Wash the acorn squash thoroughly and pat it dry. Slice a small portion of the bottom of the acorn squash to get an excellent flat base. Then trim the edges and cut it into two halves. Scoop out the flesh using an ice-cream scoop or with a spoon.
Now chop them lengthwise into four or slices like below.
Season the acorn squash and air fry
Preheat your air fryer if required for 5 minutes. Oil the acorn squash both on all the sides and sprinkle salt and pepper.
Now place the acorn squash in the air fryer basket, like below, the cut side top.
Air fry the acorn squash for 6 minutes at 370 deg F.
After 6 minutes, using a tong, carefully flip the acorn squash so the cut side is down like below. Air fry the acorn squash for 6 minutes at 370 deg F.
After this, remove the acorn squash from the air fryer and place it in the working area. Evenly spread the pesto sauce on each slice like below. ( I used one heaped tsp of pesto sauce for each slice.) Then sprinkle the pine nuts and the chipotle chili flakes.
Place the acorn squash slices back into the air fryer basket and air fry it at 400 deg F for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove it from the air fryer basket and serve warm!
Notes
This air fryer timing yields fork-tender acorn squash. You can increase the cooking time by 3 to 4 minutes but not more than that, especially for this recipe. Depending upon the thickness of each slice, the cooking time might vary slightly.
Adjust the seasonings as per your preference. You can use homemade or store-bought pesto for this recipe.
Instead of pine nuts, you can use slivered almonds as well.