Acorn Squash Stuffed with Southwestern Rice
with spinach salad
Smarts: If you still have leftover turkey or any other leftover protein, chop it and fold it into the filling for extra substance.
Ingredients
- Beans, black (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Acorn squash, medium - 2, halved
- Foil - for cooking
- Salsa, store-bought - 1/2 cup
- Salsa, store-bought - 3/4 cup
- Cooked rice (leftover from Tuesday) - 1 1/2 cups
- Cheese, any shredded blend - 1 cup + 2 Tbsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - for serving
- Oranges - 1, segments
- Avocados - 1, chopped
- Mustard, dijon - 2 tsp
- Honey - 2 tsp
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 1 Tbsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
- Baby spinach - 4 oz
- Almonds, sliced - 1 oz
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F / 204C degrees.
- While oven is heating, prepare squash for roasting. Slice 1/2" / 1.3cm off the stem and base (this will create an even surface so the squash halves won't roll around as they roast). Slice the squash in half midway between the stem and base. Scoop out and discard seeds (an ice cream scoop works great for this).
- (If you are short on time, microwave the squash halves until very tender and skip ahead to Make Step #5.) Place squash, cut-side down in a large baking dish. Fill dish with a thin layer of water ~1/4" / .6cm deep. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the squash is very tender and can be pierced easily with a fork, 35 to 40 minutes.
- While squash roasts, combine rice, beans, salsa and first part of cheese. Taste and season with some salt.
- When squash is tender, remove foil and drain water out of pan. Turn squash halves over so they form bowls. Season the inside of the squash lightly with some salt. Spoon rice filling into the “bowls” (press it in tightly or mound it over top; if you have extra, warm it in the microwave and serve it on the side). Top with second part of cheese.
- Return squash to the oven and continue roasting, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the filling is hot, ~15 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, segment oranges and chop avocados. Whisk together mustard, honey and vinegar. Add olive oil while whisking.
- Just before serving, toss spinach, oranges and avocados with vinaigrette (start with half and add more until the salad is dressed to your liking). Top with almonds.
- Serve squash (don’t eat the peels) with yogurt and some extra salsa if you'd like. Enjoy with salad.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
36 reviews
I used tomato paste, onion, and jalepenos from an adobe sauce can instead of salsa. It added a sort of smoky flavor. The squash was over-baked.
0 HelpfulEveryone loved this when we made it. Even people that were unsure. We added so rotisserie chicken seasoned with taco seasoning to the filling.
0 HelpfulSo good!! We've made it a few times. My 2 year old is on a quinoa phase so I subbed that for the rice. Definitely would recommend doing it!! So good! Hubby loves it and keeps buying more acorn squash lol.... I think he's hinting.
0 HelpfulCooked the squash in the IP (w/ 1 c. of water for 5 mins). Added some chicken sausage to the rice mixture and served with some guac. Hubby really liked it!
0 HelpfulWe expected to not like this, but it's like an enchilada without all the carbs! Soooo good, filling, and healthy to boot. I chose 3 medium acorn squash. Cut and hollowed as instructed, then steamed in the microwave 3 minutes while the oven heated up, just to shorten cooking time. The black beans I made ahead in the IP. As for the salad, halved the mustard and added thinly shaven red onions. Forgot the almonds. Very rich and filling.
0 Helpful