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Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

By October 18, 2017Recipes
Reading Time: 3 minutes
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This recipe for quinoa stuffed acorn squash is not only delicious, but is also so hearty that you can serve it as a meal. It’s a great side-dish for the holiday table or any time of year if you’re just craving that autumn feeling.

When it comes to nutrition, the little acorn squash packs a punch. It is high in fiber and full of vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamine, potassium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, phosphorus, and calcium. It is said that the acorn squash can help boost your immune system and fight inflammation.

And all this time, I just thought it tasted good! Give this recipe a try. You’ll be surprised at how simple, tasty, and filling this quinoa-acorn squash combination truly is.

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Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

This recipe for quinoa stuffed acorn squash is not only delicious, but is also so hearty that you can serve it as a meal. It’s a great side-dish for the holiday table or any time of year if you’re just craving that autumn feeling.

Category Side Dish, Vegetarian
Compliance Level Kickstart, Lifestyle
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author Lauren Lobley

Ingredients

  • 2 whole medium-sized acorn squashes washed and dried
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed
  • 1 cup veggie stock
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup cashews
  • 1 large handful of fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
  • 1 handful of chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. Poke holes in the acorn squash with a fork in a few places, piercing the skin.
  3. Place the squash on a baking sheet, whole, and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until tender.
  4. While the squash is baking, make your quinoa. Cook it according to the instructions on the package, which should tell you to use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of quinoa. But replace 1 of the cups of water with your 1 cup of veggie stock.
  5. When the quinoa is done, mix in the spinach right away so the steam wilts it down. Toss until wilted down.
  6. Then add in your nuts, parsley, tomatoes, and spices. Set aside.
  7. Once the squash is tender, remove them from the oven.
  8. Using an oven mitt, carefully cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds, and place the squash halves in a baking dish, skin side down.
  9. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the squash, and sprinkle them with some sea salt and pepper.
  10. Then, fill the squash with your quinoa mixture, just to the brim.
  11. Bake for another 5 minutes, and serve warm.

Let me walk you through how to make this hearty, healthy dish by watching this video:

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Lauren Lobley
Former pastry chef turned certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and healthy chef, Lauren is now in the throes of her most challenging work to date: motherhood. When she’s not mushing up food for her daughter, her goal is to not only create recipes for healthy food that taste good, but also to help people create a recipe for their own, unique healthy life. One that’s designed specifically to suit their needs, wants, and of course, taste buds!

You can check out her recipes for both food and for life at Delectable You. There you will also find over ninety cooking videos for your viewing pleasure.

Lauren lives in Malibu, California with her adventurer husband, Ted. Together they own a yoga studio called 5 Point Yoga, as well as an Adventure Yoga Retreats company that takes people all over the world doing yoga and, well, having adventures! Think skiing, yoga, and P90X in Jackson Hole, Mammoth, and Chamonix, surfing and yoga in Costa Rica, hiking Machu Piccu in Peru — you know, that kind of thing.

When she’s not cooking, recipe testing, and living and breathing health and wellness (and now chasing after her infant), she’s writing about it all on her blog. She’s also been published on The Good Men Project, Babble, Beyond Yoga, and The Elephant Journal, and has been regularly writing for a health and wellness PR firm for the last three years.