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Recipe | Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings

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Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings
Thanksgiving might be next week, but here on Oh My Veggies, it starts today! I’m collaborating again with Rikki Snyder, whom you may remember from my Butternut Squash Flatbread post. Rikki is a professional photographer and her work never fails to amaze me. So like the last collaboration we did, I developed the recipes and Rikki did the photos.

(Sidenote: when I told my husband this was like the food blog equivalent of Transformers, where the different parts go together and create something bigger and better, he corrected me with a sigh: “No, that’s Voltron. Voltron. Not Transformers.” And then he shook his head in disappointment.)

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings
Stuffed squash often makes an appearance at vegetarian Thanksgiving meals, but usually it’s in the form of squash halves, stuffed with delicious things like quinoa or rice or other grains and veggies. I decided to do rings instead. Why rings?

Well, first of all, there is so much food available on Thanksgiving. And a whole squash half (whole half! That’s like jumbo shrimp, right?!) is a lot of food on top of all the sides and other yummy things you definitely don’t want to miss out on. It’s also a bit unwieldy to eat. Rings are a little more manageable, don’t you think? Easier to eat and they don’t take up nearly as much room on your plate.

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings
And second, while these squash rings make a wonderful main dish for vegetarians, they also make a great side dish for the meat eaters. No one is going to add a ginormous squash half to his or her plate on top of turkey and all the sides, but a squash ring is a different story. Everyone has room for a squash ring!

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings
So yeah, I’m pretty jazzed about these stuffed acorn squash rings. They’re stuffed with quinoa, apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, onions, and sage, which is a lot, but it works, I promise. Because there’s no bottom to the rings, I added a little egg and cheddar to the quinoa mixture to help bind the filling so it doesn’t fall out when transferring from the baking sheet to serving platter.

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings
I originally developed this recipe for delicata squash; if you’re able to find large ones, 2 or 3 of those could be used in place of acorn squash. (Because I couldn’t consistently find large delicata squash, I decided to use acorn squash instead.) And any relative of acorn squash would work as well, like the sweet dumpling or yellow acorn.

Today Rikki is posting my recipe for Green Beans & Caramelized Shallots. It’s a healthier, fresher alternative to green bean casserole. Be sure to stop by her blog and check it out!

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings

Roasted acorn squash rings stuffed with quinoa, apples, walnuts, cheese, sage, and onions.

Ingredients

  • olive oil mister or cooking spray
  • 1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
  • 1 c. vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 apple, cored and diced
  • 1/2 c. shredded sharp, aged or smoked cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 c. dried cranberries
  • 2 tbsp. chopped sage
  • 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
  • salt + pepper to taste
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 3 small acorn or sweet dumpling squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices (remove seeds & guts)
  • 1 tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray or oil and place squash rings on sheets.
  2. Cook quinoa in broth according to package directions. Cool slightly.
  3. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Cook about 10 minutes, or until onion is just beginning to brown. Add apple and cook about 5 minutes more, until apple is softened. Allow to cool slightly.
  4. Combine quinoa, apple and onion mixture, cheese, cranberries, sage, and walnuts in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in egg.
  5. In a small bowl, combine butter and maple syrup. Brush tops and insides of squash rings with butter mixture; season with salt and pepper.
  6. Stuff quinoa filling into the center of each squash ring, pressing down to fit as much stuffing as possible without overflowing. Spray centers of squash rings with oil or cooking spray. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and squash is tender.
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Comments

  1. These are so beautiful, they will dress up any Thanksgiving table VERY nicely.

  2. These are BEAUTIFUL Kiersten!

  3. Mmmm, I just bought some acorn squash today. Can’t wait to make it!

  4. I am printing this to try at our family’s Thanksgiving. Thanks!

  5. I LOVE this recipe! So tasty and your photos are gorgeous.

  6. Made this tonight, turned out not only delicious but beautiful! Only thing I changed was using Parmesan cheese instead of cheddar. But both are sharp cheeses so I’m sure it was similar to original :) Thanks for sharing this great recipe – its a keeper for sure!

  7. I just made roasted acorn squash tonight – along with a chicken tho :) Will definitely try this with the 2nd squash I bought!

  8. I like the squash ring idea, they look so pretty!

  9. Beautiful idea! I do love stuffed squash halves, but agree that it ends up being a lot of food. Fine for a stand alone meal, but as a part of a thanksgiving spread, totally overwhelming. If only I hadn’t just cooked up my only acorn squash (they’re dang near impossible to find in my corner of the world) I’d be rushing to make this! Must try it out with other squash. Thanks for another gorgeous recipe!

  10. This looks amazing! All of my favorite ingredients!

  11. Oh my goodness. These are *so* gorgeous. And they sound absolutely amazing!! I love every single ingredient. I have to make these!!

  12. I love how you’ve used beautiful acorn squash slices here. I want to reach out to eat, if THAT is ever possible to do ;)

  13. These are so pretty! I love that they look like little flowers, and I think my little girl will love that too :D And they look delicious!

  14. Oh my goodness these are beautiful and they look so flavorful and well, pretty!

  15. I’m loving the looks of everything you posted today for TDay. I have to cook a mixed meal for carnivores and vegetarians – and have a small oven. How do the various components of your meal handle being cooked ahead of time – I’m thinking of cooking some of the meal this Sunday to be reheated on Thursday.

    • The sweet potatoes can be made in advance, which will free up space (and time) in the oven for you. (There are also a lot of stovetop things you can make in advance–caramelizing the onions and shallots, the cranberry sauce, the gravy.) If you have the room, you could do the stuffing and squash rings at the same time (both at 375 degrees), then do the carrots and green beans at the same time. When the carrots and green beans are done, pop the squash rings and stuffing in the oven again for 5 minutes or so if they need a little reheating. Roasted veggies can definitely be made in advance and reheated, but they’re not as nice looking the second time around!

  16. Do you think I can prepare the mixture the day before (maybe omit egg until before I fill), as well as cut the squash, keep in the fridge, then bake the next day?

  17. I made these last night & they were SO delicious! The most daunting part is cutting the squashes into rings, but after that – it’s smooth sailing.

    Thanks for sharing! : )

    Jaclyn

  18. I am so inspired by your Thanksgiving recipes… maybe some of the best I’ve seen! I’d love to duplicate the entire meal that you created with Rikki. I shared a few of your recipes on my blog today. THANK YOU. http://peacelovequinoa.com/2012/11/20/thanksgiving-recipes-vegan-gluten-free/

    • Thank you so much! Just to let you know, though, not all of my Thanksgiving recipes are vegan–the acorn squash rings aren’t, although they’d be pretty easy to adapt. :)

      • oh yeah!, I caught that, thanks! :)
        i’ll substitute Earth Balance for butter and I won’t use the cheese. Regardless, I can’t wait to try them!!!!!

  19. I totally agree with you – I always see recipes for quinoa stuffed squash as a vegetarian main course option, but never a smaller-portioned option that would be easier to eat, like this one. I love to fill up on side dishes at Thanksgiving too, so this would let me fill my plate with other things, and still come back for a second slice!

  20. Yummy! Great recipe. I thank you for tonight’s dinner! The only thing I had trouble with was cutting the rings, but I ended up chopping up some of the end bits into cubes, roasting them, and eating them with the extra filling. Just as delicious.

  21. CrystalFawn says:

    I served them to company and they made for a very pretty presentation and were simply DELICIOUS!!!! Will definitely make again…Thank you.

  22. WOW! These look fantastic. I am always looking for squash recipes this time of year. Ill have to try these out.

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