You don’t need a holiday as an excuse to make this delicious recipe. It can be enjoyed as an entree, a side dish, or even as an appetizer. If you are hosting a vegetarian or vegan, this is a great savory and sweet option. You could also add your meat of choice to this recipe for additional protein.
Acorn squash contains niacin, thiamine, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin A, and is an exceptionally good source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for the immune and skeletal systems and acts as an antioxidant to potentially help prevent diseases such as hypertension, cancer, and heart disease. Acorn squash also contains adequate amounts of magnesium and potassium, which are essential for skeletal muscle and muscle contraction, energy metabolism, maintaining body water balance, and strengthening bones and teeth.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Servings
6
Prep Time
50
Ingredients
Acorn Squash
- 3 acorn squash medium
- 3 Tbsp 44.36 ml coconut oil
- ground black pepper to taste
Cranberry Cauliflower Rice Stuffing
- 5 cups 1200.00 ml cauliflower about 1 head
- 1 Tbsp 14.79 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion medium, finely chopped
- 4 cups 960.00 ml shallots approximately 2 medium, finely chopped
- 4 stalks celery finely chopped
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml dried cranberries chopped
- 1 tsp 4.93 ml sea salt
- 1/2 tsp 2.46 ml ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrap out seeds.
- Coat flesh of each acorn squash half with 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil and generously season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Place the acorn squash halves cut-side up on a baking sheet and roast until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Break apart cauliflower into large florets and place in a food processor. Process until the cauliflower is completely broken down into rice-sized granules. Set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions, shallots, cauliflower rice and celery to the frying pan. Season with sea salt and black pepper, stirring occasionally for 6-8 minutes.
- Remove the stuffing from heat and stir in cranberries.
- Divide the stuffing evenly among the roasted acorn squash halves (about ½ of a cup for each half) and serve warm.
