Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Apple, Sage and Toasted Pecans
Vegan stuffed acorn squash with quinoa, apple, sage and toasted pecans. Roast the halves cut-side down for caramelized edges, then fill and finish in the oven.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 5 min
- Serves
- 4
Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Apple, Sage and Toasted Pecans is a vegan dinner recipe made with acorn squash, olive oil, maple syrup. It takes 70 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes resting, serves 4, and each serving has 433 calories, 8 g of protein and 9 g of fiber.
The trick here is roasting the acorn squash halves cut-side down first, so the flesh steams tender while the rim caramelizes against the hot pan. Meanwhile the quinoa cooks in vegetable broth rather than water, and the apple goes in near the end of the sauté so it keeps some bite against the soft squash. A squeeze of lemon at the end keeps the cranberries and maple from tipping the whole thing sweet.
Ingredients
Squash
- 2 medium862 gacorn squash, halved and seeded
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- 2 tsp13 gmaple syrup
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
Filling
- ¾ cup128 gwhite quinoa, rinsed
- 1½ cups360 gvegetable broth
- ½ cup50 gpecan halves, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, finely diced
- 1 stalk50 gcelery, finely diced
- 1 medium182 gfirm apple such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, cored and diced small
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic, minced
- 1 tbsp2 gfresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup40 gdried cranberries
- 1 tbsp15 glemon juice
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
To serve
- 2 tbsp7.6 gflat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Kit: rimmed baking sheet, small saucepan with lid, large skillet
Tips
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve even if the bag says pre-washed; residual saponin tastes soapy and there's nothing to hide it here.
- Squash size varies a lot. If yours are on the large side, they may need 40 minutes in the first roast — go by the knife test, not the clock.
- Leftover filling is good on its own; pack any that doesn't fit into the halves as a grain salad for lunch.
Swap ideas
- Use delicata squash halves instead of acorn
- Cuts the first roast to about 22 minutes and the skin is thin enough to eat.
- Swap pecans for walnuts or pumpkin seeds
- Walnuts are more bitter and tannic; pumpkin seeds make it nut-free.
- Use cooked wild rice or farro in place of quinoa
- Chewier, nuttier filling — use about 2 1/4 cups cooked.
- Stir 1/4 cup nutritional yeast into the filling
- Adds a savory, cheesy backbone that plays against the apple and maple.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
433kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 2 g 10%
- Sugars
- 16.4 g
- Sodium
- 869 mg 38%
- Potassium
- 1145 mg 24%
- Calcium
- 122 mg 9%
- Iron
- 3.6 mg 20%
- Vitamin C
- 31 mg 34%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Squash, raw, acorn, winter, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Syrups, maple, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Quinoa, uncooked, Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Nuts, pecans, Onions, raw, Celery, raw, Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Garlic, raw, Sauge, fraîche (values from the Anses Ciqual 2017 table, as reproduced by laurentberta.com). No fresh sage entry exists in USDA FoodData Central., Cranberries, dried, sweetened (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Lemon juice, raw
Method
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Halve each squash from stem to tip and scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp with a spoon. If a half won't sit level, shave a thin slice off its rounded back.
Rub the cut faces and hollows with 1 tbsp olive oil, then season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Set the halves cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until a knife slides into the flesh with no resistance and the cut rims are deeply browned, 30–35 minutes.
While the squash roasts, bring the quinoa and vegetable broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce to a bare simmer and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the germs have uncurled, 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Toast the pecans in a dry large skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant and a shade darker, 4–5 minutes. Tip them onto a plate — they scorch fast if left in the pan.
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until softened and golden at the edges, 6–8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sage and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute.
Add the diced apple and cook just until it loses its raw edge but still holds its shape, 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the quinoa, cranberries, toasted pecans, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon.
Flip the roasted squash halves cut-side up, brush the hollows with the maple syrup, and mound the filling into them, pressing it in gently — it will be generously heaped.
Return to the oven and bake until the filling is hot throughout and the pecans on top are crisp, 10–12 minutes. Scatter with parsley and serve warm.
Storage: Refrigerate stuffed halves in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F for 15–18 minutes, or microwave 2–3 minutes. The filling alone keeps 5 days and freezes for 2 months; roast the squash fresh.
Questions
- How much protein is in quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans?
- Each of the 4 servings has 8 g of protein, 9 g of fiber and 433 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 50 minutes of cooking, so 70 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans ahead?
- Refrigerate stuffed halves in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F for 15–18 minutes, or microwave 2–3 minutes. The filling alone keeps 5 days and freezes for 2 months; roast the squash fresh.
- What can I substitute in quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans?
- Use delicata squash halves instead of acorn — cuts the first roast to about 22 minutes and the skin is thin enough to eat.. Swap pecans for walnuts or pumpkin seeds — walnuts are more bitter and tannic; pumpkin seeds make it nut-free.. Use cooked wild rice or farro in place of quinoa — chewier, nuttier filling — use about 2 1/4 cups cooked.. Stir 1/4 cup nutritional yeast into the filling — adds a savory, cheesy backbone that plays against the apple and maple..
- Does quinoa stuffed acorn squash with apple, sage and toasted pecans contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 22, 2026 ·american
