Stuffed delicata squash is a healthy, filling and delicious meal. And it's so easy.
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Why should you stuff Delicata Squash?
Delicata is tender enough to easily slice
A sharp chef's knife easily slices delicata in half lengthwise. I slice off the ends first - but not much. Then, up-end the squash so it stands on one of the now-flat ends, and slice it down its length, as close to the middle as possible.
They make perfect boats
Once you scrape out the seeds and pulp with a spoon, you have perfect boats for stuffing. And for bonus points, the skin is thin enough to be eaten. That means you don't have to peel this beautiful squash.
Delicata goes with a lot of flavors
It's mild squash flavor is perfect for mix and matching with all kinds of savory flavors, cheese, and spices.
Like this recipe, filled with sautéed baby spinach, quinoa, apples, Serrano chili, shallots and tofu. Yes, tofu.
And my husband, Carnivorous Maximus, had no clue there was tofu involved until the moment he reads this.
When he asked what I was making yesterday, I was a little vague. "Oh some stuffed delicata squash for the blog", was my uninformative response. At the end of the meal, he volunteered that it was "pretty good" - high praise for a vegetarian dish. So, see my serving suggests below if you want to get your meat eaters to rave about this dish.
Stuffed Delicata Squash can be made ahead
The squash can be roasted ahead of time, and rewarmed in the oven or microwave when you're ready to use it. However, don't keep it in the refrigerator for more than a 2 days, as it can be come soggy.
Make the quinoa ahead, or use frozen quinoa already cooked that just needs steamed.
Sauté the Serrano pepper through black pepper ahead, cool, and store in the refrigerator.
When you're ready to make the dish, warm the delicata back up, and return the sautéed vegetables to the skillet. Once they're re-heated, continue with the rest of the recipe while the squash re-heats.
How to Make This Recipe Faster
- Get the squash roasting. I often roast it in my toaster oven, since it preheats faster.
- Start the quinoa cooking on the stove.
- Set out all of the ingredients and kitchen tools you need to make the stuffing.
- Drain the tofu between paper towels on a plate while you prep the Serrano, shallots and apples. I wrap the tofu in a few paper towels, place it on a plate, and weight it down with a small pot.
- Measure out the raisins, sage, cinnamon, and black pepper, and place in a bowl. Chop the tofu, and add it to the bowl. Measure the remaining ingredients and set aside.
- Start the Serrano, shallots and apples cooking on the stovetop. While they soften, make a big tossed salad to go with the dish. Warm up some bread if that's what you like too. Note: when I serve cornbread with this as pictured, I make the batter first, and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes before adding the delicata squash to the oven for roasting.
- Follow the rest of the below recipe.
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For the Meat-Eaters at the Table
Although this stuffed delicata squash is seriously packed with flavor without any meat, feel free to add some chorizo, bacon, spicy sausage, or shedded pork or chicken for the meat lovers at the table.
Make it Vegan
Eliminate the cheese or substitute a vegan cheese.
Side Dish Ideas
Served as an entree, all you need is a big green salad and some cornbread to make it a total meal.
However, if you want to serve this dish as a side, you can nix the tofu and quinoa to make it simpler, and keep everything else the same as in the recipe.
Stuffed Delicata Squash
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked white quinoa
- 2 delicata squash
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- ⅛ + ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder divided
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt divided
- ½ Serrano chili seeded, and finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 large shallots thinly sliced (about ¼ cup)
- 1 ½ apples cored, and diced (about 1 ½ cup or more)
- ⅔ cup chopped very firm tofu, drained
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 - 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 bags pre-washed baby spinach
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- Toasted pumpkin seeds garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook the quinoa if you don't have any on hand.
- Slice off the ends of the delicata squash, and slice in half, lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the pulp and seeds so that you have 4 squash 'boats'. Place on a baking sheet facing up, and lightly oil with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon of chipotle chili powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast for 25 - 30 minutes, or until tender.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the Serrano chili, shallots, and apple until everything is softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tofu, raisins, sage, cinnamon, the remaining salt, and pepper, and continue to cook for 5 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Add the lemon juice and spinach leaves. Using tongs, move the spinach around, gently tossing it with the other ingredients in the pan. In less than 5 minutes, the spinach should be wilted. Add the quinoa and cheese, and toss.
- When the delicata squash is tender, spoon the filling into each scooped out cavity. If the filling has cooled, slide the filled squash back into the oven for a few minutes to reheat.
- Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and roasted pumpkin seeds. The squash can be served whole or sliced into 3" wide crescents.
Notes
How to Make This Recipe Faster
- Get the squash roasting. I often roast it in my toaster oven, since it preheats faster.
- Start the quinoa cooking on the stove.
- Set out all of the ingredients and kitchen tools you need to make the stuffing.
- Drain the tofu between paper towels on a plate while you prep the Serrano, shallots and apples. I wrap the tofu in a few paper towels, place it on a plate, and weight it down with a small pot.
- Measure out the raisins, sage, cinnamon, and black pepper, and place in a bowl. Chop the tofu, and add it to the bowl. Measure the remaining ingredients and set aside.
- Start the Serrano, shallots and apples cooking on the stovetop. While they soften, make a big tossed salad to go with the dish. Warm up some bread if that's what you like too. Note: when I serve cornbread with this as pictured, I make the batter first, and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes before adding the delicata squash to the oven for roasting.
- Follow the rest of the below recipe.
Nutrition
If you're looking for more delicata squash recipes, here's my Winter Squash and Pepper Quinoa Pilaf from years ago. I'll get around to re-photographing it one day. It's a simple one-dish meal of roasted delicata squash, late season peppers, and caramelized red onions, all tossed in orange scented quinoa. So good! Make it vegan by swapping out the honey for agave nectar.
For more winter squash ideas, check out my Healthy Winter Squash board on Pinterest!
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Liz
What a gorgeous squash recipe!! And I love that quinoa is in the filling---so delicious!!!
Karen
So many fabulous flavors in there I might even not notice the tofu! Beautiful photos by the way.
Laura @motherwouldknow
We definitely have to get Carnivorous Maximus and my beloved together. The two of them would have tales to tell about how we have gotten them to love dishes (what, there is tofu in this?) they definitely didn't intend to enjoy. My recent adventure was getting my beloved to eat Jane's vegan chili. When he realized there was no meat or gluten, you should have seen the look on his face! Anyway, I'm not experienced in using delicata squash, but this post makes me want to run right out and find one. Gorgeous dish, and so tempting.
Jane
This looks so good and exactly the kind of dish The Artist loves me to make. And it may just make an appearance on our Thanksgiving table! Thanks Susan!
Carol Borchardt
This is so lovely, Susan! While I consider myself a carnivore, I'm just as happy with a vegetarian meal, too and I'd be super happy with this. What a great meal to serve vegetarians over the holidays!
Beth Lee
Love the carnivore and vegetarian options for this. And well, you know I love delicata squash my winter squash twin!
manuela anaya
This sounds so delicious. I'm planning it for tomorrow with a zesty organic ground breakfast sausage. Would you recommend cutting the amount of quinoa to accommodate the added volume in pork. Also i was unclear on the directions where you state to scoop out the pulp and seeds so have squash boats. What do you do with squash pulp and seeds? I imagine these are incorporated into the dish somewhere? Are they roasted with the squash boats?
d4v1d
great recipe. i roast face down, and i toast the delicata seeds for garnsih.
Susan Ford
Needed a quick dinner and I had the squash but not a lot of the ingredients. Substituted dried cranberries for the raisins. I like them better and love the color. Onions for shallots. Chopped fine and sauteed. Kale for the spinach.
Used veggie saugage with sage and added celery leaves and parsley (had to use up). My daughter got vegan cheese on hers and I used parmesean on mine. And Harissa for heat. It was delicious. Maybe someday I will try the recipe as is, but it came out great thanks.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I like recipes to be flexible, so we can add what we have in our own refrigerators. If we have to make a special trip to the store to make a quick dinner, it's no longer quick. I'm glad you gave it a try!! Your version sounds delicious!!
Liz
What pretty colors this squash has! I have never eaten a delicata squash before. I will definitely be on the hunt for this squash, as this recipe sounds delicious!
Allyssa
This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make stuffed delicata squash recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
Elizabeth
Really easy to prep and make. So yummy too. The squash took longer to bake than the directions state. I omitted the Serrano peppers, tofu, and chili powder (I didn’t want it to be spicy and I just didn’t have tofu). I think feta would be good with this too. I had some leftover meatballs from the night before that I added and it was really good.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! As you found, it's also very adaptable to food preferences and what you have on hand. Thanks so much for letting me know!