Curry Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

I was inspired by a stuffed acorn squash recipe in the Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook. I doubled the spices, added garbanzo beans, onions and dried cranberries. These changes gave it a protein and fiber boost and took it from a simple side dish to a delightful entree. We like it so much that I’ve made it twice and I have even doubled the recipe. The leftovers heated up well and make for a quick heat and eat meal a day or two later. You know how I love leftovers!

Curry Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

• 1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed*
• 1/2 cup tri colored quinoa or whatever color you have
• 1 1/4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon curry powder or to taste**
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup cooked low sodium garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped
• salt -optional -to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*To make it easier to cut the squash in half, pierce it a few times with a sharp knife and place it in the microwave, heating on high for 3-4 minutes. It will soften the skin just enough to cut easily.

**Curry powder varies greatly in the amount of heat it has so use as much or as little as appeals to your taste buds.

Place prepared squash upside down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 30-35 minutes or until fork tender. The size of the squash will determine how long it needs to bake. I had one large acorn squash that took 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine quinoa, onion,vegetable broth, curry powder and dried cranberries in a medium size pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low cooking for 15 – 20 minutes or until all liquid evaporates.

When quinoa is cooked, add spinach and garbanzo beans, stir to combine, season with salt if desired,put lid on pot and set aside until squash is ready.

When the acorn squash is fork tender, remove it from the oven, turn over and evenly divide stuffing mix in the cavity of each half. It will be really full! Serve hot.

Notes: Skip the cranberries and vary the type of beans and spices used – for instance black beans and cumin or white beans with Italian seasonings. Use double the spinach to bulk it up and fill 4 squash halves to cut down on the calories.

Yield: 2 servings

Nutritional Information

Per Serving; 465 Calories, 7 g Fat, 292mg Sodium, 98.6 Carbohydrates,  14.5 g Fiber, 16.4 g Protein

This recipe was inspired by the Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe from Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook.

Nutmeg Notes