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A filling and hearty dinner recipe, this tender stuffed delicata squash is filled with wild rice, kale, carrots, sage, and sharp cheddar cheese.

Stuffed Delicata Squash with Wild Rice, Brown Butter and Sage | A Couple Cooks

These days, gatherings of family and friends tend to have a variety of diets, do they not? We know many of you are looking to get more veggies on your plate. This fall, how about trying a stuffed delicata squash? Stuffed squash is a perfect fall main dish: it’s homey, autumnal, and so, so good for you. Keep reading for the stuffed delicata squash recipe, and why to make it!

Making this stuffed delicata squash recipe

Delicata squash is Alex and my very favorite squash.  It’s a yellow oblong squash that’s become widely available in the past few years, and its sweet taste is delightful. We love that it cooks quickly, and that the skin is edible: no peeling required!

For stuffing these delicata squash, we combined brown butter with sage and wild rice, along with some vegetables and sharp cheddar cheese. The sweetness of the brown butter against the herbs and chewy wild rice was spot on, and the salty cheese pulled it all together. This one was an absolute winner, in our book!

How to cook delicata squash

Delicata squash is one of our favorite squash varieties to work with. Our favorite farmer at our farmer’s market assured us that this variety was delicious and tastes sweet, almost like a sweet potato. We decided to give it a try, and were incredibly pleased with the results! This squash is very easy to work with–as opposed to butternut squash, which is delightful but can a chore to clean and prepare! The taste is sweet and tender, and you can even eat the skin. And, delicata squash roasts up quickly!

To cook delicata squash, all you have to do is roast it in a very hot oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Cut the delicata squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Then rub it with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and place it on the parchment paper cut side down. It roasts in just 25 minutes! Another favorite way of ours for how to cook delicata squash is to make it into fries.

More delicata squash recipes

Got delicata? Here are a few more delicata squash recipes to enjoy:

This stuffed delicata squash recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

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Stuffed Delicata Squash Recipe


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: a Couple Cooks
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Yield: 6 to 8 1x
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Description

A filling and hearty dinner recipe, this tender stuffed delicata squash is filled with wild rice, kale, carrots, sage, and sharp cheddar cheese.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ cups wild rice
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 6 delicata squash
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon dried ground fennel
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried chili powder
  • 1 shallot
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 bunch Tuscan kale
  • 10 leaves sage
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot, combine 1 ½ cups 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.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Wash the squash, then cut each in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Rub each squash lightly with olive oil on both sides (about ½ tablespoon per squash), then lightly sprinkle with a pinch each of ground fennel, oregano, and chili powder, and kosher salt.
  3. Place the squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until tender when poked with a fork.
  4. Mince the shallot and 3 cloves garlic. Cut 2 carrots into 1/4-inch pieces. Remove the stems from the kale and chop it into thin strips. Thinly slice the sage.
  5. Melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat and stir constantly until it becomes brown, a few minutes. Once browned, lower the heat to medium and immediately add carrot, shallot and garlic; sauté until the carrot is soft, about 10 minutes. Add the sage and kale and sasautéute 2 more minutes. Add the rice and ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Remove from heat and spoon the rice mixture into the wells in the squash. Top with roasted pepitas.
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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17 Comments

  1. Maddie says:

    I’m super excited to try this recipe! I’m wondering if it would work to roast the delicata squash seeds and use those in place of the pepitas?






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      We’ve never tried it!

  2. Susan says:

    I made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful! Delicious, wholesome, and perfectly autumnal. Thanks for another great recipe, guys!

    1. Alex says:

      So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know :-)

  3. Sonali- The Foodie Physician says:

    This is such a perfect vegetarian main dish!! I just included it in my Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup :)

  4. Ally @ Om Nom Ally says:

    Delicata is my favourite too, it’s the only pumpkin I grow every year :)
    I would be very happy being served this meal over the holidays, it looks so homey and nourishing. Looks like a total winner to me!

  5. Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says:

    The browned butter and sage sound like perfect companions to sweet squash. This will find a home on our table very soon.

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