Stuffed acorn squash is a deliciously nutritious meal that's cozy to enjoy in late fall and winter. My zesty stuffed acorn squash recipe is a favorite in our household, filled with wholesome brown rice, lean ground beef seasoned with warming spices, cherry tomatoes, black beans, pumpkin seeds, plus a sprinkle of sharp white cheddar!
Acorn Squash Stuffed With Zesty Ingredients
While we often think of acorn squash as an autumn staple, it's actually typically available in our markets year-round, and makes for a truly healthy dinner option anytime when paired with a few other creative ingredients.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy acorn squash is to cut it open and hollow it out, then roast it and stuff it with a zesty filling with lots of flavorful spices—very hearty and satisfying!
My stuffed acorn squash recipe includes a healthy mixture of lean ground beef seasoned with cumin, a sprinkle of cinnamon and cayenne for kick, plus a kiss of orange zest, along with black beans, juicy cherry tomatoes, a sprinkle of pumpkins seeds and a little sharp white cheddar.
It's such a warming and satisfying pick for a cold and cozy late fall or winter dinner!
My Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe
Because acorn squash can be a bit hard to cut through, it can seem a little intimidating to work with, but I have a couple of tips on how I prefer to cut it before I roast and stuff it with my mouthwatering filling...
I hold the squash horizontally on a cutting board so that the stem end is on my left, and the slightly pointy end is on my right.
I take a large, sharp knife, and cut just enough of that pointy tip off to create a more flat bottom.
Then, I flip the squash around and cut off just the stem portion to create another flat surface, which helps the squash to sit evenly on a plate once prepared. I take care not to cut too far as to get into the hollow part of the squash.
Still holding the acorn squash horizontally, I place my knife in the center, and using a kitchen towel for extra leverage, I place the towel over my knife and push down quite hard until my knife makes its way through.
If it doesn't go completely through, I give the squash a firm thud against the cutting board with my knife still in it (as you would with a coconut), and this always cuts/splits it the rest of the way for me.
I then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy bits inside—voila!
Here's a sneak peek at my stuffed acorn squash recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)
- To begin, I cut open and clean out my acorn squash.
- I season the cut sides and roast for roughly 35 minutes, until tender.
- While the acorn squash roasts, I prepare my zesty filling, and set it aside.
- Once the acorn squash is roasted and tender, I spoon into their centers a generous amount of the beef and rice filling, top with cheese.
- I bake the stuffed squash for a few moments more just until the cheese is melted.
- To finish, I top with green onion, and dig in!
Recipe
Stuffed Acorn Squash
by Ingrid Beer
This colorful stuffed acorn squash is filled with brown rice, lean ground beef, tomatoes, black beans and warming spices!
Category: Entree
Cuisine: American
Yield: Serves 4
Nutrition Info: 327 calories per serving
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 acorn squash
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ onion, finely diced
- ¼ pound extra lean ground beef (93/7)
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Pinch cinnamon
- ¾ cup cooked brown rice
- ½ cup black beans
- ¼ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, divided use
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup finely shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 green onion, chopped, for garnish
- Begin by gathering and prepping all of the ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Prepare the acorn squash by cutting off the bottom “point” to create a flat surface (don't take too much off), and also cut the stem part off to create another flat surface, again taking care to not cut too much off. Next, cut the squash in half width-wise, in the center, creating 4 halves.
- Scoop the seeds and stringy bits out, drizzle a little bit of olive oil into each of the 4 halves, and add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper to each half.
- Place each squash half onto the baking sheet with the cavity facing down, and roast for roughly 35 minutes, or until the flesh is fork tender. Remove from the oven, and allow the squash to cool slightly until they can be handled. Leave the oven on.
- While the squash roasts, cook the ground beef by placing a medium-size non-stick pan over medium-high heat, and drizzling in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the onion, and saute for about 2 minute.
- Next, add in the ground beef and break it up with a spoon/spatula into small crumble. Once the beef has slightly browned, add in a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, the garlic, the cumin, the cayenne and the cinnamon, and stir to combine.
- Allow the beef to finish browning, then turn the heat off, and turn the seasoned beef mixture out into a bowl.
- Next, add to the beef the cooked brown rice, the black beans, the quartered cherry tomatoes, the chopped cilantro, the sunflower seeds and the orange zest, and combine the ingredients very well. Add another pinch of salt if needed, and set the mixture aside for a moment, keeping warm.
- Once the squash is cool enough to handle, spoon equal portions of the beef/rice mixture into the cavity of each squash half, sprinkle over the top about 1 tablespoon of the sharp cheddar cheese. Place the stuffed acorn squash back onto the baking sheet and into the oven to bake for an additional few minutes just until the cheese melts, then enjoy.
Tips & Tidbits for Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe:
- Medium-large acorn squash: Because each squash is meant to feed two people, I like to use larger acorn squash—it has a larger cavity to hold the filling.
- Roast cut-side down: I typically always roast my acorn squash cut-side down on the baking sheet. Baking it in that way creates some steam in the cavity as the squash roasts, which helps it stay moist and become tender. Simply rub some oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper into each cavity then place it cut-side down onto your baking sheet to roast.
- Brown rice, white rice, or quinoa: This recipe calls for brown rice, but you can certainly substitute white rice (jasmine or basmati are delicious!), or even quinoa, barley, or couscous—your choice!
- Ground beef, or your preferred protein: Lean ground beef is my pick for this stuffed acorn squash recipe, but you can use turkey, chicken, or even spicy sausage.
- Vegetarian stuffed acorn squash: This recipe is super easy to make vegetarian or vegan! Just leave out the meat altogether, or substitute ground soy, tofu, tempeh, or another vegetarian option. You can even omit the cheese to make it vegan.
Hungry for more cozy recipes like this? Check out my Stuffed Eggplant, my Eggplant Involtini with Beef, my Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Spinach, my Butternut Squash Casserole, or my Spaghetti Squash with Sauteed Veggies!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2013, and has been updated with even more love!
Lynda Rice
I want to paint this beautiful dish! What a colorful, healthy and savory dish for this month.
Madonna
This is really beautiful. I can see this as an impressive lunch for friends. I love wow recipes.
The Cozy Apron
I appreciate that, Madonna - thank you. And the best part is that it's not complicated; just cute and tasty!
Connie
My thought exactly. Looks so good and it's winter squash time! Have to try this.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Connie, hope you do!
Sarah
So yummy! I used quinoa instead of brown rice, skipped the cheese and beef to make it vegan, and topped it with guacamole. Thanks for your inspiring photos!
The Cozy Apron
Sarah, sounds delicious!
Emily P.
I found this recipe and your blog through the Buzzfeed post, and I gotta say, this is one of the best things I've made/eaten in a long time. I only roasted one squash because that's what I had, but the stuffing fit perfectly into the two halves. Thank you for this awesome recipe! I can't wait to make it again.
The Cozy Apron
Hey Emily, thanks so much your comment! Glad you enjoyed - it's one of our favorite healthy meals. I appreciate you stopping by and trying this recipe out!
Lisa
I just made this and had to write about how amazing it was! We have just started trying to eat more healthy so this was a nice transition food to use what was still in the pantry and incorporate new items. The seasonings are so nice together. I used brown rice but I can see how this can be interchangeable with different grains and even meatless. I'm happy to add it to the new meal rotation. Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Thanks for that, Lisa - that's really wonderful! And you're so right about being able to interchange ingredients in this; it's great with quinoa, barley, or even no grains, as well!
Julie
This was SO tasty! I made it with turkey and all the flavors went together so well. Terrific recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Julie, excellent (and leaner) substitution—perfect! Glad you enjoyed this tasty fall recipe, and thanks for taking a moment to share your experience with me!
Steph K.
Wow, this is so beautiful!
The Cozy Apron
Thank you, Steph!
Cheryl
This was delicious, beautiful to look at and easy to prepare. My husband and I look forward to having regularly.
The Cozy Apron
Cheryl, thanks so much for sharing how things turned out for you! I'm so pleased that you and your hubby enjoyed this, and that it was easy enough to prepare. Honored to have it go into your rotation!
Helen
This beautiful dish was yummy and easy! My daughter, the Art teacher, said it looked like a piece of art! I can't wait to serve friends for a holiday lunch. Thanks for sharing!
The Cozy Apron
Helen, that's wonderful! It's my pleasure to share this, and I'm so thrilled that you'll be serving it to friends for lunch! Thank you for your kind comments.
Dayle Ann
This looks amazing!! I am usually one who cooks from recipes so I don't venture too far on my own. I was wondering though if mushrooms would work instead of ground beef. My daughter for health reasons is deleting meat from her diet. I want to make one as per your recipe, but was hoping to find a meat alternative for the other one. Any suggestions would definitely welcomed!!
The Cozy Apron
Hi there Dayle Ann, thanks for your question! You could certainly substitute chopped mushrooms for the meat; another alternative would be ground soy—it looks like ground beef, has a very similar texture (it's technically texturized soy), and can be very easily seasoned. I actually used to use this for my own clients who were vegan/vegetarian in this type of recipe. You can find it at Whole Foods Market, or Trader Joes, or Sprouts. It should be in the vegetarian section near the tofu, etc. Hope you all enjoy!
Mary Evelyn
Delicious ... Will definitely make this again.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Mary Evelyn, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for commenting.
Mel
Tried it, Loved it
the Cozy Apron
Mel, I love your comment: short & sweet! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thanks for commenting! 🙂
Delaney
Delicious! Maybe I just used big acorn squashes, but I will make more filling the next time I make this so it heaps instead of just filling the cavity. And double the meat for my carnivore of a boyfriend. Thanks for this great recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Delaney, so glad you both enjoyed!! And yes—do tweak the recipe according to your needs/tastes. 🙂
Shameem
Thanks for a great recipe! I used ground turkey instead of beef and cooked the squash in the microwave because I was short on time. Still works!
The Cozy Apron
Shameem, so glad you enjoyed, and prepared this according to your liking! 🙂
Teri
WOW is all I can say about this. I made this last night and both my boyfriend and I thought it was SO delicious. I subbed a brown, red, and wild rice plus quinoa blend, and had PLANNED to replace the sunflower seeds with pine nuts, but forgot to add them. Wamp wamp. 😉 I also used orange and red tomatoes for some extra color. SO good. I've been telling everyone about it. Thank you for sharing!
The Cozy Apron
Hey Teri, so glad you and your boyfriend enjoyed the recipe! Great tweaks, by the way. 🙂 Thanks for taking a moment to share your experience (and for telling others about it)!
Jill
I'm excited to make this! Silly question... do you eat the skin of the squash?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Jill! Glad you're going to give the recipe a try! And no, it's not a silly question; you actually would not enjoy the skin, as it's too waxy and tough. 😉
Maria
This was so delicious! I had to sub in a few things because I thought I had certain pantry items and I didn't, but I really loved the flavor. Thanks.
The Cozy Apron
Maria, way to go with finding good substitutions that you did have on hand, lol! Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for sharing your experience!
Jessica
This was amazing. I used veggie "ground beef" since I'm a vegetarian and it turned out great. I was wondering about adding the orange zest in, but the flavour combo was perfect. I did cook also cook it on the BBQ, turned out great. Plus the salad was amazing, it's a great simple salad.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Jessica, great sub-in with the veggie crumbles—I've used those for vegetarian partakers, and it works great! So glad you enjoyed these, and thanks for commenting.
Sommer @aspicyperspective
This is one gorgeous Fall dish!
The Cozy Apron
Thank so much, Sommer!
Carol wilson
Do you have any nutritional info on this recipe. Looks amazing!
Michelle Healey
Do the beans in this recipe need to be precooked, canned, dry?
The Cozy Apron
Michelle, I used canned black beans for ease.
Camil
Hoooly wow! This was so delicious! I messed up totally but it still tasted great! I left out the beans cuz I didn't have any, but I accidentally forgot about the orange zest, cilantro and sunflower seeds. And since I don't want beef, I used mushrooms, and it tasted great! Thank you so much for sharing!
The Cozy Apron
Wow, Camil, way to make this recipe totally your own!
Glad you enjoyed the basic recipe, and that your results were so tasty. Thanks for sharing!
Garry Perkins
Tastes really good with ground chicken
The Cozy Apron
Glad you enjoyed Garry!
Kit
If you put the squash in the microwave for a couple of minutes, it cuts so much easier. Cut from base to stem for a more equal distribution of squash as bottom of the squash is not as meaty.
Cathie
Looking forward to making this. Question : is the 3/4 c rice cooked or raw?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Cathie, the recipe calls for cooked brown rice. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Anne Marie Wood
If I understand your question, I believe it should be 3/4 cup cooked brown rice - not 3/4 brown rice, cooked.
Emi
Absolutely delicious and stunning on the table! The mix of spices really gives this dish so much more depth than other stuffed squash recipes I’ve tried. Keeping this recipe in my bookmarks for sure.
The Cozy Apron
Thanks so much, Emi! So glad you enjoyed this yummy and healthy recipe, and hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.
Angela
I google ground beef and acorn searched through what I saw changed a few things but delicious thank you. Substituted retried fir black beans and white rice instead of brown.
The Cozy Apron
Glad you enjoyed Angela!