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    Home » Autumn Recipes

    Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberry, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffing

    Nov 25, 2013 · Modified: Jan 1, 2022 by Andrea · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 8 Comments

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    Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberry, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffing - Andrea Meyers

    Roasted acorn squash is one of my favorite vegetarian or vegan meals because the squash is such a great palette for stuffing with all sorts of grains and vegetables, and this recipe is one of my favorites. The squash roasts while you make the quinoa stuffing on the stove, then finishes all together with a quick final roast in the oven. The stuffing is full of flavor with orange juice, apple cider, spices, apples, cranberries, raisins, onions, celery, carrots, parsley, a touch of maple syrup, and a bit of crunch from the walnuts.

    I love to eat stuffed squash for lunch or dinner, but it also makes a beautiful dish for Thanksgiving. If you have vegetarian or vegan family or friends coming for Thanksgiving dinner, this is a delicious alternative to turkey and gravy for them. The stuffing recipe makes much more than needed for four acorn squash halves, but the leftover stuffing is fabulous as a side dish by itself or even for a breakfast bowl.

    Recipe Notes

    I made a couple small changes to the original recipe: fresh apples instead of dried, added golden raisins, reduced the butter, and used walnuts instead of almonds. I also dry roast the squash instead of using a water bath, which I thought made it a little mushy. The cider flavor is prominent, but you can use half cider and half water if you prefer. Because of the cider and the spices, the color effect from using both red and white quinoa is lost somewhat, so you could use just one color of quinoa and it would be fine. The recipe calls for butter, but you can easily veganize it with sunflower oil or another oil of your choice.

    Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberry, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffing - Andrea Meyers
    Print Pin

    Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberry, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffing

    Adapted from Whole Foods Market.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time50 mins
    Total Time1 hr
    Course: Vegetable
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: apples, autumn, cranberries, quinoa, roasting, squash, Thanksgiving
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 668kcal
    Author: Andrea Meyers

    Equipment

    • 3-quart heavy bottom pot with lid
    • baking sheet, lined with foil and lightly greased with olive oil
    • small skillet

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup white quinoa (rinsed)
    • ½ cup red quinoa (rinsed)
    • 1 cup orange juice
    • 2 cups apple cider
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ teaspoon pepper
    • 2 acorn squash (cut in half vertically and seeded)
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or sunflower oil)
    • 1 medium onion (diced)
    • 1 carrot (diced)
    • 1 celery rib (thinly sliced)
    • ½ cup dried cranberries
    • ½ cup golden raisins
    • 2 medium tart apples (diced)
    • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
    • ½ cup chopped walnuts (toasted)
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
    US Customary - Metric

    Preparation

    • Preheat the oven to 350° F/175° C.
    • Place each acorn squash half cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the squash are just tender, about 40 minutes.

    Stuffing

    • While the squash bakes, toast the quinoa in the 3-quart pot, dry, for about 3 minutes. Add the orange juice, apple cider, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Melt the butter or oil in the skillet and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery over medium heat until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables to the simmering quinoa along with the dried cranberries, raisins, chopped apples, and maple syrup. Simmer the mixture for 10 more minutes, at which point the quinoa should be fully cooked and hold together like sticky rice. Remove from heat and stir in the toasted walnuts and parsley.
    • Turn the squash cut-side up and fill each half with some of the quinoa mixture, pressing to fill each and mound over the stuffing. Return the squash to the oven for 10 more minutes, then remove and serve while hot.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 668kcal | Carbohydrates: 123g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 1660mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 4003IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe?Share in the comments!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. melissa @ my whole food life says

      November 25, 2013 at 3:55 pm

      I just love stuffed acorn squash! This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        November 25, 2013 at 5:24 pm

        Thanks Melissa!

        Reply
    2. Debra says

      November 29, 2013 at 11:34 pm

      This would have been great for our Thanksgiving table. I would eat this anytime, though.

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        December 01, 2013 at 4:12 pm

        I'm with you Debra. I can eat stuffed squash all autumn and winter long.

        Reply
    3. Rachel says

      November 30, 2013 at 11:54 am

      Your stuffed acorn squash looks very tempting. I tried to get away with cutting this vegetable out of our Thanksgiving 2013 feast and my daughter was indignant and went to the store and purchased some for me to cook up!

      And thanks again for being such a wonderful Guest Judge for Cook the Books!

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        December 01, 2013 at 4:13 pm

        That's funny, Rachel. I managed to get away with not making rolls for Thanksgiving this year, but was informed that I have to make them for Christmas. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Patti says

      October 02, 2017 at 5:29 pm

      I made this recipe and questioned the LARGE amount of vinegar in it, but went ahead and made it exactly as written. The 2c. vinegar must be a typo. Maybe 1/2 cup. The while thing tastes like a pickled mess. I couldn't even fix it by adding brown sugar. And it never resembled the consistency of sticky rice. More like porridge. Total loss of a meal for my family. Very disappointed.

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        October 02, 2017 at 7:00 pm

        Hi Patti. I'm sorry to hear you had a hard time with the recipe. There is no vinegar in it. The recipe calls for 2 cups of apple cider, but no vinegar. Try it with the apple cider, and I think you will see the difference! 🙂

        Reply

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