Kids will love this super easy slow cooker acorn squash recipe with apples, cranberries, butter, and brown sugar. It's the perfect easy Thanksgiving side dish.
I never do well with traditional meat & potatoes type dinners because I am always fumbling with what can be cooked together for the right amount of time and temperature.
When picking side dishes to go with something simple like pork tenderloin, it can be a lot easier to just rely on your Crockpot to cook a delicious side dish instead.
Then you never have to worry about how to time the cooking of the meat and veggies to ensure they both reach the proper temperatures.
My husband sampled slow cooker acorn squash with apples and for the very first time in his adult life, he was not only willing to eat it but requested seconds!
This was our favorite veggie side dish last fall so I couldn't wait to bring it out again this year.
Jump to:
Why This Is the Best Recipe
This is one of our go-to weeknight meal ideas but it would be an amazing Thanksgiving side dish.
It's perfect for your Thanksgiving menu because:
- Oven Space: all the cooking happens in the slow cooker, making more room in your oven for other recipes
- Worry Free: you can add everything to the Crockpot in the morning and have a worry-free side dish for the holiday meal
- A Touch of Sweet: the deliciously sweet apples and touch of brown sugar add the perfect amount of sweetness
- A Little Tart: use Granny Smith apples for a bit of tartness, it will complement the rest of your Thanksgiving menu wonderfully
Ingredients
The ingredients for this slowcooker recipe are really simple. You can mix and match the toppings to your taste.
- Acorn Squash
- Fresh Apples: I love tart Granny Smiths but you could also use honeycrisp or whatever apples your family loves
- Dried Cranberries
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Apple Cider: In a pinch, you could use water, but the apple juice definitely gives an nice extra layer of apple flavor to the final dish
How To Cook Acorn Squash in a Slowcooker
Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out all the seeds with a spoon.
Place them cut side up in the Crockpot.
Add brown sugar, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and butter to the open well of each squash.
Sprinkle the chopped apples all over the top and pour the apple juice in.
Cover and cook in the slowcooker for 5 - 6 hours on LOW.
How to Serve Acorn Squash
Once the slowcooker acorn squash side dish is all cooked up, the apples practically turn into applesauce, they are so soft.
I fluff up the flesh of the acorn squash with a fork within each squash shell to mix in the melted butter, craisins, and sugar.
I serve up the squash onto the dinner plate and then top with the cooked apples spooned over with some of the yummy apple juices from the bottom of the Crockpot.
Menu Planning Tips
To round out the rest of a delicious fall menu, I made our favorite roasted sweet potatoes and a roasted pork tenderloin.
This slowcooker side dish would pair perfectly with Cranberry Blue Cheese Pork Tenderloins, Rum Glazed Pork or our favorite Thanksgiving Roasted Herb Butter Turkey.
More Slowcooker Recipes
If you're cooking Crockpot side dishes for Thanksgiving, don't miss these other yummy options, too:
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Acorn Squash with Apples and Raisins
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider
- 1 large acorn squash cut in half seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ dried cranberries
- 3 small apples diced
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Drizzle of maple syrup
Instructions
- Pour the apple cider into the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the squash cut side up in the bottom.
- Place ½ of the pat of butter on each acorn squash bowl. Sprinkle the brown sugar and raisins over the top. Pour the apples over the top and around the bottoms of the squash. Sprinkle the cinnamon and drizzle the syrup over the top of it all.
- Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
Find this delicious recipe next time you visit by saving it to your very own recipe box on my site. All your favorites stored in one easy place!
Sunny D
This was great! Thank you! So easy to make!
Nate
Made this tonight. It was very good. We had some Jell-O and Granny Smith apples on hand, so I used some of both. But I would definitely use just gala or Honeycrisp apples next time. I was worried they would be too sweet, but it was perfect.
Nate
*Gala (not hello)