Cooking Squash in the Slow Cooker
We love squash – we may love it a little too much. Because we always grow enough to feed a small army. Or possibly an entire elementary school. In the end, we still love it. And the great thing about squash is that if you leave at least an inch of the stem on, and you store it in a cool dry place, it can stay good for most of the winter.
When you cook squash in the oven, it usually takes at least an hour. Which is fine, if you have the time. You may be thinking that a slow cooker takes a lot longer than the oven. But the deal is that the slow cooker really only takes 5 minutes and then you don’t think about it. And my mid-mornings are always less busy than my 5:00pm.
This tutorial is using a banana squash, but it is the same for any type of Winter squash. First cut your squash in half.
Depending on how big your squash is, you will need to cut it into smaller pieces.
Scoop the seeds out as your are cutting.
Make sure you cut them into uniform pieces so that they will cook evenly.
Place in the slow cooker. Â You can stack the pieces on top of each other. Â You don’t need to add any other liquid. Â Just the squash.
You can stop here and just turn on the slow cooker. Or you can add spices or other flavorings. I have made it both ways and they both turn out great. This particular time I added apple juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cook on low for 6 hours. It will be delicious, smooth, and cooked to perfection.
You will never go back to oven cooking squash again. And heaven forbid you ever try cooking in the microwave. Trust me on this one – try the slow cooker method.
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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I can’t wait to try this. I love squash, my husband not so much. But since I don’t have to right on top of it – is fantastic. Thank you.
Do you leave the skin on?
Do you peel the squash before you put it in the slow cooker?
Yes! You can leave the skin on – so easy.
You don’t have to peel it – just slice, remove the seeds and stick in in your slow cooker with the skin on. When it is finished cooking, just scoop off the squash from the skin – so easy!
This is so cool! I didn’t know you could do this. Do you know does it work with spaghetti squash too?
Hugs, Bobbi Jo
I have never tried it, but I imagine it would work in the same way. Let me know if you try it!
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Ever done it with maple sryup and brown sugar.
I haven’t it, but I bet it would be delicious.
I’m surprised that cooking it on low does the job in 6 hours. Knowing my slow cooker I will be cooking the squash on high.
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Loved it! Didn’t peel, placed as shown – My wife’s on some kind of weird diet, and only the inside of the squash was allowed for her. I ate the inside and out, as it was all so tasty and tender you couldn’t really tell the difference, but I bet I’ve been super-vitaminized! 🙂
It’s definitely delicious with maple syrup. And/or brown sugar.
Can you do this with sweet potatoes?
I don’t know much about squash… Always assumed it was a lot of work – maybe not this way! Do you serve it as a side dish? What meat(s) would you recommend with it? thanks!
How much apple juice would you use? Thankyou
Can you use the seeds like pumpkin seeds for roasting?
yummy, will try squash first in the morning also butternut too..
This sounds delicious! I have some butternut squash I will try it with. Question about the apple juice. Do you think apple cider will work as a replacement and how much do you recommend using? Thanks!!
How much Apple juice I have to use ?
I do it in the micro all the time with maple syrup, it does ok and no peeling but I would like to try your way
Is anyone mashing the squash? I usually cook squash while in the microwave, scoop it out and mash with brown sugar….does the slow cooker cook it to a mash consistency?
Oh wow, what a time saver!! I hate chopping up squash! Thanks so much for sharing this, love your site!
Put the whole spaghetti squash in with a couple of inches of water. So easy!
Can you do pumpkin this way?
Stephanie, you can do the same thing with sweet potatoes. You don’t even have to cut them up. 🙂
Yes I do leave it on 🙂
Yes – we have a post about it here: https://www.superhealthykids.com/blog/sweet-potatoes-in-the-slow-cooker.php
Yes you can!
Yes a side dish. It really goes with a variety of dishes. It pairs really well with chicken and pork.
About 1/2 cup
Yes I do. I would use about 1/2 cup 🙂
Yes – pumpkin is part of the squash family and so it cooks in a similar way.
Only about 1/2 cup.
Yes! In fact, I would say it cooks much more evenly than a microwave and so mashes much better.
I’d like to ask why you take out the seeds? I understand they’re healthy as is the skin. Perhaps it’s different when you slow cook?(I mean texturally or something like that).
Hi All
Experimenting with slow cooking small squash whole and unpeeled at 113F/ 45C;
Has anyone tried this yet? I know it can be done with yams and sweet potato.
Want to make an informed decision before buying a slow cooker.
Many thanks!