FESTIVE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH SAGE & MUSHROOM STUFFING (VEGAN, GF)

This vegan roasted butternut squash with sage & mushroom stuffing is a delicious meat free addition to your festive table or a traditional Sunday roast. A delicious combination of sweet & nutty autumnal flavours that will have your guests asking for seconds.

Please don’t shoot me for uttering the C word (aka ‘Christmas’!) at the beginning of November! Although I keep promising myself each year to be extra organised for Christmas and do all of my shopping in the summer (huh!), I somehow always end up doing it a couple of weeks prior to Christmas…

This roasted butternut squash stuffed with chargrilled red peppers, sage & mushrooms was inspired by this recipe here, which I’ve adapted and added my own twist on it. Butternut squash is actually one of my favourite autumnal vegetables and I love how versatile it is. I normally roast a big batch of it and puree half in a blender to add to smoothies, pancakes, porridge and what not. Its natural sweetness makes it a great addition to both sweet and savoury dishes.

This vegan friendly stuffed butternut squash requires some preparation work but once you’ve done all the chopping and cutting, it’s plain sailing from then on. Oh, and champagne sipping whilst you’re cooking this festive roast is totally obligatory by the way, it’s the festive season after all!

HOW TO MAKE FESTIVE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

• To prepare this festive veggie roast, start by washing the squash and thoroughly drying it with a clean kitchen towel. I know some people actually eat the skin of the roasted squash (it’s very soft once it’s been roasted) but I personally prefer it without the skin. It’s just a matter of personal choice I guess.
• Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Season the halves with olive oil, salt & pepper and a little sprinkle of nutmeg and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes (cut side up) until just tender.

• Whilst the squash is roasting, prepare the pesto by combining spinach, toasted walnuts, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt & pepper and nutritional yeast flakes (use parmesan for non-vegan version) in a high speed blender. Blitz until smooth (you might want to add a little more water depending on how powerful your blender is).
• Now it’s time to prepare the stuffing. In a frying pan, sautee finely chopped red onions for a couple of minutes over medium heat until just softened. Add a tablespoon of coconut sugar and cook for a further 2 minutes. It allows the onions to caramelise and adds that little extra flavour to the stuffing. Now add sliced mushrooms, smoked paprika (not hot spicy paprika), nutmeg, finely chopped sage & red chilli, zest and juice of one clementine and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.

• At this stage the butternut squash should be ready. Once it’s cool enough to handle, gently scoop out the ‘flesh’ of the butternut squash with a spoon, leaving a 3-4cm border around the sides. Be careful not to pierce the skin of the squash when you’re scooping out the flesh.
• Dice the flesh of the butternut squash that you’ve just scooped out into small size chunks and add them into the pan with the stuffing. Cook for a further 2 minutes to allow all the flavours come together.

• In a separate pan or saucepan, wilt the spinach by cooking it over a medium heat with a little squeeze of juice from half a clementine and season with salt & pepper. Once the spinach has wilted (it should take 2-3 minutes), transfer it to a sieve and squeeze firmly with a spatula or a spoon to remove excess water. Make sure you try to remove as much water as you can.
• You can now start lining the butternut squash with layers of vegetable goodness. Drain all the oil from chargrilled peppers (I normally place the peppers on the paper towel and squeeze them gently to remove access oil) and line them at the bottom of the squash cavities. Layer the mushroom and sage stuffing on top of red peppers, add blobs of pesto and top with wilted spinach. Carefully place one stuffed half on top of the other and tie the squash from both ends with a piece of kitchen string. Place the squash in a roasting tin along with cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper and roast in the oven for 15-20mins until cooked through.

I would recommend serving roasted squash with some grains (wild rice or quinoa would work really well) and a generous helping of cranberry sauce for that festive flavour.

Want some more meat-free inspiration for family friendly meals over the festive season? Check out

• The all time family favourite vegan shepherd’s pie
• Oh-so-delicious vegan stuffed pasta
• Vegan cottage pie
• Squash, sage & wild mushroom risotto
• Easy butternut squash & chickpea stew
• Family favourite vegan chili

As always, if you recreate this festive vegan-friendly butternut squash recipe, I’d be delighted to read your comments and hear your feedback. Be sure to drop a comment here on the blog, tag me in your photos on Instagram @Fit Foodie Nutter, Facebook or Pinterest, so I don’t miss them.

My best wishes for the festive season ahead.

Healthfully yours,

Tania x

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ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH SAGE & MUSHROOM STUFFING (VEGAN, GF)

Tania Pilcher | Fit Foodie Nutter

This roasted butternut squash with sage & mushroom stuffing is a delicious meat free addition to your festive table or a traditional Sunday roast. A delicious combination of sweet & nutty autumnal flavours that will have your guests asking for seconds. Vegan & gluten free.

5 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins

Total Time 2 hrs 10 mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine British

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

For roasted squash:

• 1 large butternut squash , washed and wiped dry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 4 large chargrilled roasted red peppers from a jar
• 300 g fresh spinach leaves , washed and drained
• Juice of ½ clementine
• 2 garlic bulbs , cut in halves
• 200 g cherry tomatoes on a vine

For spinach & walnut pesto:

• 100 g toasted walnuts
• 200 g fresh spinach leaves
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp water
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Optional: 3tbsp nutritional yeast flakes or parmesan for non-vegan version

For the mushroom & sage stuffing:

• 2 red onions , finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 200 g mushrooms , finely sliced
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 10 sage leaves , finely chopped
• ½ red chilli pepper , seeds removed and finely chopped
• Zest & juice of 1 clementine
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 190C, 170C fan.
• Wash the squash and wipe dry. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Season the halves with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper and nutmeg and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes (cut side up) until just tender.
• Whilst the squash is roasting, prepare the pesto by combining spinach, toasted walnuts, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt & pepper and nutritional yeast flakes (use parmesan for non-vegan version) in a high speed blender. Blitz until smooth (you might want to add a little more water depending on how powerful your blender is).
• Now it’s time to prepare the stuffing. In a frying pan, sautee finely chopped red onions for a couple of minutes over medium heat until just softened. Add a tablespoon of coconut sugar and cook for a further 2 minutes. Now add sliced mushrooms, smoked paprika (not hot spicy paprika), nutmeg, finely chopped sage & red chilli, zest and juice of one clementine and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
• At this stage the butternut squash should be ready. Once it’s cool enough to handle, gently scoop out the ‘flesh’ of the butternut squash with a spoon, leaving a 3-4cm border around the sides. Be careful not to pierce the skin of the squash when you’re scooping out the flesh. Dice the flesh of the butternut squash that you’ve just scooped out into small size chunks and add them into the pan with the stuffing. Cook for a further 2 minutes to allow all the flavours come together.
• In a separate pan or saucepan, wilt the spinach by cooking it over a medium heat with a little squeeze of juice from half a clementine and season with salt & pepper. Once the spinach has wilted (it should take 2-3 minutes), transfer it to a sieve and squeeze firmly with a spatula or a spoon to remove excess water. Make sure you try to remove as much water as you can.
• You can now start stuffing the butternut squash. Drain all the oil from chargrilled peppers (I normally place the peppers on the paper towel and squeeze them gently to remove access oil) and line them at the bottom of the squash cavities. Layer the mushroom and sage stuffing on top of red peppers, add blobs of pesto and top with wilted spinach. Carefully place one stuffed half on top of the other and tie the squash from both ends with a piece of kitchen string. Place the squash in a roasting tin along with cherry tomatoes and garlic drizzled with 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper and roast in the oven for 15-20 until cooked through.
• Serve roasted squash with some grains (wild rice or quinoa would work really well) and a generous helping of cranberry sauce for that festive flavour.

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