Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash with Quinoa, Apples, and Figs

Roasted butternut squash with quinoa, apple and fig stuffing.

Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash with Quinoa, Apples, and Figs

This gorgeous, show-stopper dish is ideal for a fall special dinner or for a vegetarian Thanksgiving main dish. Butternut squash halves is basted with fig jam, roasted and then topped with a quinoa, apple and fig stuffing.

Course Vegetarian Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword vegan stuffed butternut squash

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 40

Servings

Calories 455.1kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Chef's knife
cutting board
Silicone Basting Brush
9" X 11" Baking Dish or large enough to hold the butternut squash and stuffing

Ingredients

Roasted Butternut Squash

3 pound butternut squash
¼ teaspoon kosher salt or just a small pinch of sea salt
6 tablespoons plant-based butter
4 tablespoons fig jam (store bought or homemade)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Quinoa, Apple, and Fig Stuffing

2 ½ cups cooked quinoa (cooked from ¾ cup dried quinoa)
4 cups chopped unpeeled apples cored (but not peeled)
⅔ cup diced dried Black Mission figs
½ cup dried cranberries
zest of 2 navel orange
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
Cook the quinoa if you don't have any on hand using ¾ cup of quinoa and 1 cup of water or vegetable broth.
Slice off the ends of the butternut squash, and slice it in half lengthwise. If the skin is too tough to cut through, microwave the squash on high for a few minutes and try again.
Scrape out the seeds and pulp using a spoon. Rub a little olive oil on the squash cut surfaces, sprinkle with a little kosher salt, and arrange in an oven-safe casserole dish. The dish should be large enough to hold the squash and stuffing. (If you don't have one, just a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.)
Roast for 20 minutes.
Melt the plant-based butter, jam, and maple syrup together. I use a microwave safe dish, and heat it for 1 minute in my microwave. Alternatively, melt them together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Baste the cut surfaces of the squash with ⅓ of the butter mixture. Slide the squash back into the oven and roast for another 20 minutes, or until it begins to soften. A great way to test this is to insert a sharp knife into the squash.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa with the remaining ingredients for the stuffing EXCEPT the pomegranate arils.
Baste the squash with another ⅓ of the butter mixture, and spoon the quinoa stuffing in and around each squash half. Drizzle the remaining butter mixture over the stuffing.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the butternut squash flesh is fork tender and a deep golden brown where it was basted.
Just before serving, finish the dish with a flourish of pomegranate arils.

Nutrition