It’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t absolutely love butternut squash. This winter squash offers sweet and savory flavors, plus it’s loaded with vitamins A, C, B-vitamins, potassium and manganese. Load it up with my delicious stuffing, bake until tender, and dinner is ready!
To Get Started
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice your butternut squash in half laterally, scoop out the seeds, and score it with a knife. Place it on a baking tray and throw it in the oven for 30-min.
Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing.
Sweet Stuffing
In a small saucepan over low heat, toss in the full-fat coconut milk, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Then, add the dried fruits: craisins, raisins and dates. Once everything is mixed together, turn the heat off and allow the fruity mixture to soak for about 10-minutes.
Savory Stuffing
Lastly, prepare the savory stuffing. In a saute pan, add some oil to medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes, and then toss in chopped kale and mushrooms. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper and allow all of the veggies to soften.
Putting It All Together
Remove the butternut squash from the oven. At this point, it’s probably softened, but not quite finished cooking.
Scoop out the base with a spoon to create more space for the delicious stuffing.
Then, start stuffing! Place the savory stuffing at the bottom, followed by the sweet stuffing. Sprinkle some chopped nuts on top.
Once each side is thoroughly stuffed, place the squash back in the oven for another 30-minutes. I like to place the oven on broil for the last 5-minutes of cooking to help brown the top.
Diets
This recipe complies with the following diets:
- Paleo- yes
- Vegan/Vegetarian- yes
- Low FODMAP– no
- SCD– yes, just be sure the dried cranberries do not contain sugar
- Gluten Free– yes
- Grain Free- yes
- Dairy Free- yes
- 1 small to medium butternut squash, sliced in half laterally
- 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- Dash of cardamom
- 1/4 cup craisins
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped, pitted dates
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts*
- Salt and pepper to season
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the sliced butternut squash on a baking tray. Scoop out the seeds, score the flesh with a knife, and drizzle with oil. Bake for ~30-minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Toss in the dried fruits and mix all of the ingredients together. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow the ingredients to soak for 10-minutes. Set aside.
- Add oil to a saute pan over medium-heat. Add garlic and onions and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then, toss in the mushrooms, kale, salt and pepper. Saute until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
- Pull out the baked butternut squash from the oven. Scoop out the base with a spoon so you can thoroughly fill it with the stuffing.
- Stuff the squash with the savory stuffing and top it with the sweet stuffing. Then, sprinkle on the chopped nuts. Place the stuffed squash back into the oven and bake for another 30-minutes.
- Serve warm with a side salad.
- *Use any nuts you have on hand including almonds, walnuts, or pecans.
