Happy holidays, my chickpeas! Today's recipe is a beautiful fall main and would be perfect for a vegan Thanksgiving table. This Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash is cozy, filling, and stuffed with protein-packed lentils and veggies.
It's hard to find a vegan holiday main that looks impressive but is also decently easy to make. Well today's your lucky day, because this is it! This Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash will impress the vegans and omnivores at the table. It can even be served in smaller servings if you'd prefer to make it a side!
Inspiration for Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash
A couple years ago I released my Veggie Lentil Wellington as a vegan Thanksgiving option, and it was a hit! I had so much fun creating a beautiful and impressive-looking holiday main, so I decided to do it again!
This time I wanted to lean into one of my favorite fall veggies: the acorn squash! This recipe takes our beautiful acorn squash and stuffs it full of lentils, veggies, herbs, and lots of autumn-inspired flavor. It also pairs great with my Vegan Mushroom Gravy for a true Thanksgiving treat!
Ingredients
This Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash has so many great fall flavors incorporated. Let's go over where all that flavor is coming from!
- Acorn squash: pretty self explanatory. These are fun for a main dish because they can be used as their own little bowls and look beautiful!
- Brown lentils and veggie broth: the veggie broth is mainly used to cook our lentils, but also gives them some extra flavor. The lentils are hearty and protein-packed!
- Onion, mushrooms, garlic, celery, and kale: we really let these aromatic veggies shine!
- Sage, rosemary, & thyme: our holiday-inspired herbs! These really elevate the dish.
- Tomato paste & balsamic vinegar: for a bit more flavor. These pair great with our lentils and veggies.
- Dried cranberry: for a pop of sweetness and color!
How to Make
This one is a little more involved than most of my recipes, but it's not bad at all for a holiday main! Scroll down for the full directions, but let's go over the basics.
- Preheat your oven to 425F and place all squash halves face down on a baking sheet.
- Roast your squash for 35-45 minutes.
- Cook lentils on the stovetop.
- Sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Add celery, then your herbs, and lastly tomato paste and vinegar.
- Add cooked lentils and salt to your veggies. Mix in kale until just wilted, and then remove from heat and mix in dried cranberries.
- Let squash cool slightly, flip, and then scoop out a bit of flesh from each squash. Add the scooped squash to the lentil-veggie filling and mix.
- Reduce oven to 400F. Add the filling to each squash half and bake for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Here are some ideas on how you can best enjoy this delicious Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash.
- This recipe is perfect for a vegan holiday main if you serve each guest one squash half. But it also works great as a smaller side if you want to serve smaller servings! Just cut each half in half after baking so that each guest can take ¼ of a squash.
- If you end up with extra filling, you can also serve this on its own as a fun Thanksgiving side!
- If you happen to have a good vegan cheese that melts well when baked, sprinkling a bit of that on top before baking would be a fun addition!
- Looking for other vegan options for your holiday table this year? Check out my Homemade Maple Cranberry Sauce and my Vegan Mashed Potatoes next!
Roasted Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squashes - halved (from the stem to the base), and seeds removed
- ¾ cup brown lentils
- 2.25 cup veggie broth
- ½ large onion - diced
- ¾ cup mushrooms - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 stalks celery - diced
- 2 teaspoon fresh sage - chopped
- 1.5 teaspoon fresh rosemary - removed from stems and finely chopped
- 1.5 teaspoon fresh thyme - removed from stems and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ large bunch kale - stemmed and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberry - (plus more for garnish, if desired)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional, for serving: Joyful Balance Vegan Mushroom Gravy - (or another gravy of choice)
Instructions
- Prep your acorn squash: Preheat the oven to 425F. While it is preheating, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place all squash halves cut-side down on the baking sheet. (Optional: you may brush the flesh of each squash half with a small amount of olive oil. This deepens the flavor a bit and helps with easy removal from the baking sheet later. If you prefer an oil-free option, you can skip this step!)
- Roast your acorn squash: Roast the squash in the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the skin has started to slightly wrinkle and the flesh is easily pierced with a fork. (You can proceed to step 3 while the squash roasts).
- Cook lentils: Place lentils and veggie broth in a pot on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes (until lentils are tender). Drain off any excess liquid (if needed). (Note that it is best to wait until the lentils are almost done cooking before starting step 4).
- Sauté veggies: Bring a separate large nonstick pan to medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add your mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The mushrooms will release moisture as they cook, so sticking is usually not an issue. But if sticking does become an issue, add small splashes of water as needed). Next, add the celery and continue to water sauté for 2 more minutes.Add sage, rosemary, and thyme. Cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the tomato paste and vinegar. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Make lentil-veggie filling: Add cooked lentils and salt to the sautéed veggies. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes.Reduce heat to low. Add kale and cook until just barely wilted (usually about 1 minute). Remove from the heat and stir in the cranberries.
- Scoop out part of the squash: Once your squash has come out of the oven and has cooled slightly (about 5 minutes, just enough to handle), flip the squash so that the fleshy side is face up on the baking sheet and they look like little bowls. Using a spoon, scoop out just a bit of flesh from each squash, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edges.After doing this to all four squash halves, you should have approximately ½ cup of scooped squash. Add this to the lentil-veggie filling and mix well.
- Stuff & bake the squash: Reduce the oven to 400F.Use a spoon to add a few scoops of the lentil filling into each hollowed squash half. I like to really pile the filling up so it forms a tall mound. If desired, sprinkle more dried cranberries on top for a pop of color. Place the stuffed squash back in the oven and bake 5-10 minutes, until heated through. Serve warm, pair with Vegan Mushroom Gravy if desired, and enjoy!
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your squash-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
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