Stuffed Squash: A Vegetarian Bean Version
Get stuffed with this easy and very delicious vegetarian stuffed squash recipe. The filling is made with beans, onions, tomatoes, herbs and a little cheese. For a vegan version, substitute the cheese with a vegan alternative.
We always try and grow a few winter squashes each year. They look quite spectacular whilst they’re growing and maturing and they taste delicious too. Because of the lack of sunshine this summer, we weren’t terribly successful this season, but luckily, CT has his own secret supply.
Dive Right In
- Why Make Vegetarian Stuffed Squash?
- What’s The Best Squash For Stuffing?
- Stuffed Squash
- Ingredients
- How To Make Vegetarian Stuffed Squash
- How To Make Vegan Stuffed Squash
- Other Squash Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make Vegetarian Stuffed Squash?
Vegetarian stuffed squash is fun to make. The preparation is easy and the finished dish is delicious, nutritious and looks appealing. Here are a few more reasons why you might want to make it.
- Eat The Seasons – Acorn squash along with other winter squash are in season during the colder months of autumn and winter. This makes this stuffed squash recipe a perfect choice for a comforting, seasonal and local dish.
- Healthy and Nutritious – Winter squash is a great source of essential fibre, vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin C, beta carotene, selenium, folate, iron, magnesium and potassium. Combined with beans, tomatoes and a little cheese, this recipe provides a highly nutritious and well-balanced meal.
- Make Ahead – You can prepare the filling and roast the squash well ahead of the evening meal or dinner party. All you need to do is roast it for fifteen minutes or so before serving. This leaves you plenty of time to make other elements of the meal or to keep the day clear for something else entirely.
- Tasty – The combination of herbs, spices, tomatoes, cheese and nutty squash adds layers of flavour to the dish. This makes it a particularly tasty and satisfying meal.
- Vegetarian-Friendly – As all of the recipes on Tin and Thyme are vegetarian or vegan, this is a bit of an obvious one. But sometimes it’s good to know that there are some very good alternatives to meaty meals. This stuffed squash is one of them.
- Versatile – It’s easy to adapt stuffed squash to suit various dietary preferences and restrictions. For example, you can easily make it vegan by using plant-based cheese or omitting the cheese altogether for a dairy-free option.
- Visually Appealing – Individual stuffed squashes are fabulous for dinner parties. The colour contrast of yellow squash, red tomatoes and black beans is a good one and they look particularly appealing on the plate. I’ve used a yellow tomato in the images you can see here, so the rainbow effect isn’t as clear.
What’s The Best Squash For Stuffing?
Butternut squash is always a good doer and it’s easy to get hold of most times of the year. However, in autumn it’s not difficult to obtain more unusual and tastier varieties. You may even grow your own.
Acorn squash is a good bet for stuffing. It has a ridged exterior and comes in various colours. The one I used in the images you can see here has a pale yellow flesh rather than the more usual orange. It has a dense but creamy texture and a fabulous nutty flavour. The flesh is slightly sweet, but less so than some, which makes it particularly good for savoury stuffing. I reckon it tastes quite similar to chestnuts.
Sweet Dumpling is a small round squash with ribbed green speckled white skin. It’s sweet with a good flavoured yellow flesh. You’ll need two stuffed halves per person, rather than just one though.
Little Gem are excellent for stuffing whole. They have a firm sweet flesh. They’re about the size of a cricket ball, so quite small. You may need more than one per person for this stuffed squash recipe, but they look adorable roasted with their little hats on.
Stuffed Squash
Stuffed squash is one of my favourite recipes to make and eat at this time of the year. I make various fillings, both vegan and vegetarian. But this one with beans and tomatoes is the one I go back to again and again. It’s easy-to-make, tasty, satisfying and nutritious.
A good winter squash is quite filling all on its own, so you don’t really need any other carbohydrates with your meal. The beans in this recipe also provide bulk. Simply serve with some steamed or stir-fried greens.
If you fancy a more substantial side than just greens though, go for something light like quinoa or couscous.
Alternatively, mix a few wholemeal breadcrumbs into the stuffing before too much of the liquid has evaporated. You can also mix some with the cheese before scattering over the top.
Ingredients
If you have a good tasty specimen, you need surprisingly few ingredients to make this autumnal bean stuffed squash. I’ve mentioned the main ones needed below.
Squash
Small to medium sized winter squashes are best for stuffing. Choose a firm fleshed flavoursome variety. Head to the previous section on What’s The Best Squash For Stuffing?
Beans
I used black beans this time, but small white beans such as haricot or cannellini are also good. You can cook dried ones from scratch, or use a tin as I did here.
Tomatoes
I used a large yellow tomato (Great White). It’s a wonderfully flavoursome tomato that’s good for both cooking and eating raw. Mostly, however, it’s the one we had in the greenhouse that most needed using.
Any flavour packed tomato will do though. And if you don’t have any fresh tomatoes, a good quality can of chopped tomatoes works too. But you’ll only need half for this recipe.
Herbs And Spices
When it comes to herbs and spices, the world’s your oyster really. I grow rosemary and thyme in the garden and squash marries well with both, so I used those. Cumin is another one that works with squash and also beans, so that went into the mix too.
Garlic almost goes without saying. Lastly, I used a little chilli, not so much as to be uncomfortable, but just enough so that you know it’s there.
Top Tip
We halve and deseed our red chillies, then freeze them. This means we have a bag full of chilli halves whenever we need them. What’s more they’re super easy to slice and chop when they’re frozen.
Cheese
A vegetarian Italian hard cheese is best for this recipe, but good old cheddar will work if that’s what you have. If you follow a plant-based diet, use a good quality vegan cheese that’s good for melting.
How To Make Vegetarian Stuffed Squash
It’s surprisingly easy to stuff squash halves. Although there are a few steps involved, it’s mostly a case of cutting the squash in half, removing the seeds, then piling a filling into the resulting hole.
Step 1. Prepare Squash
Cut the squash lengthways into two even halves with a sharp sturdy knife. This is the most difficult part of the process as squashes can be quite tough.
Once cut, scoop out the seeds and membrane with a metal spoon and discard. Ours goes into our hotbin composter. You’ll find you’ve created two fairly deep bowls.
Brush a little of the olive oil over the top of the squash halves, including the newly created bowl. Place them cut-side-up on a greased or lined baking tray. Pop in the oven and roast for around thirty minutes. They’re done when an inserted knife slides easily into the flesh.
Whilst the squashes are roasting, get on with preparing the filling.
Step 2. Prepare Filling
Remove the skin from the onion, cut in half and finely dice each section.
Heat the remaining oil in a medium sized pan over a medium heat. Throw in the cumin seeds and allow to sizzle for 30 seconds or so.
Add the chopped onion and stir. Fry for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent.
Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic and chilli. Add them to the pan and stir-fry for a minute.
Remove the leaves from both the thyme and rosemary and discard the stems. Finely chop.
Dice the tomato and add to the pan along with the salt and herbs. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Whilst the tomatoes are cooking, rinse and drain the beans through a sieve. Add them to the pan, stir then simmer the mixture for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid off, or until most of the liquid has disappeared. Remove from the heat.
Grate the cheese, then add half to the bean mix along with a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Stir well. Taste test at this point and if you think the filling requires more seasoning, add it now.
Step 3. Stuff Squash
Spoon the filling into the squash bowls as evenly as possible. Pile it as high as necessary, until no more filling remains.
Scatter the remaining cheese over the top and place back in the oven for ten minutes. The stuffed squash are done when the cheese is melted, bubbling and golden in places.
Serve with some finely chopped parsley scattered over the top.
How To Make Vegan Stuffed Squash
For a vegan version of this stuffed squash recipe, you can do a number of things. The easiest, of course, is to just swap the Italian hard cheese for vegan cheese. Use one that’s closest to parmesan.
If you’re not a fan of ready processed vegan cheese, you can make my vegan ‘parmesan’ instead and use that. It won’t have the same melting quality, but it will provide flavour and nutrition.
Finally, there’s the ‘nooch’ option. Add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the filling mix right at the end and forgo the melted cheese bit on top.
Otherwise, follow the recipe as is.
Other Squash Recipes You Might Like
- Pumpkin stew with borlotti beans & cavolo nero (vegan)
- Quinoa bowl with broccoli and pumpkin three ways (vegan)
- Roasted squash with sage & hazelnuts in brown butter
- Savoury bread pudding (vegan)
- Squash curry (vegan)
- Squash pizza with walnuts & goat’s cheese
- Squash & butter bean stew (vegan)
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this vegetarian stuffed squash recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for stuffing vegetables?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
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If you’d like more main meal recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Vegetarian Stuffed Squash. PIN IT.
Stuffed Squash: A Vegetarian Bean Version
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium winter squash butternut squash is good (I used an acorn squash weighing 900g)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 clove garlic peeled and finely chopped
- ½ red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped – use a mild chilli if you don’t like the heat or a whole chilli if you love things hot
- 1 large tomato weighing roughly 200g, or half a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 4 sprig fresh thyme leaves only
- 4 sprig fresh rosemary finely chopped leaves
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 400 g tinned black beans drained and rinsed
- 30 g vegetarian Parmesan style cheese grated and divided
- good grinding of black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan, 375℉, Gas 5).
- Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and membrane and discard.1 small to medium winter squash
- Brush a little of the olive oil over the top of the squash halves, including the newly created bowl. Place them cut-side-up on a greased or lined baking tray. Pop in the oven and roast for thirty minutes or until an inserted knife slides easily into the flesh.2 tbsp olive oil
- Meanwhile prepare the filling. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Throw in the cumin seeds and allow to sizzle for 30 seconds or so.1 tsp cumin seeds
- Add the onion and stir. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent.1 onion
- Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for a minute.2 clove garlic, ½ red chilli
- Finely chop the tomato and add to the pan along with the salt and herbs. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.1 large tomato, 4 sprig fresh thyme, 4 sprig fresh rosemary, ½ tsp sea salt
- Add the drained beans, stir and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid off, or until most of the liquid has disappeared. Remove from the heat.400 g tinned black beans
- Add the pepper along with half of the cheese and stir. Check for seasoning and add more if needed.good grinding of black pepper
- Spoon the filling into the squash bowls and pile it as high as necessary until all of the filling is used.
- Scatter the remaining cheese over the top and place back in the oven for ten minutes when the cheese should be melted and golden in places.
- Serve with a little finely chopped parsley scattered over the top.
Oh my goodness, these stuffed squash are amazing! Perfect for the holidays and so filling!
They are good and suitable for all sorts of occasions. So glad you liked them Katie.
It’s that time of the year and I have just got a squash bounty! Cannot wait to try this recipe!
It’s a good one and it sure beats peeling squash prior to cooking.
I used vegan parmesan and this was so hearty and delicious!
I agree, hearty and delicious it is. Thanks for letting us know you thought so too.
Loved this; great flavours, and good to use some of our tomatoes that are still ripening on the vine, and rosemary and thyme which are the only herbs in the garden at the moment. Don’t think I scooped out quite enough of the squash first time around, to fit all the filling in, and didn’t have any Italian cheese so used good old cheddar, strength 6, which was acceptable alternative. Will make again and get it even better next time! Thank you Choclette, for another winning recipe.
Just one question: if cooking with black beans from scratch, what weight of dried beans should I use? I bought a large bag of them but haven’t yet opened it!
Hi Nicki, thanks for commenting and with such a lovely positive one too. How much of the filling you can fit in will depend on the size and type of squash you use. Cheddar is a reliable standby for many recipes I find.
As for the dried beans 100g is roughly equivalent to a drained tin of beans. However, I find it more economical and easier to cook a whole bag of dried beans, then weigh them into 240g (which is equivalent (ish) to a tin of drained beans) batches and freeze. Hope that helps and that your second stuffed squash is indeed better next time.