Mediterranean Stuffed Butternut Squash (Vegan)

Silver baking tray with orange butternut squash cut in half and stuffed with rice, spinach, chickpeas, olives and crumbles feta cheese drizzled with black balsamic vinegar

Mediterranean Stuffed Butternut Squash (Vegan)

This vegan stuffed butternut squash recipe brings a Mediterranean twist to your dinner table. Sweet roasted butternut squash is filled with a Greek-inspired blend of spinach, rice, black olives, chickpeas, and vegan feta cheese, making it a hearty and flavorful filling for your spanakorizo that is sure to impress.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Mediterranean, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Mediterranean spinach and rice, stuffed butternut squash, vegan butternut squash recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Baking time 45

Total Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 409kcal

Author Nandor Barta

Equipment

Ingredients

4 lb Butternut squash

Mediterranean Filling

1 Onion
2 cloves Garlic
½ cup Arborio rice
1 cup Chickpeas (canned)
½ cup Olives
9 oz Fresh spinach leaves
1+⅓ cup Veggie broth
2+½ Tbsp Olive oil
½ tsp Thyme (dried)
½ tsp Rosemary
½ tsp Sage (dried)

Toppings

5 oz Feta cheese
4 Tbsp Balsamic glaze

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Roast butternut squash

Wash the butternut squash thoroughly. Don’t peel it otherwise it will not hold the stuffing.
Cut it in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Pre-heat the oven to 395 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
Choose an oven-safe pan or sheet pan. We don’t recommend a baking sheet as the juicies may drip over the edges. Butternut squash can have a high water content that will be released during roasting.
Bake it for appox. 45 minutes or until you see the edges are getting lightly brownish. You can test it with a fork or knife if it is soft enough in the middle as well. If a liquid is collected in the area where the seeds where you can scoop it out or wait and see if it is absorbed back while they are cooling down.

Prepare the ingredients for the stuffing

Wash the spinach. And wilt it aka sautee it over 1 Tbsp olive oil and ½ Tbsp lemon juice in a pan or shallow pot. It will take at most 5 minutes to do that. Remove from the heat and leave it to cool.
Peel and chop onion and garlic. Pre-cook chickpeas or if you use a canned one, drain it. I usually put them in the sieve and hold them under running water. Cut the olives into slices. No need to wash risotto rice as you will wash down the starch you need to make the risotto creamy.

Cook the stuffing

Take a medium pot or a Dutch oven and heat it over medium heat.
Add olive oil, chopped onion and garlic and sautee them for 4-5 minutes.
Add dry rice and stir for 1-2 minutes to get it coated with the olive oil and fry it a bit.
Add wilted spinach, ground dried thyme, sage and rosemary. Mix thoroughly.
Add veggie broth and bring it to boil.
Now reduce it to low heat and cover it with a lid. Simmer it for approx. 15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes to see whether you need to add more veggie broth or not.
If the rice is soft, you can take the pot off the heat. Add chickpeas and olive slices. Stir well until combined.

Hollow out and stuff butternut squash

Scoop the middle of the roasted butternut squash to leave enough room for the stuffing. We usually leave 1 inch (approx. 1-2 cm) all around the peel including sides and bottom.
Add as much as you want from the pre-cooked filling. We usually mount the same amount on top as we can fit inside.
Add the crumbled feta cheese on top and drizzle it with a balsamic glaze, which is really just balsamic vinegar heated until it is reduced to half.

Nutrition