This delicious stuffed butternut squash with quinoa, cranberries, spinach, and chickpeas is an easy and satisfying recipe for the colder season. You could perfectly use it as part of a festive menu on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve. I bake it sometimes even as a weeknight meal.
Lots of variations and favorable nutrition facts
In many parts of Africa, they create numerous high fiber meals with this pear-shaped and aromatic delicacy. Whether in a salad, soup, grilled or stuffed, you can enjoy the squash in a lot of variations.
The flesh of this popular fall and winter vegetable is tender, slightly buttery and nutty. It contains a lot of beta-carotene, which is good for skin, hair and eye-sight. This dish not only provides you with the important macro and micronutrients but also tastes great, lasts long and gives you a satisfied feeling!
In addition, you don’t actually have to buy a huge 2-kilo squash, because the butternut is usually smaller than its big siblings.
A mouth-watering spinach quinoa filling
Today I will present to you a vegan stuffed butternut squash. The filling itself is reason enough for trying this dish. Hearty and protein-rich chickpeas combined with fiber-heavy quinoa and aromatic, garlicky spinach. I’ve completed the entire package with sweet-sour cranberries, adding yet another dimension of flavor. Here comes the recipe.
1 medium butternut squash, about 2 1/2 pounds
or 2 small squashes
2 teaspoon olive oil, divided
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
450 grams frozen spinach pellets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus additional salt and pepper for roasting squash)
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup sugar free dried cranberries
nutritional yeast
Instructions
The squash
Preheat your oven at 425 degrees °F./ 220 °C
Cut squash in half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds.
Arrange the cut sides on a with parchment paper covered baking sheet, sides up.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake squash halves for 45-55 minutes, just until they are fork tender.
Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle.
Turn down the oven temperature to 375 degrees °F/ 190 °C.
The filling
While the vegetable is baking, pour the broth in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Add the quinoa, return to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and let it simmer for 12 minutes at medium-high heat. (Most of the broth should be absorbed)
Remove from heat and let it sit, covered, for 15 – 20 minutes minutes.
Fork through the grains then set aside.
In a large skillet or pan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium high heat.
Add the frozen spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add the garlic, oregano, salt, and chili flakes.
Cook one additional minute, until garlic, is fragrant.
Stir in the cooked quinoa, chickpeas, and cranberries.
Cool slightly, then scoop out the squash flesh, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick border along the bottom and a 1/2-inch border around the sides.
Add flesh to the spinach/quinoa mix or reserve it for another use. (I added it to the filling mix)
Stuff the spinach/quinoa filling into the vegetable halves, sprinkle nutritional yeast on top of each one, then pop the squash into the oven again.
Bake about 10 additional minutes at 375 degrees F°/ 190 °C until hot.
Notes
As an alternative, the filling also tastes incredibly well in sweet potatoes.
Variation: serve it as one pot meal
I could really sit in this filling while cooking and almost forget about the roasted butternut squash. So, if you don’t feel like having filled butternut squash anymore, you can also serve the filling alone as a clean, plant-based one pot meal. For all others…enjoy the gluten-free, stuffed squash delicacy!
Hey Elizabeth,
thank you for your kind words. When you look at it, you wouldn’t think that it is so easy to prepare. I’m glad you’ve tried and liked it:)
I’m sorry for some of the errors I talk into the phone. I forgot to mention I cut all the ingredients in half because I only had one small squash. I use brewer’s yeast on top since I like it and I didn’t have any nutritional yeast on hand.
Once again excellent recipe thank you kindly.
Can you please clarify one small butternut squash is two servings. I had it about a half a cup of leftover filling but that’s okay. I have had the squash stuffed and it was excellent thank you so much great recipe.
This was delicious! Made this tonight using spaghetti squash (not my favorite, but it worked). It was the most amazing thing I’ve eaten all week. Yummy!
Thank you, Eden. I’m also a big fan of all those colorful, fiber-rich ingredients. Luckily I get those squashes often in my vegetable subscription box.
Love stuffed squash! It makes a great hearty meal for the whole family! I stuff acorn squash all the time, usually just because it’s a little smaller sized, ideal for individual portions.
This looks delicious, I have grown some butternut squash this year and this will be a marvellous recipe to use to put the squash as the central focus! It will be very low points for WeightWatchers Freestyle too.
So easy to pull together and a bright combination of flavors!
Hey Elizabeth,
thank you for your kind words. When you look at it, you wouldn’t think that it is so easy to prepare. I’m glad you’ve tried and liked it:)
would this be good with mushrooms and parmesan on top?
Hey Monica,
yes of course you could vary it with mushrooms and Parmesan. I’m sure it will taste delicious.
I’m sorry for some of the errors I talk into the phone. I forgot to mention I cut all the ingredients in half because I only had one small squash. I use brewer’s yeast on top since I like it and I didn’t have any nutritional yeast on hand.
Once again excellent recipe thank you kindly.
Can you please clarify one small butternut squash is two servings. I had it about a half a cup of leftover filling but that’s okay. I have had the squash stuffed and it was excellent thank you so much great recipe.
This was delicious! Made this tonight using spaghetti squash (not my favorite, but it worked). It was the most amazing thing I’ve eaten all week. Yummy!
Hey Ramae, I’m so glad that you’ve liked it! Good to know that it works with spaghetti squash too:)
So delish! I love all the elements of this, perfect late fall/early winter dish!
Thank you, Eden. I’m also a big fan of all those colorful, fiber-rich ingredients. Luckily I get those squashes often in my vegetable subscription box.
Own vegetable garden sounds so much fun! This recipe idea is awesome..I will surely want to try this out.
Thank you for your kind words. Make sure to keep the recipe handy for this festive season. Enjoy!
Yummy! That looks absolutely delicious! I love all the flavors and I love how healthy and easy it looks!
Thank you Elaine, that’s what we’ve thought too. It’s so simple to prepare, super tasty and it always looks awesome!
My family loves butternut squash! I can’t wait to try this!
With the Christmas season around the corner, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to serve this festive stuffed squash. Enjoy!
It’s packed with so much flavor and texture! You’re definitely not going to miss the meat with this recipe.
That’s true Christine. This recipe is so rich in protein thanks to chickpeas and quinoa that it usually convinces even meat lovers.
Love stuffed squash! It makes a great hearty meal for the whole family! I stuff acorn squash all the time, usually just because it’s a little smaller sized, ideal for individual portions.
I’ve never tried acorn squash, although I should, given its high fiber content. Thank you for inspiring me.
This looks delicious, I have grown some butternut squash this year and this will be a marvellous recipe to use to put the squash as the central focus! It will be very low points for WeightWatchers Freestyle too.
Hey Lucy, congrats for growing your own veggies. They are the best! Great to know that the recipe is low points for WeightWatchers Freestyle too.