Paleo Stuffed Acorn Squash

This stuffed acorn squash is a comforting, thick stuffing flavored with onion, garlic, and mushrooms that pairs wonderfully with the sweet taste and soft texture of squash. Of course, it's paleo, and very easily can be made vegetarian!

Paleo Stuffed Acorn Squash

I absolutely LOVE squash (and so does everyone else in the family), especially acorn! It was no trouble to tell my mom that I would be making an acorn squash dish for dinner one night. I've already made a pureed squash recipe (AIP squash porridge, made with butternut squash), so I decided to go with a delicious, roasty (I'm making that an official word...), stuffed-full-of-goodness creation this time!

This recipe was inspired by Stuffed Acorn Squash with Hazelnuts, Quinoa, and Kale by "Will Cook For Friends". I followed her method for roasting and stuffing the squash, but I wanted to change up the ingredients to make it paleo, grain-free, and meat-free (easily made vegetarian by subbing veggie broth for the chicken broth!).

My entire family loved it! The first time I made it, Olivia claimed it was my best recipe yet! The second time I made it, my Dad had it too. I made a low-oxalate version for him, without spinach or nuts. By the way, it's really hard to make two versions of stuffing at the same time! I suggest doing the entire thing low-oxalate if you are going to make substitutions for it. I learned my lesson with egg and coconut sprayed everywhere and two different sized skillets cooking at once!

Don't worry though, it's not hard. ;) Although there are a lot of ingredients and it does take some time to prep and roast the squash, I believe it is worth it. This recipe is the epitome of a home-cooked meal. Hot. Hearty. Made with love. ♡

But speaking of prep, make sure you prep the ingredients! Don't forget that the ingredient list calls for some chopping to be already done before starting the recipe. Important steps to keep in mind!

Anyways, a few things about the recipe. By "mixture", I mean the stuff that eventually turns into the "stuffing". It was difficult to decide what wording to use, so I'll just make that clear now.

I don't specify the amount of olive oil needed because that depends too much on the size of the squash and your own style of drizzling (because let's face it, drizzling is something that everyone does different). Just make sure that the tops of the squash halves are oiled (I don't mean the top of the squash, I mean the top of the squash half while it is laying down cut side up). You will also need some olive oil for the skillet.

Leftover the next morning

By the way, it's soooo good as leftovers, heated up in the microwave! Use a low power setting on your microwave, because the squash takes longer to heat up than the stuffing. These can probably be kept in the fridge up to a week, but I wouldn't know for sure because I have a family of 5 and these are gone within a couple days! This recipe makes 4 stuffed squash halves, plus a little extra stuffing depending on the size of your acorn squash. That would be 4 large servings, but they can be cut in half for a lighter meal.

Paleo Stuffed Acorn Squash

Paleo, Nightshade-free

Yield: 4 large servings to 8 small servings
Serving Size: 1 stuffed squash half or quarter
Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash
• olive oil (for drizzling)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ white onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, cut into quarters (about 3 cups)
• 5 oz spinach, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 ½ C chicken broth
• ¼ C arrowroot starch
• ¼ C coconut flour
• ¾ C shredded coconut (divided)
• 2 eggs (divided)
• ½ C sliced almonds
• ½ C raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large pan with aluminum foil
2. Cut both acorn squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds
3. Place them on pan, cut-side facing up
4. Drizzle the squash halves evenly with olive oil; it’s okay if a little oil pools in the bottom of the squash
5. Season the squash halves with salt and pepper
6. Roast for 45 minutes, or until squash is tender and easily pierced with a fork
7. While squash is roasting, drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium heat on the stovetop
8. Add chopped onions and cut mushrooms to the skillet, stirring for about 5 minutes, or until onions appear slightly yellow and mushrooms are soft 
9. Add chopped spinach and garlic to the skillet and stir for about two minutes
10. Add chicken broth to the skillet and stir in the arrowroot starch, coconut flour, ½ cup shredded coconut, and one of the eggs
11. Cover the skillet, reduce heat setting to low, and cook for about 20 minutes
12. After 20 minutes, uncover the skillet and take off heat
13. Stir the chopped almonds, raisins, remaining shredded coconut, remaining egg, salt, and pepper into the mixture
14. When the squash is done roasting, take out of oven (do not turn oven off) and scoop the mixture into the center of the squash halves (you can save extra stuffing for serving on the side)
15. Roast the stuffed squash halves in the oven for an additional 8 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges
16. Take out of oven and serve right away

Substitutions
- any nut for the sliced almonds
- beef, bone, or vegetable broth for chicken broth