Acorn Squash Stuffed with Tomatoes, Spinach and Goat Cheese
Acorn squash is roasted and stuffed with bell peppers, grape tomatoes, spinach, and topped with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. This acorn squash recipe is a great vegetarian main dish or healthy side and it reheats beautifully for workday lunches.
Servings: 4 people, as a main
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 medium acorn squash, quartered and seeds removed
- 1 large orange, yellow or red bell pepper, diced
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 big handfuls baby spinach (about 2 packed cups)
- 2 ounces goat cheese (chevre)
Instructions
- Heat the oven and toast the pine nuts. Set the oven to 400°F and let it warm up while you toast the pine nuts. Set a small dry skillet over medium high heat. Add the pine nuts. Stir and toss the pine nuts continuously for 3 to 5 minutes until they turn golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat.
- Roast the vegetables. Place the quartered squash flesh side up on one side of the baking sheet. Add the diced pepper, diced onions, and grape tomatoes to the other side. Drizzle all of the vegetables with olive oil and season with oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Make sure you really rub the seasoning into the flesh of the squash. Use your hands to mix the tomatoes, onions, and peppers together. Spread everything out onto a single layer on the sheet pan and flip the squash quarters over so some of the flesh is touching the sheet pan. Place in the oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through and flipping the squash to the other flesh side.
- Test the squash. Pull the sheet pan out of the oven. Insert a fork into the flesh of the squash to make sure it's tender and cooked through before moving onto the next step.
- Wilt the spinach. Add the spinach to the tomato and onion mixture and use your spatula to fold it together as much as you can. You want to make sure the spinach is coated in the oil and vegetable juices (leave the squash alone). The spinach should wilt under the heat of the vegetables, but if it doesn't return the pan to the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, give the spinach a good stir with the tomato-onion mixture one or two more times.
- Serve. Remove from the oven. Place the squash quarters on individual plates or on one large platter. Toss the vegetables on the sheet pan once again. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed, then spoon the roasted vegetables over the squash quarters. Top with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pine nuts.
Video
Notes
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
- If your squash is particularly large, cut it into 8 wedges rather than 4. This allows you to serve more people and ensures the squash cooks at the same time as the other vegetables. You can also add the squash wedges to the sheet pan first and let them roast for about 15 minutes, before adding the remaining vegetables.
- If you don't have pine nuts you can also top this with toasted pecans or hazelnuts.
- Swap the goat cheese for feta if you prefer.
Nutrition
Calories: 308.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.3g | Protein: 6.5g | Fat: 22.7g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 6.5mg | Sodium: 645.3mg | Potassium: 834.3mg | Fiber: 5.2g | Sugar: 7.8g | Vitamin A: 1694.2IU | Vitamin C: 47.9mg | Calcium: 109.4mg | Iron: 2.7mg
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