Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

Y’all ready for a super healthy, super vegan, Friday recipe? Yea, I said healthy and Friday. It happens sometimes. Especially before a big holiday weekend, I like to load up on the good stuff.

This fall inspired vegan recipe was made with, get this, no oil or butter. Sounds super bland, huh? Well, it’s packed with flavor. I even invited over 3 taste testers just to be sure.

For this recipe, you’ll need:
1 acorn squash
1 small avocado
1 sweet potato
1 small jalapeño- seeded
1 can of black beans- rinsed
1/4 cup of chopped red onion
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Yields 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by slicing the acorn squash in half horizontally. I used the acorn squash as serving bowls. Too cute!

I used an ice cream scooper to take out the seeds and guts. If the acorn squash won’t sit up like a bowl on its own, slice off the bottom nub so that it will sit evenly.

Peel and dice the sweet potato into small pieces. About the size of cubed centimeters. Toss with 1/2 a tablespoon of garlic powder. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until soft.

Meanwhile, rinse the can of black beans. Let them dry out a little.

While the potatoes are in the oven, prep the other veggies. Remove the seeds from the jalapeño and then mince the jalapeño. Dice the red onion and slice the avocado.

Once the sweet potatoes are finished, combine the potatoes, beans and veggies in a large mixing bowl with the remaining garlic powder and cumin. Then serve in the acorn squash bowls! Top with avocado slices. So delicious and easy!

I served the stuffed acorn squash with a side of red curry rice. Which is just regular white rice made according to the packaging. I made one cup of dry rice, which was enough for 4 small servings. I added 3/4 a tablespoon of red curry paste once the rice was finished cooking. Mix it well. You can add more or less red curry paste depending on your heat preference.

I think a sunny side up egg would be a great Santa Fe style addition to this dish.

Enjoy!