My stuffed squash is light and healthy without any sacrifice to the flavour. Chipotle flavoured ground turkey and wild rice make this dinner a low calorie winner!
If you love this recipe, take a look at my Harissa Beef Stuffed Eggplant.
We often hear about beauty and abundance of the summer fruits and vegetables but I think that autumn and winter are unfairly overlooked. Just look at the colours and vibrancy on this plate!
Winter vegetables are amazing and squash is my all time favourite mainly because there are so many ways to cook it. Stuffing squash with different things is always a fun dinner option.
What can you stuff squash with?
I’ve used a similar recipe in the past with eggplant and my family always loved it but when I swapped an eggplant for a squash, beef for turkey, added wild rice, chipotle peppers and feta cheese I realised that I ended up with a completely different animal.
After tasting it Brad proclaimed, “if you must stuff anything, please let it be SQUASH” and I agreed stuffed squash for the win.
Our children approached it with suspicion while preparing numerous excuses of why they are not hungry but after the second bite were gobbling it up like it was their favourite pizza. Happy mummy indeed!
This stuffed squash is literally bursting with bold flavours of chipotle, cilantro, red peppers and squash. The nutritional benefits of all the listed above plus lean turkey meat and wild rice is a HUGE bonus.
Stuffed Squash Recipe Ingredients
- winter squash of any variety
- ground turkey or lean ground beef
- tomato + chipotle paste
- vegetables of your choice for extra flavour
- wild rice
- feta cheese or cheese of your choice
How to make it
1. Cook wild rice in a saucepan in proportion 1/2 cup of wild rice to 3 cups of salted water for 40-45 minutes until the grains have popped. Drain and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C
2. Cut your unpeeled squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet or a roasting pan cut side down and roast for 40 minutes until squash is tender.
3. When the squash is cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh but leave a 1″ border to make a cup that will hold our filling.
4. Now, let’s prepare our turkey and wild rice filling. It’s very important to build flavour into it so it doesn’t taste bland. In 1 tbsp. of olive oil cook your chopped onions, cilantro (leaves and stalks), garlic and diced bell pepper over medium heat for 10 minutes.
5. Add turkey and continue cooking until the meat in no longer pink, then add tomato paste and chipotle peppers, combine everything.
Now add wild rice and mashed squash, salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
6. Divide the mixture among 4 squash halves, sprinkle with feta cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F/180C. Sprinkle with additional feta and chopped cilantro.
More favourite winter squash recipes:
- Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Creamy Butternut Squash Gnocchi
- Squash Risotto with Sage and Goat Cheese
- Roasted Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
Post updated on 08/02/2020
Ingredients
- 2 Butternut Squash, small
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion, medium
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 10-12 sprigs Cilantro chopped
- 1 Red bell pepper, large diced
- 1 lbs Ground Turkey I used turkey thighs
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Chipotle paste
- 50g/1 cup Wild rice cooked
- 2 tbsp Feta cheese crumbled
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook wild rice in a saucepan in proportion 1/2 cup of wild rice to 3 cups of salted water for 40-45 minutes until the grains have popped. Drain and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C
- Cut your unpeeled squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet or a roasting pan cut side down and roast for 40 minutes until squash is tender.
- When the squash is cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh but leave a 1" border to make a cup that will hold our filling.
- Meanwhile make the filling. In 1 tbsp. of olive oil cook the chopped onions, cilantro (leaves and stalks), garlic and diced bell pepper over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add turkey and continue cooking until the meat in no longer pink, then add tomato paste and chipotle peppers or paste, then combine everything. Now add wild rice and mashed squash, salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Divide the mixture among 4 squash halves, sprinkle with feta cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F/180C. Sprinkle with additional feta and chopped cilantro.
Julia says
What a wonderful colorful dish! Perfect for the Holidays! I’ve been thinking of stuffing squash too, but not sure if I will actually get to it for this Thanksgiving. 🙂
vikalinka says
Yes, I love the colours! 🙂