Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash
The best vegan baked stuffed acorn squash. This squash is loaded with apple, quinoa, yellow onion, and other simple ingredients. You will love this warm and comforting recipe that’s perfect for fall!
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Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash
Good morning everyone! Today, I am sharing a delicious fall/winter themed recipe that I absolutely love – baked stuffed acorn squash.
Recently, the weather has started to cool down immensely. It was 35 degrees out when I went for my run at lunchtime yesterday! Luckily, I had this warm and hearty stuffed acorn squash waiting for me to enjoy upon my return. I cooked it up before my run and re-heated it once I got back. Although, I will say that the best way to eat this dish is fresh from the oven.
And I don’t know about you guys, but after I return from a freezing cold run outside, all I can think about is enjoying a warm, comforting, and nutritious meal. This squash recipe does the trick. This stuffed acorn squash recipe is incredibly tasty, nourishing, and surprisingly simple to make. Now, let’s take a look at all the ingredients you will need to make this recipe a smashing success.
Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash – Ingredients
- Acorn Squash – This ingredient is a given. After all, you can’t have stuffed acorn squash without the squash itself! Luckily, squash is in season in the fall, so you can likely buy many different varieties at your local grocery store or farmer’s market at an affordable price. My two personal favorite types of squash are spaghetti squash and acorn squash. If you aren’t familiar with acorn squash, it is quite easy to identify. It has a green rind (with some occasional orange patches), and it’s shaped like an acorn.
- Quinoa – The quinoa serves as the main base ingredient for the acorn squash filling. It’s a great source of plant protein, which makes it the perfect grain to use in this recipe. I used tri-color quinoa, but you can use whatever kind you have on hand or prefer. You’ll want to follow the package directions to cook your quinoa before using it in this recipe.
- Apple – The apple adds sweetness to this recipe, which compliments the natural sweetness from the acorn squash extremely well. The flavors of the squash and quinoa pair perfectly well with the rest of the ingredients to form a tasty sweet and savory dish. I used a honeycrisp apple for this recipe, which is one of my favorite kinds of apples. Again, you can use whatever you have on hand or enjoy most.
- Yellow Onion – The chooped yellow onion adds a nice crunch to this recipe. It is the perfect addition to the quinoa based squash filling.
- Cashews – The cashews add a nice little crunch to the quinoa filling. They also add a source of healthy fat to this recipe. I used raw cashews, but you could also use roasted or salted cashews if you’d like.
- Cinnamon – The cinnamon adds some nice sweetness and spice to this recipe. It pairs amazingly well with the chopped honeycrisp apple in the quinoa filling. These sweet elements balance nicely with the savory elements of this stuffed squash recipe.
- Salt – The salt is the final ingredient which will finish off this recipe. You can adjust the amount to your own personal taste. I used Himalayan pink salt in this recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This ingredient serves two purposes. First, it will be brushed onto each side of the squash before you bake it so that the squash gets soft and golden brown. Additionally, you will add a bit of olive oil to the filling itself to give it some extra richness and depth of flavor.
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Vegan Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium acorn squash
- 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (I used tri-color quinoa)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped apple (I used honeycrisp apple)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 tbsp chopped cashews
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- salt to taste (I used Himalayan pink salt)
- 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (+ more for brushing on the squash)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Make a few deep cuts in the squash and microwave it for a few minutes to make it easier to cut through.
- Cut the squash in half lengthwise.
- Place both sides of the squash face up on a baking sheet.
- Scrape out the seeds from the squash.
- Brush both sides of the squash lightly with olive oil.
- Place the squash in the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until soft. While the squash bakes, you can make the filling.
- To make the filling, mix together the cooked quinoa, chopped apple, chopped onion, chopped cashews, cinnamon, and olive oil in a large mixing bowl.
- Add salt to taste.
- Once the squash is done baking, fill the center of each half of the squash with the quinoa mixture. Depending on how large the openings in your squash are, you might have some leftover filling (which you can serve up on the side).
- Place the squash back in the oven to bake for 5 more minutes.
- Dig in and enjoy!
Notes
Although this recipe has quite a few steps, it is actually much simpler than it looks. After you cut the squash in half, you just have to bake it, stuff it with the filling, and bake it for a few more minutes. It really is as easy as that. I can’t wait for you all to try this recipe out! It is one I have made for some of my family members, and I have gotten really great feedback. My mom absolutely loves this stuffed acorn squash, and she noted how well the sweet and savory elements pair together. Anyways, that’s it for today’s post. As per usual, I will be back with more content very soon, so make sure to stay tuned.
-Alyssa 🙂
