• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cook, Craft, Cultivate
  • Recipes
    • Baking
    • Classic Recipes with a Healthy Twist
    • Fermentation
    • Kitchen Staples from Scratch
    • Lean and Green
    • Smoked and Grilled
    • Snacks
    • Veggie Focused
  • Gardening
  • Creations
  • Photography
You are here: Home / Recipes / Taco Stuffed Acorn Squash

Taco Stuffed Acorn Squash

July 11, 2018

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Veggies as a “Vehicle”

I love stuffing vegetables with yummy things to eat 🙂 For a long time, my go-to for this type of meal was always stuffed bell peppers. Which are totally yummy, don’t get me wrong. But, I’ve been branching out and trying different “veggie vehicles” if you will. One of my favorite go-to’s has become stuffed acorn squash, taco-style.

I actually got the original inspiration for this recipe a while back from a local magazine, where someone published a stuffed acorn squash recipe that included black beans. The rest of the recipe I don’t actually remember, only that it was meatless, had black beans, and some spices. It sounded yummy though, and I had never tried filling an acorn squash. So I decided to make a few changes to fit our preferred meal content (i.e. add a little meat and some spice), and give it a whirl.

These turned out to be very similar to tacos stuffed into an acorn squash instead of tortillas. If you want my recipe for making your own taco seasoning (used in this recipe), check out this post.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Other Creative Alterations

You could totally use this as a base recipe, and modify the filling, spices, etc, to match whatever you are in the mood for. Maybe you’d like quinoa instead of (or along with) the black beans? Or perhaps more of an Italian flair with some sausage (turkey or chicken to keep it more lean) basil, oregano, crushed red peppers, and mozzarella cheese? I wonder what an Indian twist could look like? Maybe curried lentils, some extra veggies like carrots and eggplant, and a yogurt sauce??

A couple other stuffed veggie recipes posted right here on the blog are Southwestern style stuffed eggplant and Italian stuffed Zucchini.

You see, the fun thing about cooking is that once you’ve settled on a flavor profile you can do quite a lot to modify an existing recipe and turn it into something new and tasty!

Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe

This recipe as a whole is pretty simple. Pre-bake the acorn squash, cook the filling, stuff the squash, top with cheese, bake/broil til brown and bubbly. Get all the details below!

stuffed acorn squash

Taco Stuffed Acorn Squash

Taco night gets a light and refreshing twist, with acorn squash holding the filling instead of tortillas!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Southwestern
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 517 kcal

Equipment

  • Saute pan
  • Baking dish or cookie sheet

Ingredients
 

  • 2 acorn squash
  • 1½ pounds ground turkey (or other ground meat)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 15 oz can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (with liquid)
  • ½ yellow onion (diced)
  • 1 jalapeno (diced, with seeds if you like the spice!)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning (plus more to taste)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Pre-bake the acorn squash

  • Cut each acorn squash in half length-wise (through the stem).
  • Scoop out the seeds and toss.
  • Drizzle the squash flesh with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
  • Place cut side down in a baking dish.
  • Bake @400°F for 30-45 min. You will know the squash is done when you can poke a knife into the skin and it goes in easily.
    baked acorn squash
  • Once you pull the squash out of the oven, cover to keep warm.
  • While the squash is baking...

Make the filling

  • Heat a little olive oil in a skillet.
  • Add the onion and saute until transparent.
  • Add the garlic and cook ~30 seconds, stirring.
  • Add the diced jalapeno and stir.
  • Add the ground meat, and stir often until cooked through.
  • Once the meat is browned, remove any excess fat that has cooked off. (See tip in notes.)
  • Add the diced tomatoes (with liquid), taco seasoning, and oregano. Stir to combine well and let simmer for a couple minutes.
  • Add the black beans to the meat mixture.
  • Let the filling simmer for a few more minutes, until the liquid has thickened slightly.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
    meat filling

Put it together and melt cheese on top

  • Turn the squash so their inside cavity is facing up.
  • Liberally mound each half with the meat filling.
  • Top with ¼ cup cheese each.
    stuffed acorn squash
  • Return the squash to the oven and broil for ~10 min until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
    stuffed acorn squash

Enjoy

  • Let sit for a few minutes, then serve. A simple green salad makes a nice accompaniment, and rounds out the meal.
    dinner plate

Notes

To drain the fat after browning the ground meat, use tongs and paper towels. Just tip the skillet, wad up some paper towels in a pair of tongs, and soak up any excess grease. Repeat until most of the grease is absorbed. Put the soaked paper towels into a used ziplock bag and toss in the trash.
If you'd like to really treat this dish like it's taco night, top with salsa, cilantro, hot sauce, sour cream, shredded lettuce, guacamole, etc.
To make this recipe Medifast lean and green friendly use a lower carb squash like kambucha or spaghetti, and leave out the black beans.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 squash half | Calories: 517 kcal | Carbohydrates: 31 g | Protein: 46 g | Fat: 22 g | Fiber: 9 g | Sugar: 4 g
Tried this recipe?Let's see it! Mention @cookcraftcultivate or tag #cookcraftcultivate!

Post Category: Featured Recipes, Lean and Green, Recipes, Veggie Focused Tagged With: acorn squash, creative cooking, dinner, healthy cooking, medifast lean and green, stuffed veggies

Previous Post: « How To: Garden Enclosure
Next Post: Tips for a Summer Vegetable Garden in the Phoenix Heat »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Kristi

Picture of KristiJourney with me in my homemade adventures - creating more from scratch and increasing my self-sufficiency, in my small suburban home setting.
Read More…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Featured Recipes

stock after cooking for a while

How to Make Stock

Oatmeal Sourdough Pancakes

Peanut butter protein bars

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bar Recipe

stuffed zucchini ready to bake

Italian Stuffed Zucchini

stuffed acorn squash

Taco Stuffed Acorn Squash

banana coconut chocolate chip cookies

Banana Cookies with Chocolate and Coconut

Instagram

First recipe for 2021! Low Carb Beef Stroganoff! T First recipe for 2021! Low Carb Beef Stroganoff! Try substituting spaghetti squash for the noodles... Plus a few tips for an EASY sauce, and how to lighten it up a bit if you want. Get all the details on my latest blog post. Tap @cookcraftcultivate and go to the link in my bio.
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #lowcarb #lowcarbrecipes #beefstroganoff #spaghettisquash
Dinner on one pan! Roasted acorn squash, asparagus Dinner on one pan! Roasted acorn squash, asparagus, and tilapia with lemon slices fresh from our tree 😃 A favorite weeknight dinner around here (some version or other of this)!
.
To get the timing right, start the squash (or you could sub potatoes) ahead, roast at 425F for about 20 minutes, then add the asparagus and tilapia for another 10ish. With lemons on top the tilapia may need closer to 15 🙃.
.
Season as desired! I used rosemary and smoked paprika on the squash, a dash of chipotle on the asparagus to tie in the smoky paprika and add a touch of heat, and then lemon pepper on the fish to boost that lemony flavor. 😋
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #dinner #weeknightdinner #easyonepandinner #onepanmeal #fishfordinner #azcitrus #meyerlemon #azmeyerlemons
If you've never made an herb butter to use as an A If you've never made an herb butter to use as an A-Mazing flavor boost to just about anything, might I recommend you give one a try real soon? You won't regret it!
Tap @cookcraftcultivate and go to the link in my profile to follow my 4 easy steps!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #herbbutter #flavorboost #freshherbs
Happy New Year! From our family to yours 💕 Happy New Year! From our family to yours 💕
Look at this beauty of a salad mix! Harvested from Look at this beauty of a salad mix! Harvested from our garden :) - 3 varieties of kale, and a red leaf amaranth. Ready for this week's lunch salads!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #harvest #kaleharvest #garden #azgardening #azgardener #azgarden #veggiegarden #winterveggies #azwintergarden #growyourownfood #growwhatyoueat
Biscotti. One of my favorite treats to bake during Biscotti. One of my favorite treats to bake during the holidays! Every time I make this, I think of my good friend @itsalwayssunnyaz 🥰 She was the first person to introduce me to homemade biscotti during Christmas time...
Happy Holidays All!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #holidaybaking  #holidaycheer #holidaytreats #christmas #merrychristmas #happyholidays2020 #biscotti #homemade
The winter garden is in full swing! ✔️Kale and The winter garden is in full swing!
✔️Kale and chard are abundant
✔️Bok choy is full and lovely
✔️Fennel is feathery
✔️The last chiles and peppers are ripening
✔️Lettuce and arugala are growing
✔️Beets are forming
✔️Sprouting broccoli is getting tall!
Oh, and we started seeds for our spring tomatoes, chiles, and peppers this weekend!
.
#garden #gardenbounty #harvest #kaleharvest #chardharvest #gardenplanning #azgardening #azgardener #cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #winterveggiegarden
#holidays #holidaycheer #christmasdecor #christmas #holidays #holidaycheer #christmasdecor #christmasseason #twinklelights #merrychristmas
Follow @CookCraftCultivate

Footer

Cook Craft Cultivate

  • Homepage
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy

Our Other Brands

  • Kristi Stephenson Photography
  • Kristi Stephenson Creations

Copyright © 2018–2021 Kristi Stephenson Creations LLC