A guide to squash: How to identify and cook 19 seasonal varieties

Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky

• Squash can be divided into two major categories - summer and winter squash.
• Summer squash have thin skins, while winter squash have hard shells.
• Roasting, puréeing for soup, slicing raw, and searing are common preparations for squash.

Pumpkins may have stolen the show in fairy tales and autumn landscapes across America, but there are so many different kinds of squash available all year, from familiar zucchini and butternut squash to more exotic varieties like tromboncino, red kuri, and crooked neck squash. The different shapes, colors, and sizes can be daunting if you aren't familiar.

Chef Noah Zamler of The Press Room in Chicago grew up vegetarian and says squash was always on the menu at his house around Thanksgiving and the holidays. "I love squash because it is a bountiful and versatile vegetable," he says. "It brings back a lot of great memories." Zamler says Delicata squash is his favorite winter squash and he even grows summer squash in his backyard. Here, he shares his cooking tips with us for all kinds of squash.

Winter squash vs. summer squash

The biggest difference between winter and summer squash aside from their growing season is in the skin. Summer squash is soft-skinned while winter squashes have a hard shell that is not edible.

"Summer squash is usually planted after the last frost, and can be harvested as early as June," Zamler says. "Winter squash starts around September or August, can grow throughout the winter if kept covered, and usually takes much longer on the vine to mature."

What is a gourd?

Gourds are any fruit with a hard shell in the family Cucurbitaceae, so summer squash would not be gourds, but winter squashes could all be considered gourds.

Types of winter squash

Acorn squash

• Color: Dark green exterior with a light yellow interior
• Shape: Oblong, coming to a point at one end, like an acorn
• Taste: Starchy but sweet, very vegetal
• Growing season: October to February

Acorn squash is frequently eaten roasted or stuffed. At The Press Room, Zamler serves stuffed acorn squash with celery root, mushrooms, olives, and feta.

Delicata squash

• Color: Light yellow with green stripes
• Shape: Oval
• Taste: Sweet, subtle flavor
• Growing season: September to December

Like its name suggests, delicata squash has a delicate flavor. It's most often steamed or roasted. At The Press Room, Zamler uses delicata squash to complement scallops. "Since they have a lighter flavor, they aren't too overpowering next to a delicate scallop," he says.

Butternut squash

• Color: Pale orange exterior, bright orange interior
• Shape: Bell-bottomed
• Taste: Savory and creamy with a sweet undertone
• Growing season: September to April

One of the most versatile squashes, butternuts can be used for almost anything, according to Zamler. It's often transformed into ravioli filling, soup, or even sauce for vegan mac and cheese. It's a relatively large squash with a high starch content but still tender enough to be eaten roasted. However, the skin is generally too tough to eat.

Kabocha squash

• Color: Light green exterior with a pale to bright orange or yellow interior
• Shape: Round with a flat bottom
• Taste: Heavy pumpkin taste. "Kabocha are essentially small pumpkins," Zamler says.
• Growing season: September to February

Kabocha is a Japanese squash with a concentrated flavor of what we commonly recognize as pumpkin. "Kabocha is a smaller squash, so the skin is edible as well as the fruit," Zamler says. "Kabocha shines on its own or is great with heavier sauces like hoisin or a glaze."

Spaghetti squash

• Color: Pale orange exterior with a bright yellow interior
• Shape: Oval
• Taste: Very fibrous and starchy. Savory with a light squash flavor.
• Growing season: September to March

Because spaghetti squash is so fibrous, it's almost exclusively roasted and then shredded. "When cooked this way the squash only needs a few ingredients to really shine," Zamler says. "A little butter and salt and spaghetti squash is ready to go."

Blue Hubbard squash

• Color: Blue-green exterior and orange-yellow interior
• Shape: Circular and very large
• Taste: Vegetal with a light floral taste
• Growing season: October to March

Blue Hubbard squash are grown in the US and are very high in starch, which makes this squash ideal for roasting or being puréed into soup.

Red kuri squash

• Color: Red exterior with a bright orange interior
• Shape: Rounded and comes to a point at one end, like a hazelnut
• Taste: Light nutty notes, with a creamy texture
• Growing season: September to February

Red kuri squash is a Japanese squash. Kuri in Japanese means "chestnut," and it's so named because of its shape and nutty flavor. Red kuri squash is great in a purée or roasted and seared.

Pink banana squash

• Color: Pink exterior with a bright orange-yellow interior
• Shape: Oval
• Taste: Creamy and vegetal, with slight sweet back tones
• Growing season: October to March

Pink banana squash is a South American squash that can weigh up to 40 pounds. The interior texture is very creamy and starchy, which means this squash is not great for roasting. Instead, it should be puréed before consuming.

Pumpkin

• Color: Bright orange exterior with a pale orange interior
• Shape: Round with a flat bottom
• Taste: Nutty, sweet, and creamy
• Growing season: September to February

Pumpkins are grown all throughout the world, and in the United States, they are used for carving, roasting, and baking. Pumpkin can be a general term to describe a variety of gourds. Edible pumpkins are often smaller and labeled as sugar pumpkins in the grocery store.

Honeynut squash

• Color: Pale orange exterior with a bright orange interior
• Shape: Bell-bottomed
• Taste: Concentrated butternut flavor
• Growing season: September to April

This is a genetically modified butternut squash that was made smaller, with a more concentrated flavor and higher vitamin content than a traditional butternut. Plant breeders have also developed an even smaller version called the 898 squash, which is said to have an even longer shelf life.

Types of summer squash

Zucchini

• Color: Green
• Shape: Oblong
• Taste: Vegetal with a nutty overtone
• Growing season: June to October

"Zucchini can be grown to a variety of sizes depending on the desired use," Zamler says. Baby zucchini is very tender and only needs to be lightly cooked before serving; a medium-sized zucchini is great sliced and roasted; and a larger zucchini is ideal for baking. Zucchini blossoms are also a delicacy in many countries, particularly Italy where they are stuffed with fresh ricotta and flash-fried.

Chayote

• Color: Light green
• Shape: Oval
• Taste: Light floral taste, slight cucumber flavor
• Growing season: June to September

Chayote is grown throughout South America and is commonly used similarly to okra because of its starchiness. Eaten raw, its flesh will have a crisp crunch or it can be quickly sautéd to soften it up, much like a zucchini.

Patty pan squash

• Color: Green or yellow
• Shape: Flying saucer
• Taste: More concentrated zucchini taste, and the seeds are very nutty
• Growing season: June to September

"Patty pan squash are an interesting shape that make them nice to cook," Zamler says. They pack a more intense flavor than a traditional zucchini.

Cousa

• Color: Pale green to robust green
• Shape: Oval
• Taste: Slightly sweeter than zucchini, with a lighter taste overall
• Growing season: June to October

The cousa squash comes from the Middle East, so it is commonly eaten with hummus or roasted with garlic and other herbs. It's a hearty fruit that can stand up to other intense flavors but won't overpower any dish.

Tromboncino

• Color: Green
• Shape: Bell-bottomed with a long sprout
• Taste: Slightly sweeter than a zucchini with larger seeds in the base that are very intense
• Growing season: June to October

Tromboncino or zucchetta rampicante is an interesting squash because if it is left on the vine, it won't rot or keep growing. It will develop a harder skin that will then be able to tolerate colder temperatures. "After this point it's said to change flavor to that of a toned down butternut," Zamler says. If harvested when it's young and green, it cooks up like a sweet zucchini.

Luffa squash

• Color: Green
• Shape: Oblong
• Taste: Mild with sweet floral notes
• Growing season: June to August

Luffa squash must be harvested when it's young and green in order to be edible. It can be eaten raw, but it's better quickly sautéd into a stir fry. If left to mature on the vine, luffa squash become tough and inedible. At that point, they are harvested, dried, and turned into loofah sponges. Yes, really!

Crooked neck squash

• Color: Yellow
• Shape: Bell-bottomed with a long neck
• Taste: More vegetal, starchy zucchini
• Growing season: July to September

Crooked neck squash is very similar in flavor to zucchini but grows a little larger and has bigger seeds that give the squash a more bitter taste when puréed.

Ball zucchini

• Color: Green
• Shape: Circular
• Taste: Similar to a crooked neck squash; vegetal, with bitter undertones and sweet overtones
• Growing season: June to October

Ball zucchini are a hybrid of zucchini and patty pan that creates a nice grenade-shaped zucchini, with a slightly more intense flavor.

Costata romanesco

• Color: Light pale green
• Shape: Star-shaped, long and oval
• Taste: Dense flesh, nutty, with a drier taste
• Growing season: June to October

This squash is an heirloom variety that doesn't yield much fruit but produces a lot of male flowers that are used for stuffed squash blossoms. The fruit has an interesting star shape that makes it great for slicing and eating raw.

Insider's takeaway

There are so many different types of squash available all year round - from soft-skinned summer squashes to hard-shelled winter gourds. Most winter squashes have a sweeter, nuttier flavor and starchier texture than summer squashes. All can be delicious if you know how to prepare them. Some types of squash are better roasted or grilled, while others might be tastier puréed into a soup.

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