Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash With Wild Rice Pilaf
Allow me to introduce to your new favorite Thanksgiving main dish. Have you ever seen a better vegetable for stuffing than the humble acorn squash? Each hollow half makes an ideal vessel for an aromatic rice pilaf studded with sweet-tart dried cranberries and savory roasted Brussels sprouts.
No gravy need apply when you can lavish it with a generous pour of rich and creamy tahini sauce, too. Stuffed acorn squash with wild rice are perfect for a festive meal to celebrate the fall harvest with friends or family. So grab your favorite holiday dinnerware and let’s dig in to this delicious vegan stuffed squash!
And, if you love this wild rice stuffed squash recipe, you absolutely must make this Thai vegan pineapple fried rice! Instead of a squash, you scoop out and use a fresh pineapple instead. So delicious!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash
Whether you have a dining room full of omnivores or herbivores, more people than ever are looking for meatless entrees all year round. There’s no need to make a direct turkey replacement when you can make a much more compelling alternate out of whole, fresh ingredients.
- Affordable – It’s tough sticking to a budget around the holidays, but this is one entrée that won’t break the bank. Seasonal produce is always most affordable at the peak of harvest, and many of the dry staples can be purchased in bulk for greater savings.
- Great Source of Protein – Where do you get your protein? Believe it or not, raw wild rice has a whopping 24 grams of protein per cup!
- Low-Fat – Only minute amounts of heart-healthy olive oil are needed to prepare each component, and you could easily scale back or omit it entirely if needed.
- Gluten-Free – Most store-bought meatless roasts are made from seitan, which is pure wheat gluten and an obvious nonstarter for anyone with celiac disease or a wheat sensitivity.
- Make Ahead – Like all the best Thanksgiving dishes, stuffed acorn squash are rock stars for prepping in advance and waiting patiently until their solo arrives. Bake and stuff them as written, cover the casserole dish with foil, and simply reheat in a 350-degree oven for 10 – 20 minutes when the party begins.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
The real beauty of this recipe is that the formula can be applied to a wide range of alternative ingredients, allowing you to easily adapt it to fit any dietary restrictions or personal taste preferences.
- Acorn Squash – There are plenty of squash in the field that are excellent candidates for stuffing. Consider delicata, butternut, sugar pumpkins, and kabocha, just for starters.
- Brussels Sprouts – Can’t stand sprouts? Don’t worry, there are other ways to get in a healthy, tasty serving of green vegetables. Broccoli is your best bet in this recipe.
- Vegetable Broth – If you run out of broth in the middle of the process, don’t panic. You can always just use plain water instead. But, if you want to fancy things up a bit, you can cut half of the amount with dry white wine.
- Wild Rice – What’s your favorite whole grain? I like to use a wild rice blend to vary the texture and flavor, but you can focus in on any single variety you prefer, such as quinoa, farro, brown rice, etc.
- Dried Cranberries – When you’re feeling fruity, there’s no limit to how you can sweeten this mix! Golden raisins would be the closest substitute, but you can always try using chopped dried apricots, pineapple, dates, or currants instead.
- Pepitas – Anything with a bit of crunchy contrast is welcome if you don’t have pepitas handy. Toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds would be ideal.
- Tahini – It may sound unconventional but hear me out: creamy peanut butter is an excellent stand-in for tahini. It has a stronger nutty flavor but is delicious in its own way.
How to Serve Up Your Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash
Each serving is easily a complete meal all in one, but you can turn it into a true feast with a few simple sides:
- Salad goes with anything! A nice light, leafy foil to this substantial entrée would balance out the dinner beautifully.
- Mashed potatoes are always welcome on my table, no matter the time or season.
- Cranberry sauce pairs perfectly with the dried cranberries in the stuffing, bringing those bright, tart, and tangy notes.
- Don’t forget to leave room for dessert! Pumpkin pie (or pecan) are classic sweet endings, but a simple scoop of vegan ice cream is always a refreshing last bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whole acorn squash can last for 2-3 months if stored at about 50 degrees. Any colder and it will start to break down, so keep it out of the fridge until it’s cut.
Cool the leftover stuffed squash completely before placing it in an airtight container and refrigerating it for up to 3-4 days. When ready to eat, reheat in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15-20 minutes to maintain the texture
No problem! You can substitute acorn squash with butternut squash (like in this arugula quinoa salad), delicata squash, or even small pumpkins in a stuffed squash recipe. These alternatives have a similar texture and sweetness, making them great options for holding the wild rice stuffing.
More Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
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Stuffed Acorn Squash With Wild Rice
Ingredients
For The Roasted Acorn Squash:
- 2 acorn squashes
- drizzle olive oil
- sprinkle salt
For The Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
- ½ pound Brussels sprouts
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
For The Rice Pilaf Stuffing:
- ½ cup + ⅓ cup vegetable broth, or bouillon and water
- ½ cup wild rice medley, or your choice of grain—quinoa, farro, brown rice, etc. *Note: each rice medley has different cooking times and instructions, so please adjust liquid amount and cooking time to fit with your grain choice)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup sliced green onion
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- ½ rib celery, thinly sliced
- 1 stem fresh rosemary, minced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons raw pepitas, hulled pumpkin seeds
- pomegranate seeds, optional
For The Tahini Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 clove garlic, very finely minced and crushed
- two generous pinches salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash acorn squash, slice in half lengthwise with a sharp knife, and remove the seeds and stingy part by scraping a spoon against the seed filled area until it’s clean. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and use your hands to spread it evenly around the acorn squash flesh. Place facedown on a large baking dish.
- Wash and prepare the Brussels sprouts by slicing off any brown parts on the stem to leave a fresh cut and cutting each Brussel sprout in half lengthwise. Place them in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat. Spread them evenly on the pan with the acorn squash, and bake everything together for 40 minutes.
- In a medium pot, bring vegetable broth to a boil. Add the wild rice medley, cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer covered for 35 minutes. At 35 minutes turn off heat, keep covered, and allow to steam for an additional 10 minutes covered. Once done, uncover, fluff, and set aside.
- Once the squash, Brussels sprouts, and wild rice are finished cooking, prepare the pilaf. In a large saute pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the green onion, followed by the garlic and celery. Allow to cook for a couple minutes and then add the rosemary, cranberries, and pepitas and cook for a couple minutes. Then add in the cooked wild rice and Brussels sprouts and mix together, allowing to cook until heated through.
- Spoon the hot rice pilaf mixture into the roasted acorn squash, dividing it evenly among all four.
- Prepare your tahini sauce. In a small bowl add the tahini and lemon juice and mix well. Add the water, garlic, and salt and continue to mix until the creamy mixture thickens a bit. Drizzle generously over the acorn squash and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Leave a Comment
This was a wonderful, delicious recipe! Thank you! The flavors were lovely together and I always love an acorn squash. The tahini sauce was the perfect topping. Can’t wait to make this again soon!
P.S. We doubled the recipe and it worked beautifully!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the lovely comment!
This acorn squash recipe is honestly one of my favorite parts of fall. The tahini dressing is so perfect; I truly crave this! Making it for Thanksgiving again this year.
This stuffed acorn squash is totally incredibly! perfect for the holidays!
What a nice fall recipe! I love it!
This is such a wholesome stuffing recipe! It worked great with my homemade vegan seitan roast.
this stuffed acorn squash does not dissapoint! it turned out so delicious!
Not only delicious, but beautiful and healthy, too!
Love this recipe. We have a version of this every Thanksgiving. The tahini sauce adds a wonderful flavor. ❤️
Such a good fall recipe, I love acorn squash!
Loooks super good!
Yummy! Gotta love stuffed squash! The stuffing combo turned out sooo good!
Going to make this the centerpiece for Thanksgiving! Definitely going to be a showstopper and I can’t wait! Thanks for this beautiful recipe!