Stuffed Acorn Squash
Stuffed Acorn Squash features roasted, caramelized squash filled with seasoned wild rice, sweet potatoes, and crisp green apples. Nutritious, cozy comfort food at its best!
Servings: 4 stuffed acorn squashes
Cost: $16.35
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Medium pot nonstick
Ingredients
Wild Rice—See Note 1
- 1-3/4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock, see note 2
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt reduce amount if using table salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1/2 cup wild rice blend like Lundberg
Filling
- 1 large sweet potato 11 ounces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup celery diced, about 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
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Crumbled goat cheese optional, but recommended
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Thoroughly rinse wild rice blend in a fine-mesh sieve with cold water until water runs clear. Add stock, mustard, butter, parsley, salt, pepper, and dried thyme to a nonstick medium pot; bring to a boil. Once boiling, add rinsed rice. Cover and reduce heat to low (just above the lowest low setting). Simmer 50–65 minutes, or until rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (stir occasionally, returning lid as soon as stirring is done). Add 2–4 extra tablespoons broth if rice has absorbed all the liquid and is still not tender. Check to see if rice is done at 50 minutes and every 5–10 minutes after that. Once rice is tender, remove from heat, leaving the lid on, and let stand at room temperature 10–15 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to cut squash in half. (I cut down the indents on the sides, cut through the tip, then pull apart to get 2 halves.) Use a large spoon to scrape out all the seeds and stringy bits and discard. Place squash halves right side up on the prepared tray. Evenly drizzle 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil over all the exposed squash flesh and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Use your hand to rub everything in, then place the squash so the cut sides face down on the parchment paper. Bake until squash is tender (flesh is easily pierced with a fork), about 35–45 minutes. Set squash aside, but don’t turn off the oven.
- Wash and scrub sweet potato(es). Pierce several times with a fork. Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave until fork-tender, about 5–8 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from microwave and cut in half lengthwise. Set aside to cool slightly, 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.
- Add butter and olive oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, add finely diced onion and celery (see note 3). Sauté, stirring frequently, until onion begins to turn golden, about 5–7 minutes. Add garlic and stir another 1 minute. Add diced sweet potatoes, diced apple, and cranberries. Sauté another 2 minutes. Add rice and any remaining liquid in the pot; stir until liquid evaporates. Remove from heat. Add pepitas, pecans, and parsley. Mix to combine. Taste and add additional seasoning if needed.
- Flip the squash over so cut side faces up. Divide filling evenly among 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 oven and bake 15–20 more minutes or until just turning golden on top.
- Carefully remove from oven. Optionally add a drizzle of olive oil over everything, and if desired, sprinkle goat cheese on top. Enjoy while hot!
Video
Notes
Note 1: Or skip this homemade wild rice and prepare 1 package of Ben's Wild Rice according to package directions. Only add 1-1/2 cups of this prepared rice to the filling.
Note 2: Keep this meal vegetarian/vegan by using vegetarian stock. The stock makes the rice quite salty which is intended—it seasons the rest of the filling really nicely. Omit the goat cheese at the end.
Note 3: The more evenly and finely the veggies are chopped, the better the filling integrates together, fills up the squashes, and tastes.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information does not include the optional goat cheese.
Storage: Leftovers store for about 1 day, then they become mushy. Halve the recipe if you won’t eat all four squash within the first or second day.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 65.2g | Protein: 10.7g | Fat: 15.2g | Cholesterol: 5.6mg | Sodium: 170.1mg | Fiber: 9.1g | Sugar: 15.2g