Author: I'm a big fan of my Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf, and according to 48 thousand pins on Pinterest, the 100+ comments, and all of the gorgeous photos of your loaves that you tag me in on Instagram (I adore seeing those!) you are big fans of my lentil loaf as well. As much as I adore that loaf in all its gorgeousness, I was craving a new holiday centerpiece. Introducing my new, stunningly gorgeous, super duper scrumptious, Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash.
I got the idea of stuffing a butternut squash from the vegducken that has been flying around the internet. While I loved the idea of stuffing a butternut squash (clearly), I read a lot of complaints about the layers of bland and mushy vegetables, the butternut squash which was difficult to hollow out when raw, and that the recipe took a ton of time and work to prepare, all of that and it isn't even vegan. I was determined to solve all of these problems.
Bland and mushy vegetables were replaced with my flavour packed wild rice stuffing, the butternut squash is roasted prior to hollowing it out, making it easy and spoon scoopable. And while it isn't my quickest recipe ever, most of the time is spent hands off letting the squash bake and the rice cook. The result? OMG I'm just so in love. Did I say that already?
Let me count the ways I love Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash:
- It can be prepared ahead of time! That's right, you can make the squash and stuffing, and have the whole thing done and tied up with a bow (literally), and ready to go. Just store it covered in your fridge for up to 3 days and the heat through when ready to serve.
- That stuffing! It took me 4 test drives to nail it, but I am now officially smitten with this stuffing. Wild rice, cranberries, walnuts, sage... so much scrumptiousness, I have a hard time not eating it all before it even makes it into the squash.
- You can totally eat the squash skin. Not only does the skin help hold the shape of the squash, but the squash is roasted long enough that the skin becomes very tender so there is no need to peel it off. I like to give it a final seasoning right before serving. Yum!
- It is just so dang cute! I think it's important to have a gorgeous centerpiece for your holiday feast, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other time you want to celebrate with loved ones. With this stuffed roasted butternut squash you get all of the wow factor a good feast deserves.
TO MAKE STUFFED ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH:
Start by cutting your butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds, then put both halves on a baking tray cut side up. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of each squash and rub around to coat. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until the squash is cooked and fork tender. The timing may vary a bit depending on the size of your squash.
Once baked, remove the squash from the oven. Let it cool enough so that you can handle it. Scoop out the flesh in the centre of both squash halves, leaving about a 1-inch border all around. I like to score a line 1-inch from the edges with the tip of my spoon before I start scooping so I have a guide to follow.
Set aside the scooped out squash flesh and chop it up.
In the meantime when the squash is baking, you can prepare the stuffing. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until the veggies soften and begin to brown.
Add the wild rice and veggie broth to the pan, give it a stir, then cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Now add the white rice to the pan, cover, and continue to cook another 8 to 10 minutes until the rice has cooked and fully absorbed the broth. Add in the walnuts, dried cranberries, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Add in the scooped out and chopped squash flesh once you have it. Stir everything to combine well. Omnomnom.
Pack in as much of the stuffing into both sides of the squash as you can. You will likely have leftovers, but I like to pack it in nice and firmly and make both sides heaping full. Pick up one squash half and flip it on top of the other. Use kitchen string to tie up the squash in 3 or 4 places holding it together. At this point you can choose to let it cool, cover with foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days until ready to bake. Or you can bake it right away.
When you are ready to bake, lightly brush the top with oil. Bake uncovered for 20 to 35 minutes until hot all the way through. Season the top with a cracked pepper, and an extra sprinkle of chopped sage.
The slices are tender and will easily fall apart, to help hold them together use a wide spatula, and carefully transfer them to the plate. Serve hot with Quick Onion Gravy.
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
(click stars to vote)
Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash
Servings: (depending on the size of your squash)
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Ingredients
For the butternut squash:
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the stuffing:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup wild rice, (see notes)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup white rice, (I used basmati)
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 recipe Quick Onion Gravy, (optional for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C).
- To make the butternut squash: Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds, then put both halves on a baking tray, cut side up. Drizzle the olive oil on top of each squash and rub around to coat. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until the squash is cooked and fork tender. The timing may vary a bit depending on the size of your squash. Be careful not to overcook the squash as it will still bake more when assembled and heated later on.
- Once baked, remove the squash from the oven. Let it cool enough so that you can handle it. Scoop out the flesh in the center of both squash halves, leaving about a 1-inch border all around. I like to score a line with the tip of my spoon 1-inch from the edges before I start scooping so I have a guide to follow. Set aside the scooped out squash flesh and chop it up.
- To make the stuffing: In the meantime when the squash is baking, you can prepare the stuffing. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until the veggies soften and begin to brown. Add the wild rice and veggie broth to the pan, give it a stir, then cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Now add the white rice to the pan, cover, and continue to cook another 8 to 10 minutes until the rice has cooked and fully absorbed the broth. Add in the walnuts, dried cranberries, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. When ready, add in the scooped out and chopped squash flesh. Stir well to combine.
- To stuff the squash: Pack in as much of the stuffing into both sides of the squash as you can. You will likely have leftovers, but I like to pack it in nice and firmly and make both sides heaping full. Optional Stacking: Leave the halves as they are, or stack them for presentation. To stack, carefully flip one half on top of the other. Use kitchen twine to tie the squash together in 3–4 places for stability.
- When you are ready to bake, lightly brush the top with more olive oil. Bake for 20 to 35 minutes until hot all the way through. Season the top with cracked pepper, and a sprinkle of chopped sage. The slices are tender and will easily fall apart, to help hold them together use a wide spatula, and carefully transfer them to the plate. Serve hot with Quick Onion Gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Rosie says
This looks awesome! I have a Friendsgiving coming up and want to make this as a side dish for some vegan friends. I have limited oven space. If I make 2 of these ahead of time, can I put them in a crockpot instead of the oven?! If so, how long would you recommend keeping it in?! Thank you’
Kortneii Mackenzie says
This was amazing! So flavorful and pretty easy to make. Definitely going to become a go-to holiday dinner for me! I paired this with your lemon cashew roasted asparagus. To die for! Amazing. I felt like fancy chef making and serving my first, from scratch and non traditional holiday meal! Thank you so much! 5 stars for both recipes!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Wonderful! SO happy you enjoyed 🙂
Hayley says
Full disclosure: my stuffed squash is still in the oven, but it’s beautiful and the stuffing tastes amazing!! Thank you for the perfect vegan thanksgiving recipe!!
Kortneii Mackenzie says
Ma gawsh Sam, I haven't even eaten the final product yet but obviously I tasted it while stuffing the squash, and holy heck it is amazing! Woooooo! Can't wait to share with loved ones! Definitely have extra stuffing leftover. That's perfect thought it's going to be hard not to eat it all before Thanksgiving in 2 days! Thanks for another winning recipe your food is always great!
Emily says
I enjoy your websites and all the vegan recipes. But what makes it very unfortunate is that the YouTube inside this page is not "captioned" for Deaf audience, or it does not have the capability to turn on CC. You may have a bigger crowd if your YouTube has "captions". It would help a lot. Right now, I just see lips moving. That's all. Not exactly accessible for Deaf Vegans.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Emily, I'm not sure why the captions aren't showing up here, but I caption all of my videos on YouTube. Maybe if you watch it here on YouTube it will work for you? I actually pay to have someone write out the captions properly so that they are more accurate than the auto caption feature. I caption all of my instagram stories too if you follow me there 🙂
Kathryn Adams says
I made this yesterday for Christmas dinner and everyone LOVED it so much. It was absolutely delicious. My mother (not vegan) said it was the best side dish she has ever eaten and she took a fair share of the left overs home. You really are the best. Thank you for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks so much, Kathryn 🙂
Ravee says
This was an absolute hit at Thanksgiving that it has been requested again for Christmas!!! Easy to make and so delicious.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh I love that!!!
MsKellyO says
This looks amazing!! I am looking at this for Christmas dinner … I love butternut squash but I’m not really a rice person , do you think it is likely to turn out well with quinoa instead ?
katy says
Hi, Is something wrong with the link for this recipe? I keep clicking on the picture, and the stuffed butternut squash recipe keeps coming up instead. 🙁
Katy says
Sorry, should have said that I was trying to get access to the frosted sugar cookies (the one with the pink icing) but it keeps going to the wrong link.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Katy, not sure what link you were clicking but you can find the frosted sugar cookies here. Enjoy!
Anna says
I wish that there was a better way to gage fully cooked - nearly cooked - under cooked. Flavored were amazing. Sadly, bothbthe rice and squash were undercooked. Cooked max time
D.f says
Hahahaha!! The stupidity of people online is often just unbelievable. We live in the age of instruction. People can not think for themselves but need instructions for the simplest of things. Instead of just thinking, ‘hey next time I should taste if my food is cooked properly’ people go online to call out the person so nice to develop, test, write and photograph a recipe for them that they get for free online. Cooking times of rice depend on many factors one of them being how long it has been laying around on your shelf. If you can’t cook rice, learn to cook rice before you try anything as complicated as this. And please just stop posting idiotic comments like this!
Sam Turnbull says
You can just taste the rice to see if it's cooked. For the squash, it should easily pierce with a knife or fork when it is cooked. Hope that helps!
Susan says
Absolutely delicious!!!! Turkey, who needs turkey. This was fabulous! Everyone enjoyed this meal. Combined recipes for onion gravy to serve along side. Had trouble with my rice, but was able to overcome the obstacle. Used poultry seasoning, and added a full layer of sage leaves between the two halves. To die for. Sister made stated this was absolutely on the Christmas menu! Thanks for a fantastic, better than restaurant quality product.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Susan 🙂
Andy says
I made this I found it quite tricky as I didn't let the squash and stuffing cool down enough but the taste is amazing definitely do it again worth the effort
Amy says
My large squash took about 50 minutes to cook at 350F and had so mucca water coming out of it. I filled it with the stuffing and tied it together with twine and so much liquid it still seeping out. To the point it’s a bit soggy. Any suggestions?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Amy, it's difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, but it sounds like either the squash got a bit overcooked, or did you perhaps cover the squash when baking? Or did you cook it cut side down? If covered the steam won't be able to escape which could make it soggy. If cooked cut side down again, steam might have trouble escaping. I hope that helps a little!
Lisa says
I made this today (Sunday) for Thanksgiving. I have to work the week so I'm truly hoping it will survive til then to heat and serve. I added my own twists as well. The stuffing- squash chunks, diced green peppers, onions, celery, carrots, kale, garlic oil, spinach, dried cranberries, pine nuts, quinoa, tofu, wild rice, zuchinni, orzo, seasoned with tumeric, italian mix, chives,& sage. Crossing finger.. it smelled amazing!
Ty for the recipe ..
Sam Turnbull says
Enjoy!
Laura says
This looks amazing and I plan on making it for Thanksgiving this year. I am the only vegetarian in my household so I think it may be a bit too much to eat it all before going bad. What do you think of just making a half? I would think the cooking time would go down since it's not sandwiched together but not sure by how much. Thanks for any insight!!!
Sam Turnbull says
You could make half, the cooking time will be about the same as everything is mostly cooked anyways. Enjoy!
Laura says
Love this recipe! I use it every year. Do you think it would mind being frozen?
Sam Turnbull says
I know you can freeze cubed butternut squash but I don't imagine this would hold together well once frozen and thawed. That's just my guess!
Susannah says
Love this! I used it for meal prep for weekday lunches. Definitely tastes like Thanksgiving and was surprisingly easy 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Susannah 🙂
Andy says
So this can sit a few days in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes it can!
Kelsey says
I made this tonight and it delicious. The perfect autumn Sunday dinner.
Do you have a favorite brand vegetable broth you use for your recipes? Looking for a reccomendation.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks so much, Kelsey! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂 My go-to is Presidents Choice brand which is a Canadian brand 🙂
Karen says
I have made this before and it is delicious! I am wondering if it would work in a different squash? I am thinking about red kuri squash since I have one and the skin is edible. Do you think this work? Would the flavours go together? Thanks for your input . Karen
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Karen, I think that would work just fine and taste lovely. Enjoy!
Fran Clark says
Delicious, made it for lunch today. Made onion gravy with cider instead of veg stock, very tasty.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Fran!
Allison says
Hi sam! Could I use brown rice instead of wild rice for this recipe? can't wait to make it for American thanksgiving in November 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, but the cooking times will likely vary. Make sure to look at your rice package so you know how much time is needed. Enjoy!