Stuffed Acorn Squash

Roasted acorn squash filled with mushrooms, lentils, chestnuts, dried cranberries, and fresh herbs!

This stuffed squash is:

Savory

Comforting

Hearty

Healthy

& Filling

What you’ll need:

Acorn Squash: For a soft and buttery, edible bowl! Feel free to use any other winter squash such as butternut squash or pumpkin.

Mushrooms: To add texture and an umami flavor. I used a mixture of crimini mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms.

Lentils: For protein and texture. Soak them overnight if you can, or add them to a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes to help soften them.

Onion: for flavor!

Garlic: for even more flavor!

Tomato Sauce: I used Trader Joe’s marinara sauce, as this was all that I had. Feel free to swap it for a lesser amount of tomato puree.

Balsamic Vinegar: to add a little bit of tanginess and a little bit of sweetness!

Tamari: for a salty kick and extra flavor! Feel free to swap this for soy sauce, but keep in mind that soy sauce will not make this meal gluten-free.

Veggie Broth: to help the lentils cook and get soft. You can swap this for water if you’d like, but the broth definitely adds more flavor!

Black Pepper: an essential spice!

Chestnuts: to add a nutty flavor and soft texture.

Dried Cranberries: an element of sweetness to balance out the salty-savory elements.

How to make Stuffed Acorn Squash

Bake the Squash

Start by preheating your oven to 400, then slice the acorn squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (save them if you can, so you can make roasted acorn squash seeds!) and score the squash diagonally. Lather both halves of the squash in one tablespoon of oil, place both halves flesh side up on a baking sheet and bake for 45-55 minutes.

Prep the filling

While the squash roasts heat up the remaining oil in a pot over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the onion and cook for about ten minutes until it becomes soft and translucent.

Next, add the garlic, mushroom, and herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary). Stir and cook for about ten minutes, or until the mushrooms begin to shrink and release their moisture. Stir frequently to make sure the garlic and herbs don’t burn! You can use dried herbs here if you’d like.

Once the mushrooms are soft, add the tamari, balsamic vinegar, tomato sauce, soaked lentils, black pepper, and veggie broth. Stir, cover, bring to a boil, and then bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add more veggie broth if needed, but not too much. The filling shouldn’t be soupy.

After the lentils have cooked, stir in the dried cranberries and chopped chestnuts. Cook for five more minutes and then remove the pot from the heat.

Stuff the squash

By the time the filling is done cooking, the squash should be done roasting. Remove the squash from the oven and stuff the centers with the filling.

Garnish however you’d like and enjoy!

Storing & Reheating

The filling, as well as the squash, can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. When reheating, I recommend placing the unfilled squash in the oven preheated to 350 until warm and heating the filling in a saucepan until warm (add additional veggie broth if needed).

Check out this video!