Stuffed Acorn Squash + Wild Rice Medley
Stuffed Acorn Squash + Wild Rice Medley features tender roasted squash, wild rice, mushrooms, spinach, red bell pepper, and white beans, for a delicious fall-inspired meal!
Why We Love this Recipe!
Perfect for casual or elegant dining, these colorful stuffed squash make a colorful centerpiece for the dining or buffet table. They are hearty and filling, and a completely satisfying meal with a good nutritional profile!
Serve by itself or with a small green salad tossed in a light vinaigrette on the side. Or serve a full-course meal with Green Beans Almondine, Roasted Red Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, and Vegan Mushroom Gravy!
And to top it all off, you just have to love eating out of an acorn squash – it’s pretty fun!
So without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients along with substitution ideas. Measurements are in the printable recipe card below.
- Acorn Squash – Look for acorn squash that are uniform in size.
- Wild Rice – Use wild rice, a wild rice mix (pictured above), or a combo of wild rice and long-grain brown rice (which I used).
- Red Bell Pepper – Any bell pepper color will work, but red adds a nice contrasting pop.
- Mushrooms – Use your favorite mushrooms. I used baby bellas here.
- Spinach – You can substitute baby kale, chard, or a combination. You can also roughly chop large leafy spinach if you like.
- White Beans – Cannellini, Great Northern, or chickpeas will all work great in this recipe.
- Onion – Feel free to substitute with a large shallot.
- Garlic – If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Thyme – Fresh or dried.
- Red Pepper Flakes – I like adding a bit of pepper flakes for a kick of heat. Feel free to adjust or omit the amount to suit your taste.
How To Make Stuffed Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Medley
This stuffed acorn squash requires three separate cooking sections but comes together pretty smoothly. The rice and squash cook themselves, so prepping the veggies is the only real work, which isn’t much.
- Cut squash and remove seeds. Start by slicing your acorn squash and scraping out the seeds. The seeds scrape out very easily with a sharper-edged spoon or tablespoon measuring spoon.
- To oil or not? Here, you can either brush your acorn squash with a little olive oil or skip it. I go either way, as I don’t find it makes too much of a difference, so it just depends on how I’m feeling if I want to add extra oil to the meal. You can also roast the squash, cut side down, to keep it moist.
- Season and roast the acorn squash. Sprinkle with fresh or dried thyme leaves, mineral salt, and pepper. You can even add a few fresh thyme sprigs inside each squash; just remove them before eating. Bake the acorn squash until fork-tender.
- Make the wild rice medley. Cook your rice and set it aside. Sauté your vegetables and add the rice once done.
- Stuff and serve. Fill your acorn squashes with the wild rice medley and serve!
Can You Eat Acorn Squash Skin?
Yes! Once roasted, the skin becomes tender and is perfectly edible. In fact, it’s full of vitamins and fiber, and I highly recommend it! But if you prefer, just scoop the flesh and let the outer skin be a bowl.
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored for 4 – 5 days in the fridge in a covered container. It makes a great meal prep with these multi-use glass containers (affiliate link).
- Freezer: Stuffed squash freezes well for 2 – 3 months. Use freezer-safe containers (like the ones mentioned above) or baggies to prevent freezer burn. Let thaw before reheating.
- Reheat: Re-warm stuffed squash in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes, until warmed through. You can also zap them for a few minutes, checking for doneness every 30 seconds.
- Make ahead: You can easily make the stuffed acorn squashes ahead of time and keep them covered in the refrigerator. Simply reheat before serving.
More Easy Vegan Recipes!
- Stuffed Winter Squash
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Vegan Pumpkin Soup
- Spaghetti Squash + Italian Bean Balls
- See all winter squash recipes on TSV!
If you try this stuffed acorn squash recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love hearing what you think or any changes you make.
Print Recipe
STUFFED ACORN SQUASH + WILD RICE MEDLEY
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
Festive and fun, stuffed acorn squash features wild rice, beans, and a mix of vegetables. Great for casual dining and makes a great centerpiece for any gathering!
Ingredients
- 3 acorn squashes, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
- olive oil (to roast oil-free see notes)
- 1 teaspoon thyme, divided
- sea salt
Wild Rice Medley
- 1 cup wild rice, dry (I used half black wild rice and half long grain brown rice)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water
- 1 medium/large red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small onion or 1 large shallot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz. mushrooms (about 2 cups), sliced
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach (baby kale or chard is great too, or a combo)
- 1 can cannellini beans (15 oz), drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon thyme (dried or fresh)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. In an ovenproof saucepan, fill it halfway with water and place it on the bottom rack (this will add a little steam to your squash).
Prep and roast the squash: Cut and seed your squash, and place it on a baking sheet with the cut side up. Brush each half with a little oil, and season with a sprinkle of thyme, salt, and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until tender, knife should easily pierce the flesh. If your squash is done first, cover it with foil to keep it from drying out.
Rice: Cook your rice according to package directions. Wild rice will take about the same time as the squash to cook, about 40-45 min. Set aside.
Veggies: In a large pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, add garlic and cook 1 minutes. Add the mushrooms, bell peppers, thyme, red pepper flakes, a few twists of salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms start to sweat and soften. Add the beans and leafy greens, and stir frequently until they are wilted and warmed through (you may also want to use a cover between stirrings to help soften the greens).
Wild Rice Medley: Combine the rice and sautéed vegetables in the larger of the two pots. Taste for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper as needed.
Stuff: Scoop mixture into each acorn squash half and serve with any additional seasonings. I actually like to top mine with some sriracha for that extra heat and flavor I love so much. :)
Serves 6 (or 3 for the hearty eaters).
Store: Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 – 5 days.
Notes
Quinoa or quinoa/rice combo would be great too, and adds even more protein per serving.
To make this oil-free, omit the oil when roasting the squash, and roast it cut-side down to retain moisture. You can still add a little salt and pepper, and place a sprig of thyme underneath so the flavor infuses the squash a bit. Use water instead of oil when sautéing the vegetables.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my Silpat or these parchment liners for lining this rimmed baking sheet (affiliate links).
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
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Delicious!
I made this yesterday for a vegan Thanksgiving entree. It was delicious! People asked me to cut the halves in half. They ate all of it!
I like this roasting method with the steam from below.
I added walnuts and one vegan sausage.
I will absolutely make it again!
Question: Is it ok to roast the squash a day in advance, and how would I store it?
Thank you!
I had medium hopes for this recipe, just made it because I had an extra acorn squash.
Wow! Blown away by how delicious this was with the thyme and stuffing. Definitely getting some sriracha as a topper next time. I’m excited to make this for guests!
I made this as our main for Thanksgiving and everyone, even the omnis, we’re happy. The filling was perfect and we decided it would make the perfect meal prep lunch. It was relatively easy and it was nice spending time with my family rather than cooking all day. A definite win!
made this for my non vegan family for thanksgiving, everyone loved it!! thank you for sharing this recipe!
One simple word…DELICIOUS! This was my second time trying to cook Acorn Squash and I am absolutely pleased with the outcome. This is a great recipe and a scrumptious dish!
Made this for an intimate dinner for our pastors and guest of 8 people. They loved it!
I’ve made this recipe several times! It is an absolute favorite for our family. I often tweet recipes to make them my own….this one needs no tweaking! Thank you!