Another easy throw-together meal where proportions really don’t matter. I used acorn squash, but this stuffing would also be great with butternut or kabocha squash.

Before I launch into this dish, can we please talk about how early the sun sets these days? It’s making picture-taking quite difficult for this amateur blogger, so please excuse the dark photos. However, I’m not here to show you National Geographic-level food pictures; I’m here to deliver delicious recipes that I promise taste better than they sometimes look.

So, with my apologies for less-than-stellar food photos, I’m beyond excited to share this one with you. Like a lot of my dishes, this one came together based off of what I knew I already had. Since my parents were in town,I knew it was the perfect time to use up the four Imperfect Produce acorn squashes I had hibernating in my pantry. Between the pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts, and tarragon, all the flavors blend together to make this one extremely tasty dish. Everyone went back for seconds, and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers!

As you know from a lot of my recipes, I don’t actually measure my ingredients. When I’m making something like this where you can’t go wrong with proportions, I just dump everything together. The other added bonus of making a vegan dish is that you can taste as you go. Did that spoonful not have a single pomegranate seed? Can’t find a pine nut? Great, add some more.

I knew I wanted a good chewy grain as the substance of my stuffing. While scoping out my grain options at Trader Joes, I landed on theBrown Rice Medley, which is a blend of long grain brown rice, black barley, and radish seeds. With the crucial rice decision out of the way, I knew I had some leftoverInstant Pot chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, sautéed onion, spinach, and tarragon.This recipe is extremely customizable, so look at some substitution ideas in the recipe below. Don’t be afraid to make this dish just because you’re missing a listed ingredient.

I suggest roasting the squash halves before you stuff them just to speed up cooking time. Any extra stuffing can fit snuggly around the squash in the casserole dish. If you try out these squash, leave a comment letting me know what you thought!

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Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

Another easy throw-together meal where proportions really don’t matter. I used acorn squash, but this stuffing would also be great with butternut or kabocha squash.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Keyword Chickpea, Dinner, Quick Meal, Stuffed Squash

Ingredients

Ingredients

• Acorn squash can also use butternut or kabocha
• Chickpeas cannellini or lentils would also be good
• Brown rice medley or any other grain
• Fresh spinach cut
• Onion diced and sautéed
• Pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries
• Fresh tarragon cut (can substitute fresh/dry basil or thyme)
• Pine nuts toasted
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: balsamic glaze drizzle

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut the squash in half and discard the seeds. You can roast those separately if you want. 

2. Line a cookie sheet with foil or a silpat mat. Lightly oil the lined cookie sheet with oil. Place the squash halves cut side down.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you can poke the squash with a fork.

4. Combine all the other ingredients (except for the balsamic glaze) in a bowl. 

5. Once the squash is done cooking, move them to a casserole. Stuff them, letting the extra stuffing fall around the squash. 

6. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until everything is heated through.

7. Once cooked, drizzle with balsamic glaze.