Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn squash half, filled with wild rice and cranberry stuffing.

5 from 29 votes

Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

You're going to love this Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing. It's the BEST vegan stuffed acorn squash recipe and it's so easy to make. Roasted acorn squash halves are filled with a delicious veggie and wild rice blend that's infused fresh herbs for an incredibly tasty side dish or vegan main meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 278kcal

Author: Debra Klein

Ingredients

Squash

3 small acorn squash halved
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Wild Rice Stuffing

1 cup dry wild rice
2 ½ cups vegetable broth divided
l large yellow onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 bulb fennel diced
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 large apples diced
1 cup fresh cranberries
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tblsp chopped fresh sage sub with 2 teaspoon dried sage

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Use a 9 x 13 Casserole dish, or line a baking tray with unbleached parchment paper.
Roast the Squash: Wash the outside of the squash before beginning. Cut a small sliver off the bottom of the squash....just enough so it sits flat on a cutting board. Halve the squash through the stem and scoop out and discard the seeds and strings. Place in prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake for 40-45 minutes, until fork tender.
Rice: Rinse well in a fine mesh sieve until the water runs clear. In a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Stir in the rice and reduce to medium-low heat. Simmer covered for 25 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for for 10 more minutes to finish steaming.
Prep the Veggies: dice the onion, celery, fennel and apple. Mince the garlic gloves. Rinse the cranberries and pick through discarding any stems or damaged berries. Stack the sage leaves and roughly chop.
Make the Stuffing: While the rice and squash are cooking, make the rest of the filling. Use veggie broth or olive oil to saute onion, celery and fennel in a heavy skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the cranberries, apples and garlic along with ¼ cup of the broth. cook for another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the cranberries pop. Use the back of your spoon or spatula to mash a few of the cranberries. Turn off the heat. Mix in the chopped sage. Fluff the rice with a fork and then stir into the veggie mixture.
Squash is finished when fork tender. Fill cooked squash with large scoops of the stuffing. Sprinkle with additional sage or use the fronds from the fennel to garnish. If you'd like to crisp up the rice stuffing, put the stuffed squash back into the oven at 425 for 15 minutes.
Meal prep: Make the rice up to 3 days in advance. Make the filling up to 3 days in advance. Stuff the squash and refrigerate in a baking dish covered with foil until ready to use. Reheat in a 375 oven for 20 minutes, until heated through.

Notes

For no oil acorn squash: sprinkle squash halves with salt and pepper and turn cut side down to roast in oven so they won't get dried out. Continue as directed above.

If squash halves don't sit flat in the baking dish, cut a super thin sliver off the ridgy bottom so it will sit without wiggling.

Nutrition