Vegetarian Recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash

We’re bringing our vegetarian recipe for stuffed acorn squash up from the archives. First published in 2010, it’s the recipe experiment that helped turn us into squash eaters!

This vegetarian recipe for stuffed acorn squash tastes like fall with tender roasted acorn squash stuffed with crunchy pecans, tangy cranberries, and sweet brown sugar.

REINVENTING ACORN SQUASH

Squashes are so healthy, that it’s important to me to try and find ways to make it palatable to those of us who grew up not liking it. An entire medium acorn squash is around 170 calories,and 1 cup of mashed acorn squash gives you 145% of your daily value of Vitamin A. Wow! It also contains quite a bit of Vitamin C, Potassium and some fiber and protein as well. With all those nutritional benefits, how can you not want to like squash?

Unless you grew up eating slimy squash.

When fall harvest comes I’m always experimenting in search of new answers to the age old question of how to cook acorn squash. Okay, maybe it’s not age old, but I feel like I’m constantly asking myself what to do with my squash from our CSA.

This recipe is very similar to my mother’s way of cooking acorn squash, you know the melted butter and brown sugar, roast it till it’s soft method. But she put water in the dish which always gave it a slimy texture I couldn’t stand (sorry mom!).

Roasting the squash gives it a smoother texture with some caramelization to add to the flavor. Since Eric also considers squash to be slimy, I knew I needed some kind of stuffing for the squash to add to the texture.

I kept it simple with a few ingredients we always have in our pantry. Brown sugar, pecans, and cranberries. It became my easy vegetarian recipe for stuffed acorn squash, and I’ve loved bringing it to my meatlessfriends in need of a meal.

Eric and I usually each have a quarter of vegetarian stuffed acorn squash as our main dish for a vegetarian dinner, maybe with a salad or some cheese and grapes on the side. It’s also a GREAT option for a healthy dessert, especially if you’re in need of a gluten free dessert recipe.

We’ll be making stuffed acorn squash in the Healthy Cooking on a Tight Budget class this Friday. It’s a perfect dish for class because whether participants are on a vegetarian, vegan (just sub coconut oil for the butter) or gluten free diet they can eat it!

HOW TO CUT ACORN SQUASH

If you’ve never cooked with acorn squash before, don’t be intimidated. It’s really simple to cut an acorn squash. I’ve got the instructions in the recipe, but if you’re a visual person like me, I’ve also got a little photo tutorial for you.

Once you’ve got the squash quartered and scoop out the seeds, make sure to clean the seeds and roast them for a healthy and delicious snack.

I’ve got recipes for roasted acorn squash seeds and roasted pumpkin seedson the site, andeither one will work for any squash seed. Using the seeds of the squash stretches whatever money you spent on it. I actually like acorn or butternut squash seeds better than pumpkin seeds because they have a thinner shell.

Next week I’ll show you how to use any leftover roasted acorn squash in an acorn squash and sage brown butter spaghetti recipe. It’s my favorite way to eat pasta in the fall!

What’s your favorite way to cook acorn squash?

TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS TO MAKE OUR VEGETARIAN RECIPE FOR STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Here’s a few suggestions for making this vegetarian stuffed acorn squashrecipe.By clicking one of these links before making ANY purchase on Amazon, we get a small percentage of your purchase, without it costing you anything extra! Thanks for helping to support our family business.

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VEGETARIAN RECIPE FOR STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

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Yield: 4 wedges

Vegetarian Recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash

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This vegetarian recipe for stuffed acorn squash tastes like fall. Roasted acorn squash stuffed with crunchy pecans, tangy cranberries, & sweet brown sugar make a vitamin packed treat that can double as a side dish or healthy dessert.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash
• 2-4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pecans, crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Prepare your squash by cutting off both ends about ½ an inch deep. 
3.  Stand the squash on the wider end and cut in half lengthwise. 
4. Cut each half in half lengthwise again. 
5. Scoop the seeds and guts out (save them for roasting!) and place the quarters in a baking dish.
6. Brush the melted butter over the flesh of the squash, then sprinkle brown sugar in the hollow of each quarter. 
7. Roast for 45 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
8. While the squash is cooking, bring your apple cider to a boil. Put cranberries in a bowl and pour the boiling cider over them. Let the cranberries soak in the cider until your squash is done.
9. When the squash is cooked, drain the cranberries and mix them with the crushed pecans. 
10.  Sprinkle the cranberry pecan mixture into the hollow of each squash segment and serve.

Notes

Approximate cost/serving: When squash is in season this is SO affordable. We get squash through our CSA, but even from the grocery store it’s only about $2.50 to make. That’s just 63 cents a serving!

Vegetarian/Gluten Free: Yes and yes! You can even skip the butter or use olive or coconut oil to make this vegan.