This comforting and flavorful Mediterranean Stuffed Squash is filled with satisfying brown rice, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas and artichokes. Plus, there are lots of fresh herbs to make this a cozy yet bright Fall meal.
This blog post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market.
If you’re getting into the mood for some cozy, warm Fall recipes, put this one on your list to try! Stuffed squash is one of those types of dishes that screams Fall. I love squash around this time of year, from butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and to delicata and acorn squash.
The stuffing possibilities are endless, and for this recipe, the acorn squash is stuffed with a delicious variety of brown rice, mushrooms, and Mediterranean-inspired goods like sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas and artichokes.
Sprouts Farmers Market has all the fresh Fall flavors you need to create this dish and all your favorite comfort foods for the season. You can harvest the goodness of Fall at Sprouts, with a huge variety of produce to choose from, as well as pantry staples!
I spotted the these beautiful acorn squash and couldn’t resist making a comforting stuffed squash with a variety of savory fixins’ like marinated sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. And you can find it all at Sprouts!
How These Mediterranean Stuffed Squash Comes Together
Cook the brown rice: Get your brown rice cooking, but you can preheat the oven first. The recipe calls for vegetable broth instead of water for cooking the rice, which adds extra flavor. Once cooked, the rice will become part of the stuffing.
Prepare the squash: Cut the squash in half. It’s a bit easier if you avoid cutting directly through the stem. Then scrape out all the seeds, which can be used to roast later if you don’t want to discard them. Drizzle the flesh with oil and simply salt and pepper, then roast the squash flesh side up. The cook time will vary based on the size of your squash. You want to make sure the squash is easily pierced with a fork, because it’s a bummer if you’re digging in to eat and find that the squash is underdone.
Make the filling: Start by cooking mushrooms and onions until lightly browned, then add bell peppers, broth, and seasonings and a bit of plant-based butter. Then the remaining ingredients go in, including lemon, garlic powder, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, chickpeas and parsley. Add the cooked rice as well, and stir all the goodness together to make the stuffing for the acorn squash.
Serve it up: Stuff the squash to your liking, and serve any extra stuffing on the side. Top with the fresh rosemary and thyme. This recipe makes quite a bit of stuffing, so depending on the size of your acorn squash, you may have some leftovers. Hint: the stuffing makes amazing leftovers!
Other Comfort Food Recipes
Creamy Avocado Parsley Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes
Vegan Chickpea Mushroom & Spinach Curry
Roasted Tomato, White Bean & Spinach Stew
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Tag me on Instagram @janetsmunchmeals and comment here.
Mediterranean Stuffed Squash
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice or wild rice
- Approx. 2 cups + ½ cup vegetable broth divided
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 acorn squash
- 1 tbsp. avocado oil for squash
- 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt divided
- 1 tsp. black pepper divided
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced or diced
- ½ medium red onion finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp. plant-based butter
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 cup canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
- ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts drained
- 2 tbsp. fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook 1 cup rice according to package directions, using approx. 2 cups vegetable broth instead of water, adding 1 tbsp. olive oil into the cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, cut acorn squash in half and scrape out seeds. Brush 1 ½ tbsp. avocado oil onto flesh and sprinkle ¾ tsp. kosher salt and ½ tsp. pepper onto flesh. Place squash flesh-side up on baking tray and bake 45 to 60 min, until flesh can easily be pierced with a fork.
- To make stuffing, preheat a large pan on medium heat. Add remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil, 8 oz. mushrooms, ½ medium red onion, and ½ tsp. each kosher salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 10 min, stirring periodically, until getting lightly browned. Add remaining ½ cup vegetable broth, 1 bell pepper, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, and 1 tbsp. plant-based butter. Stir and cook 4 to 6 min until most of broth has bubbled away and bell pepper is tender.
- Stir in remaining ingredients (juice of ½ lemon, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 cup chickpeas, 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, ½ cup artichokes, 2 tbsp. fresh parsley), along with cooked rice.
- Divide stuffing between the cooked squash, serving any extra stuffing on the side. Top with optional 1 tsp. fresh rosemary and 2 sprigs fresh thyme.