This roasted acorn squash is cooked until tender and sweet, and covered in a wild rice stuffing with pistachio and feta. It’s perfect for entertaining!
Creating this roasted acorn squash recipe
Alex and I made this recipe as vegetarian Thanksgiving main dish. It would work for a wintery dinner party or Christmas dinner as well, accessorized with fall and winter side dishes. We love to focus our holiday cooking around seasonal, local whole foods, with meatless, gluten-free and naturally-sweet options.
In our Thanksgiving menus, we work for healthy fall recipes that are suitable for a family with a wide variety of dietary needs. On a day known for over-eating rich foods, it’s possible to eat foods that are packed with flavor, nutritious, and leave you full of energy, instead of the usual post-meal daze.
A nice thing about this entree is that it works for any autumn or winter meal, be it Thanksgiving or not. We’ve roasted up some sweet acorn squash and topped it with nutty, chewy wild rice, crunchy pistachios, and salty feta cheese. It’s savory, filling, and full of flavor. Though we have a few roasted acorn squash recipe, this newest is a clear favorite.
How to roast acorn squash
If you’ve never roasted an acorn squash before, don’t fret! Roasted squash is incredibly simple and it’s easy to tell when it’s finished cooking. To make roasted acorn squash, you first need to halve the squash using a very sharp knife and then scoop out the seeds. Then cut the acorn squash into quarters and drizzle with olive oil. Place the squash onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray (parchment paper is a must! It makes for easy cleanup) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast the acorn squash for about 40 minutes, or until the squash wedges are fork tender. The edges will turn slightly brown in the oven and the squash should smell slightly nutty as well. Once you’ve roasted the acorn squash, you simply have to top it with the wild rice stuffing and dig in!
Looking for fall recipes?
Here are a few of our favorite fall recipes on A Couple Cooks:
- Pumpkin Sage Stuffed Shells
- Whole Grain Classic Stuffing Recipe
- Lentil and Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Green Beans with Hazelnuts
- Roasted Cauliflower and Apples with Dill
- Pumpkin Pie Mousse Shooters
Did you make this recipe?
If you make this roasted acorn squash with wild rice pistachio stuffing, we’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture and mention @acouplecooks on Facebook or Instagram.
This recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the feta.
Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
Description
This roasted acorn squash is cooked until tender and sweet, and covered in a wild rice stuffing with pistachio and feta. It’s perfect for entertaining!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups uncooked wild rice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 4 acorn squash
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot
- 1 bunch kale
- 3 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup pistachios, chopped
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
- In a medium pot, combine the wild rice, 3 ½ cups water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 to 50 minutes until tender. Let sit for 10 minutes before draining any extra liquid.
- Meanwhile, chop each of the acorn squash in half and then into quarters. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the squash on the sheet and drizzle with olive oil on the cut sides, then sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Turn cut side down on the sheet and roast until tender, about 40 minutes.
- While the squash roasts, mince the garlic and the shallot. Cut the kale into thin strips. In a large skillet, heat 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil; add garlic and shallot and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the shallots are soft. Then add the kale and sauté for 2 to 3 additional minutes until the kale is tender and bright green. Turn off the heat and stir in the rice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Chop the pistachios.
- To serve, place the squash quarters on a plate. Top with wild rice stuffing, then sprinkle with feta cheese and pistachios. (Alternatively, feta and pistachios can be mixed into the wild rice stuffing).
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: roasted acorn squash
This is gorgeous you guys! Seriously, I am in love with these flavors and I actually just did a wild rice Thanksgiving dish today, but I could so go for this now! I also love your little tradition. It sounds pretty perfect to me!
Thank you Tieghan :)
It’s beautiful and it looks so yummy!
Thanks Clem!
I adore variations on the stuffed pumpkin, as an alternative to a turkey meal. But wild rice…and pistachios…what a stunning touch!
Thanks :)
Oh man, I want this for dinner tonight! I love how simple it is!
This is so beautiful! I thought I had my Thanksgiving menu all planned out…until now. I am adding this to it now!
So very gorgeous! Love the pistachio addition and the simple flavors. I just worked on an acorn squash recipe today. Let’s swap the finished product. ;)
this looks delicious! This will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving and the first one we’re on our own – so excited to have an awesome gluten-free stuffing option. Thanks for the always awesome recipes :)
Wild rice and pistachios, what an awesome combination. And the colours are brilliant too!
This is gorgeous, and I love the idea of wild rice with feta and pistachios. Eric and I spent our first Thanksgiving in Virginia at home, just the two of us, and it was pretty magical. We made spins on classic foods, like chipotle mashed sweet potatoes instead of sweet potato casserole, which is something that we couldn’t have done with our families. Anyway, I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Another delicious recipe! Thanks, guys!
I made this last weekend and it was awesome. I added dried cranberries and used pecans instead of pistachios in the wild rice. I highly recommend the dried cranberries!
I made this tonight and it was so good!! I used brown rice instead of wild but it was the flavors that worked so great together. I love it when my husband can rave about a healthy whole food meal too! Thanks!
Hi, in the directions it doesn’t say whether the kale is mixed into the rice or placed on top of the squash?
Look forward to trying the dish out this winter.
Thank you,
Ana
Ana – Good catch! I’ve updated the recipe to be more clear. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks again :)
I had to revise the recipe a bit because my husband and son do not eat dairy or added salt. I used wild red rice and red kale and a mixture of herbs to season. The dish was excellent. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you, Ingrid! We’re so glad you enjoyed this dish — thanks for trying it out!
This looks so yummy!! I plan on making it soon, but wanted to clarify how to bake the squash. It says to place cut side down on sheet….so I read that as skin side up…is that right?
Yes — this is correct!
I made this dish for my boyfriend and I for the first time yesterday; We couldn’t stop raving about it! Delish!
Cant wait to eat the leftovers today! Thanks so much!!
This is delectable! I made it just as described with black and mahogany rice. It was lovely and was the best thing I’ve made in weeks. I think I may make it for Christmas. Thanks, y’all!
Is it possible to freeze (and so cook it for future lunches ?)
Lydwine
This looks wonderful!!! I am not a fan of Kale, what about subbing it with Spinach?
That would work fine — it should only take a minute or two to saute :)
I really want to make this recipe but I have someone at home with a nut allergy! Can you recommend an alternative to the pistachios?
Made this yesterday and it was fantastic! Way better than the sum of its parts. Didn’t have kale or wild rice so substituted brown rice and added pomegranate seeds. So tasty. Thank you for a great recipe (:
I want to add my voice to the chorus of praise. A nice alternative to the usual sweet toppings on acorn squash and much more of a main dish meal. I’m thrilled to find healthier, tasty meals that my husband also likes. This passed the test with flying colors.
So – about how much (measured) kale should I be thinking to add?
Hi Cindy! The exact cup measurements shouldn’t matter here, as long as you use one bunch. About 4 packed cups should be sufficient.
This was so delicious. My husband and I loved this dish and will at it to our fall recipes.
★★★★★