Acorn squash is a great vehicle for meals, because it can be savory or sweet depending on how you cook it!
It is easy to fill with anything you can think of, and can be a great vegan and gluten-free meal. And as an added plus, you don’t need a bowl and the squash rind can be composted after you’re done eating! Bon appétit!
When I cut the squash in half, I like to make one half of the squash sweet and one half savory so I have options. And you can save whatever you don’t eat in the fridge for later! First, make your basic roasted squash, then add fillings or toppings.
For today's savory squash, I filled it with roasted carrots, cauliflower, and asparagus and added cooked chicken breast and a fried egg. The carrots, cauliflower, and asparagus were tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and cooked at 425 F until soft and slightly crispy, about 20-25 minutes for the carrots and cauliflower and about 15 minutes for the asparagus. I added harissa and dried mint seasonings to the carrots as well, and turmeric to the cauliflower.
For the sweet squash, I filled it with Greek yogurt and added blueberries, freeze dried strawberries (just ran out of fresh strawberries!), blackberries, pecans and cashews, and cinnamon. Scroll down to see other ways I have prepared these squashes in the past!
Roasted Acorn Squash
Ingredients
1 acorn squash
For savory:
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Other desired seasonings - some options I like are: Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning, turmeric, paprika, garlic, rosemary - you can pretty much do anything!
For Sweet:
Olive oil
Cinnamon
Before and after roasting
Steps
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the acorn squash in half (avoid the stem), and pull it apart. The stem will stay on one side or fall off.
Scoop out the insides with a large spoon. You can rinse and save the seeds to roast like I did!
Brush the squash halves with olive oil. Sprinkle desired seasonings on top.
Cook at 375 F for about 35-40 minutes or until the squash is soft.
To roast the seeds: rinse and dry them, then mix with a bit of olive oil and salt. Spread on a baking sheet. When there is about 20 minutes left for the squash, add the seeds and let them cook.
Here are some options for ways to prepare your roasted squash bowl!
This is a tasty and autumnal stuffed acorn squash. I added a soft boiled egg to make it brunch-y! Inside the squash, I put greens, spiralized carrots, corn, roasted Brussels sprouts, asparagus, mushrooms, and onions. I also drizzled balsamic vinegar and sprinkled the roasted squash seeds on top.
This is a sweet breakfast squash brushed with coconut oil and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg before baking, then filled with Greek yogurt mixed with Crazy Richard’s PB powder.
I made a quick blackberry chia jam by mashing blackberries with chia seeds and heating for a few minutes on the stovetop, and added a spoonful of this to my bowl. I also added crunchy peanut butter, berries, hazelnuts, coconut, some of my pink mini pancake stars, and sprinkled it all with cinnamon!
Here is an acorn squash breakfast bowl! I just threw all the vegetables I had in my fridge into it - carrot and zucchini noodles, broccoli, cauliflower, and mixed veggies. I scrambled eggs with a spoonful of Greek yogurt to make them creamy and fluffy. Then I sprinkled some sunflower seeds on top, and dug in!
This is a vegan tofu scramble with carrots, onions, beets, and spinach - a plant-based alternative to the above breakfast bowl! Tofu is super easy to scramble and it surprisingly looks and tastes a lot like scrambled eggs! The recipe is here.
This squash is filled with Greek yogurt, apple crisp (recipe here under "Pomegranate Apple Crisp"), berries, and crunchy peanut butter.