so I can try the original recipe.
Hey Mary, I just got some harissa at Rainbow Grocery in SF. I’ve also seen it at Faletti Foods near the Panhandle.
HS: Thanks Sarah. -h
This looks wonderful. Question, Heidi – where do you get your harissa? I used to get it at Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl, but for some reason they no longer stock it … Any suggestions??
HS: Hi Mary, I think I bought this last jar at Bi-Rite. It is this brand, but I sometime make it myself – I’ve been playing around with different recipes.
What a fine coming together of ingredients and flavors!
Miso and harissa – what a fantastic combination!
Still high summer here in Australia so not really hearty meal weather, but roll on autumn, I say!!
Heidi – just to say, I find your posts beautiful, comforting and inspiring. I have been a fan of yours for a long time, but have never said thanks to you. Just doing that now. Thank you.
HS: Thanks Lou – I’m glad to hear it’s a place you keep coming back to. Enjoy your weekend. -h
Perfect timing for this delicious looking recipe. I can use the last of this winter’s kale to make it before I start planting again! I think I’ll add some farro to the mix, too since I’m in love with it right now.
I bet this would be amazing with patty pan squash, too. I’m making a batch of harissa right now!
I absolutely love delicata squash! I didn’t really enjoy squash until I found this gem. We often have it simply roasted and slathered with grass fed butter and a sprinkle of salt.
But this way looks like a great way to make it a bit more fancy.
Delightful. Ah, so many recipes to try in such a short life! Delicata-miso-harissa here I come!
Delish! I would’ve never thought to make a squash salad, but, everything in this sounds amazing together. Printing it out to try!
Thanks Heidi,
Danica
Looks lovely! Let me ask you – do you have to peel the squash before eating? Or is the delicata squash rind soft enough to eat once roasted? I’ve roasted one before, but I scooped out the flesh – never tried to eat the rind.
HS:Hi Alta, Correct, no need to peel the squash, the skin is quite thin, and soft enough to eat.
Love the shape of that squash, I’ve never had it before. It looks perfect for this dish.
Jenn
This is the first time I’ve heard of this type of squash – thanks!
I’m eating this right now and the flavors are AMAZING. It’s intense without being overpowering. Wow.
I have a scale and an oven thermometer, so I followed the recipe to the ounce. The only change I would make next time is that with so much marinade, my veggies got a little mushy, so I might bump the oven up to 425 and use a touch less of the dressing to coat them. And you would be hard-pressed to get me to share this with 3 people! Serves 1!
HS: Glad you enjoyed it Stacy, we did another version a couple nights ago with more Thai-centric flavors – I really liked that a lot too.
Perfect timing as I just purchased white miso this week and I am surely going to create this fabulous squash recipe this weekend. Thank you, Heidi…the picture looks divine and my mouth is watering…
miso, roasted squash, marconas… my mind is spinning… brilliant!
Yay! I happen to have delicata squash at home right now and was about to search the internet for some inspiration.
Ask, and you shall receive!
Whoa! This looks amazing!
I have great success with all of Heidi’s recipes. So much so that I bought her book a few months back. They are fabulous. And this one? I can tell easily from reading and looking at it – it contains so many things I grow- will go into permanent rotation from kitchen garden to table…
xo
This looks fantastic – the first salad recipe in ages that I am dying to make.
But I cannot get delicata squash here in Berlin – what would be a good substitute?
This looks super yum & I love both harissa and Delicata squash but most of these ingredients aren’t at their peak until later summer for us here in Vancouver. Nice Delicata, fingerlings and even organic kale are farmer’s market finds–and ours don’t really start here much before May 🙁
Definitely going to file this one away for later use though!
ive never tried delicata squash or harissa and the sound of this recipe makes me feel ive been majorly missing out.
Really, really outrageous
That looks wonderful! With my parents in town this weekend, perhaps we’ll give the recipe a try.
perfect
Love harissa and put it on everything but dessert – never thought of miso with harissa though. I need to try this!
I am very much into squash these days. I have actually been snacking on them in the afternoon! This recipe looks awesome!
Interesting combination! But I think I can see how it works, with the miso providing the extra savoury tone as a background, and the harissa taking the flavour stage.
Oh, I could put harissa in everything–I love it. I made your caramelized tofu and brussel sprouts recipe the day before yesterday, it was amazing!!!
Looks wonderful! Will try it this weekend, but, don’t you have to cook the kale? Also, where do I find harissa paste? thanks!
HS: Hi Sadja, keep your eyes peeled for the harissa, now that you are looking for it you’ll likely run into it – although, I suppose that also depends on where you live. But if needed there are lots of recipes around, and in a pinch you could always make your own! And correct, no need to cook the kale.
Delicata is a great squash, tasty and easy to grow. I like recipes like this because you can morph it into any combination of veggies based on what’s on hand.
For me I’ll t ry it with a homegrown sweet meat winter squash and my never-ending supply of chard.
This is absolute perfection.
Question: I don’t see Delicata squash in my markets, can I use zucchini/yellow squash or should i use more squash-like ones, like acorn?
HS: Go the winter squash route – acorn squash would be a great choice!
I have been wanting to try harissa for a long time, but I don’t think I’d be able to use up a whole batch before it spoils if I made my own. Any brands you’d recommend for someone who likes things pretty spicy?
HS: You’d be surprised! I use it for little flavor boosts in everything from vinaigrettes and omelettes to yogurt and soups. I’d say i go through jar every few weeks. Here’s the brand of harissa I have in my refrigerator currently.
This looks simply amazing! What an exciting start to a Friday, can’t wait to go pick up stuff to try this. I consistently go to your website for recipe ideas and they’re always wonderful! thanks for the post!
We love to cube the delicata squash and toss with herbs, olive oil, and S&P before roasting till the outside is really crisp. Then we use these as croutons on arugula salad. Simply amazing.
This salad where the squash is the star is going to be made soon at my house. Thanks for the inspiration.
This looks so gorgeous! Can’t wait to try!
I’ve been seeking ways to incorporate delicata squash into recipes, which for me has been a challenge given its delicate flavors. I like the bright flavors in this recipe and the excellent combination different textures.
Your photo of this dish is beautiful!
I *love* when I see a recipe that looks tasty AND I have every single ingredient already! Hellooooo tomorrow’s lunch!
Your food styling is gorgeous. The delicata squash look like crisped golden flowers. Almost to lovely to eat. But if a plate of this squash was in front of me, I’m sure it would taste as wonderful as it looks. Every recipe I’ve ever made from your site has been a winner. One question, do you have a particular harissa paste you recommend? Saw a post awhile back where you were scoping them out.
I love roasting squash! This looks delicious and I have never tried delicata squash before. I’ll have to seek it out now!
Ah, wonderful preparation of squash. Roasted to perfect perfection.
Huh. The other night, I wanted something spicy on my roasted squash and I debated for about ten minutes whether or not wasabi paste would work. (I chickened out!) I never thought of harissa! This looks really good.
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