Maple-basted acorn squash serves as a charming vessel for lightly cinnamon-spiced quinoa in a seasonal side that serves as a nutritious option for your Thanksgiving spread.
By Dianna Muscari
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Spiced Quinoa
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Maple-basted acorn squash serves as a charming vessel for lightly cinnamon-spiced quinoa in a seasonal side that serves as a nutritious option for your Thanksgiving spread.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries {preferably unsweetened}
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed
- Olive oil
- Maple syrup
- Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil.
- Brush inside halves of acorn squash with a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of maple syrup. Sprinkle with salt.
- Place on prepared baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 25-30 minutes {depending on size of squash} or until the squash is tender enough to be pierced with the tip of a knife easily.
For Quinoa:
- Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring quinoa, cinnamon stick and bay leaf to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or until the water is almost fully absorbed. {Keep an eye on it as you don’t want the quinoa to burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.}
- Once almost all the water has been absorbed, reduce heat to low and let steam for another 5-7 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
- In a large bowl combine cooked quinoa, toasted almonds and cranberries.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, cider vinegar, maple syrup and salt. Pour over quinoa mixture and toss to coat.
- Scoop quinoa into cooked acorn squash halves.
- Return to oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the top starts to become toasty.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side
