Stuffed Acorn Squash with Rice Medley

We are celebrating October birthdays for our John L. Scott Bothell and Mukilteo real estate professionals by sharing this Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe! ENJOY!

Stuffed Acorn Squash + Wild Rice Medley features tender roasted squash stuffed with wild rice, mushrooms, spinach, red bell pepper and white beans for a delicious fall inspired meal!

Perfect for both casual or elegant dining, stuffed squash makes a colorful centerpiece for the dining or buffet table. Hearty and filling, this is 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 with green beans, roasted red peppers or mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy for the ultimate full spread! 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 used in this stuffed squash recipe. Plus, you’ll find substitution ideas for a few of the ingredients.

Acorn Squash – Look for acorn squash that are uniform in size.
Wild Rice – Use a wild rice, a wild rice mix (pictured above) or a combo of wild rice and long grain brown rice.
Red Bell Pepper – Any color bell pepper will work, but the red adds a nice contrasting pop of color.
Mushrooms – Use your favorite mushrooms. Baby bellas are shown above.
Spinach – Change it up with baby kale, chard or a combo. You can also rough 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 – Great 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 recipe is not too hard to put together. It does take three separate cooking sections, but comes together pretty smoothly. All in all it’s fairly easy, the rice and squash cook themselves, so the vegetables are 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 not. You can go either way as there's not too much of a difference. It just depends on how you're feeling if you 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 before eating. Bake the acorn squash until fork tender.
Make the wild rice medley. Cook your rice and set aside. Saute your vegetables and add in 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 good to eat. In fact, it’s full of vitamins and fiber, and we highly recommend it! But if you prefer, just scoop the flesh and let the skin be a bowl.

How To Store Leftovers

Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 4 – 5 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.
Freezer: Stuffed squash freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. Use freezer safe containers or baggies to keep it from getting freezer burn. Let thaw before reheating.
Reheat: Re-warm stuffed squash in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 – 15, 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 your stuffed acorn squashes ahead of time and keep stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Simply reheat before serving.

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 (pictures shown use 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 silicone mat. In an ovenproof saucepan, fill halfway with water and place on the bottom rack (this will give a little steam to your squash). Prep and roast the squash: Cut and seed your squash, place on baking sheet with 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 by chance your squash is done first, cover 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 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, cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms start to sweat and soften. Add the beans and leafy greens, stir frequently until they are wilted and warmed through (you may also want to use a cover in between stirring 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. You can even top with some sriracha for that extra heat and flavor! Serves 6 (or 3 for the hearty eaters). Store: Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in fridge for up to 4 – 5 days. NOTES: Quinoa or quinoa/rice combo would be great too and add even more protein per serving. To make this oil free, omit the oil when roasting the squash and roast the squash cut side down to keep the moisture in. You can still add a little salt and pepper, and place a sprig of thyme underneath so the flavor with infuse the squash a little. Use water in place of oil when sauteing the vegetables.