Stuffed Acorn Squash features roasted, caramelized acorn squash filled with seasoned wild rice, tender sweet potatoes, green apples, and more. It’s comfort food at its best!
Pair Acorn Stuffed Squash with a simple Winter Fruit Salad or easy Pear Salad.
What To Expect From This Recipe
I’m excited to share this recipe—it’s one of my all-time favorites, along with these snickerdoodles! Stuffed Acorn Squash mixes seasoned wild rice with sweet cranberries and apple for a dish with great textures and bold flavors.
Although it takes time to prepare—cooking the wild rice, roasting the squash, and making the filling—many parts can be done ahead. This makes it perfect for guests or special meals. Below, find easy tips to make making Stuffed Acorn Squash so easy!
Wild Rice
Use a wild rice blend like Lundberg® Wild Rice Blend, which you’ll find near other rice in most stores. Wild rice is dense, so a blend keeps it lighter.
Cook the rice in chicken or vegetable stock with some seasonings and a bit of butter. Since wild rice takes a while to cook, start with it first. A strong stock, like Swanson’s® chicken stock, adds great flavor.
The rice will be salty enough, so you don’t need to season the filling. Any extra liquid will cook off when mixed into the filling, adding extra flavor.
Quick Tip
To make vegetarian (or vegan) Stuffed Acorn Squash, use vegetarian stock instead of chicken stock.
Acorn Squash
Roasting squash is easy and tasty—you might not even get to the filling!
The edges turn golden and caramelized. Here are some tips:
- Use medium-sized squashes that are similar in size for even roasting.
- Cut the squash with a sharp knife on a sturdy board. Don’t microwave it first; it can make the squash mushy.
- Roast on a parchment-lined pan to avoid burning.
- Check if the squash is done by poking it with a fork. If it goes in easily, it’s ready.
Quick Tip
After roasting the squash, don’t turn off the oven! We return the Stuffed Acorn Squash to the oven to bake again!
Stuffed Acorn Squash: Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes can be hard to chop raw and take a while to cook. To speed things up, use the microwave:
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potato with a fork.
- Microwave an 8-ounce (1/2 pound) potato on high for about 5 minutes. Larger or multiple potatoes will need more time. Continue in 1-minute bursts until soft.
- Check if it’s done by poking it with a fork. It should be easy to pierce.
- Cut the potato in half, peel the skin off, and dice into small pieces.
If you prefer not to microwave, bake the sweet potatoes until soft, then peel and dice them finely. Avoid big pieces in the Stuffed Acorn Squash.
Stuffed Acorn Squash Filling
Once the wild rice, sweet potato, and squashes are ready, mix these ingredients into the filling:
- Yellow onion: Dice small to blend in well and avoid raw chunks.
- Celery: Adds crunch. Dice finely; cut stems in half before slicing thinly.
- Dried sweetened cranberries: Adds sweetness. Sweetened is best; dried tart cherries work too.
- Apple: Any apple works, but Granny Smith adds tartness. For sweetness, choose Honeycrisp or Fuji. Peel if you prefer (I don’t).
Stuffed Acorn Squash Filling, Continued
- Pepitas: Roasted pepitas add a sweet, nutty flavor. Buy them pre-roasted and salted or make your own. Check the bulk section or salad toppings.
- Pecans: Use chopped pecans and cut them smaller if needed.
- Flat-leaf Italian parsley: Use flat-leaf parsley for better flavor; curly parsley is mainly for decoration.
Stuffed Acorn Squash FAQs
Yes, you can eat the skin as it softens from roasting, but I usually don’t. I prefer to enjoy the squash flesh and filling, scraping right up to the skin.
Not for this recipe; it helps hold it all together!
If the flesh looks dull or smells off, it’s likely spoiled. Also, if the seeds are slimy or gray, the squash is probably bad.
Storage
Make Ahead And Storage
Stuffed Acorn Squash is easy to prep ahead:
- Wild rice: Cook 1-2 days in advance. Refrigerate, fluff before using, and drain excess liquid.
- Filling ingredients: Prep parsley, sweet potato, celery, pecans, pepitas, and onion separately. Store in the fridge (nuts at room temperature). Don’t prep the filling too early to avoid browning apples and softening nuts/pepitas.
To assemble: Mix prepped ingredients, roast the squash, and bake!
Leftovers store okay for about a day; they become mushy after that. Halve the recipe if you won’t eat all four squash within the first or second day.
More Hearty Vegetarian Recipes
- Butternut Squash Salad with a maple-Dijon vinaigrette
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with loads of veggies
- Vegetarian Chili with the best seasoning blend
- Butternut Squash Tacos with black beans
- Vegetarian Tikka Masala with a quick snap pea topping
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
Wild Rice — See Note 1
- 1-3/4 cups Chicken or vegetable stock Note 2
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: dried parsley, fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon EACH: pepper, dried thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup Wild rice blend (like Lundberg)
Acorn Squash
- 2 medium-sized acorn squash
- Olive oil, fine sea salt, & pepper
Filling
- 1 large (~11 oz.) sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon EACH: unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup celery, diced (~3 stalks)
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion (~1 small onion)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (~2 cloves)
- 1 cup Granny Smith apple diced (~1 small apple)
- 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup diced pecans
- 1/4 cup finely diced flat-leaf parsley
- Optional, but recommended: crumbled goat cheese
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- WILD RICE: Start by thoroughly rinsing the wild rice blend in a fine-mesh sieve with cold water until the water runs clear. Meanwhile, add chicken or vegetable stock, Dijon mustard, butter, salt (if using table salt instead of fine sea salt, reduce amount), parsley, pepper, and dried thyme to a nonstick medium-sized pot; bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the rinsed rice. Cover and reduce heat to low (just above the lowest low setting). Simmer for 50-65 minutes, or until rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (stir occasionally, returning the lid as soon as stirring is done). Add additional broth as needed (if rice has absorbed all the liquid and is still not tender; we typically need to add 2-4 extra tablespoons). Check to see if the rice is done at 50 minutes and then every 5-10 minutes after that. Once rice is tender, remove the pot from the burner, leaving the lid on, and let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- ACORN SQUASH: Use a very sharp chef's knife to cut squash in half. (I cut down the indents on the sides, cut through the tip, and then pull apart to get 2 halves.) Use a large spoon to scrape out all the seeds and stringy bits and discard. Place the squash halves right side up on the prepared tray. Evenly drizzle 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil over all the exposed squash flesh. Sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Use your hand to rub everything in nicely and then place the squash upside down on the tray — so the cut sides are facing down on the parchment paper. Bake until squash is tender (flesh is easily pierced with a fork), about 35-45 minutes. Set squash aside for now, but don't turn off the oven– we'll use it again!
- SWEET POTATO: Wash and scrub the sweet potato(es). Pierce several times with the tines of a fork. Place on a microwave-safe plate and cook until fork-tender, about 5-8 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the microwave and cut in half lengthwise. Set aside to cool slightly and then peel off the skins (they should come off easily). Once cool enough to handle, dice into very small pieces, measure to get exactly 1 cup (131g) and set aside. Save any extras to add to an egg omelet, salad, or other recipe throughout the week.
- FILLING: See Note 3. Add butter and olive oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, add in the finely diced onion and celery. Sauté, stirring frequently, until onion begins to turn golden, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir for another 1 minute. Add in the diced sweet potatoes, diced apple, and cranberries. Sauté for another 2 minutes. Add in the rice and any remaining liquid in the pot and stir until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat. Add in the pepitas, pecans, and parsley. Mix to combine. Taste and add any additional seasoning if needed.
- STUFF SQUASH AND BAKE: Flip the squash over so cut side is facing up. Divide the filling evenly between the 4 squashes; really pack it in; you should use all the filling (it's okay if they're over-filled a bit!). Return to the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes or until just turning golden on top.
- ENJOY: Carefully remove from the oven and use a large spatula to serve on to plates. Add a drizzle of olive oil over everything (optional) and if desired, sprinkle goat cheese on top. Enjoy while hot!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
what temp do you roast the squash at?
400 degrees F! It’s tricky to miss in the first step, so thanks for asking 🙂