If you're tired of the same offerings in shops every Christmas, then this year try our vegan stuffed butternut squash dish. It's a great alternative to the usual nut roast for the festive season and is packed full of nutrients.
Nutritional highlights
Butternut squash is packed with important vitamins including vitamin A in the form of carotenoids, vitamin C and E. This recipe will actually provide us with all of our daily recommended vitamin A.
Vitamin A plays an important role with our eye and skin health along with our immune system. This recipe also provides us with over half our daily vitamin C and just over 10% of our daily vitamin E.
Vitamin C helps keep our skin, blood vessels, bones and cells healthy. Whereas vitamin E is needed to keep our skin and eyes healthy, it also helps to keep our immune system running optimally to help us fight off any illnesses.
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Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 90 minutes
- 1 butternut squash, halved lengthways with seeds removed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 20g dried apricots, chopped
- Handful fresh sage, roughly chopped
- 15g hazelnuts, crushed or chopped
- 15g walnuts, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400g tin pinto beans, drained
- 20g dried cranberries
- 160g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
- 60g spinach
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place the washed, cut and pitted squash onto a baking tray and roast for 60 to 70 minutes or until it is starting to soften.
Then leave to cool slightly.
Meanwhile add a tablespoon of olive to a pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and sage and cook for 10 minutes or until softened, then add the mushrooms then cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Scoop out the squash flesh leaving a boarder of about 1cm. Then chop the removed squash and add to the pan with the drained pinto beans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cranberries, spinach and apricots - mixing well.
Cook for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted.
Add the mixture into the squash halves and pop back into the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden on top then serve.
Healthy swaps/tips
- To reduce the sugar content, leave out the dried fruit.
- Change the pinto beans for another bean or lentil like kidney beans or green lentils.
- You can also save the butternut squash seeds and roast them to have as a side or a snack!
