You'll love this easy Stuffed Butternut Squash recipe. It's a tasty vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian main dish with a flavorful stuffing made of lentils, mushrooms, kale and cranberries. It's seasoned with herbs and baked inside a squash making a beautiful presentation. A great healthy meal for Christmas, Thanksgiving or any dinner.
Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways, then use a spoon to scoop out and discard the seeds.
Rub the squash all over with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then place them, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast to 20 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the flesh is soft. The time depends on how big your butternut squash is.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further minute.
Stir in the mushrooms into the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until they’ve softened and released their juices.
Stir in the lentils, kale, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and ¾ cup of water and cook for a further 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
When the squash is cooked, scrape a little of the squash from the neck to create a shallow channel (leave a ½ “ border around the edge). Chop the removed squash and stir into the pan of the lentil filling.
Pile the filling into the squash and return to the oven to cook for 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy.
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Notes
Make sure you add the pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries into the filling last as they may become soggy if added in the beginning. It’s important to cook the mushrooms until they have released all of their moisture to ensure they don’t make the filling too watery. When purchasing your butternut squash, make sure you keep an eye out for how you want your final presentation to look. If cooking multiple butternut squash, make sure they are roughly the same size and shape. If you’d like to get a slightly browned crispy top, broil for 1-2 minutes after original cooking time.Use either green or brown lentils to make this dish.Instead of kale, try using spinach or collard greens as a replacement. Add some fresh rosemary or sage if you like the taste of more herbs.If you like a little spice, add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the stuffing as you’re cooking it.If you can’t find butternut squash, try making stuffed acorn squash.After cooking, drizzle with a dash of maple syrup for a hint of sweetness.Serve drizzled with Red Wine Mushroom Gravy or Easy Vegan Gravy.Pair with these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar.Add a tasty side dish with Maple Glazed Carrots.Perfect with some sage-infused Vegan Stuffing.Add some carbs with easy French Parmentier Potatoes.