Couscous-Stuffed Acorn Squash (+Video)

This is one of my favorite recipes for a fancy vegan Thanksgiving meal: Couscous-Stuffed Acorn Squash with smoked tofu bits and mushrooms. Serve it with homemade Cranberry Sauce and dig in! 

Oh, the beloved holidays! I love being all in a festive mood, but eating together with relatives can be – exhausting, to be honest. And as a vegan, it usually doesn’t really get better. 4 years in, I’m used to discussing my food choices over the dining table. I try to stay away from these discussions, but you can’t run away when sitting together and having dinner, right?!

One thing that has helped to make the whole situation easier for all, is bringing/prepping great-looking vegan dishes! No one will pity you for your sad-looking food with this amazing Couscous-Stuffed Acorn Squash!

I LOVE to impress omnivores with delicious plant-based food and I believe with stuffed roasted acorn squash it is really easy to make that happen.

For the filling, I used couscous, mushroom slices, tiny crispy smoked tofu cubes, shallot, garlic, and fresh parsley and topped it all off with the super simple 3-ingredient Cranberry Sauce that I made from scratch. It’s a simple-to-make but fancy-looking dinner inspiration for Thanksgiving!

Couscous-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Elephantastic Vegan

This is one of my favorite recipes for a fancy vegan Thanksgiving meal: Couscous-Stuffed Acorn Squash with smoked tofu bits and mushrooms. Serve it with a homemade Cranberry Sauce and dig in!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Vegan

Servings 2

Calories 292 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 acorn squash
• ▢ olive oil for brushing the squash and for the pan
• ▢ ⅔ cup water
• ▢ ½ cup couscous
• ▢ 1 pinch curry powder
• ▢ salt
• ▢ 1 cup mushrooms , cleaned and sliced
• ▢ 1/4 cup smoked tofu , small cubed
• ▢ 1 shallot , finely sliced
• ▢ 1 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh parsley , chopped
• ▢ Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
• Cut the acorn squash in half, spoon out the seeds and brush the inside with olive oil. Put the acorn squash halves with the inside down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes, until soft, then flip them and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the filling: Boil the water for the couscous, add curry powder and a pinch of salt, then take the pot off the cooktop, add in the couscous, put the lid on top and let it absorb. In a pan, cook the mushroom slices (add a bit of salt) until brownish then put them in a bowl and set them aside. Pan-fry the smoked tofu cubes in the pan until crispy and set them aside as well. Caramelize the shallots and garlic. Once all the mix-ins for the filling are ready, pour them all back in the pan, mix in the couscous, fresh parsley and give it a good mix. Add salt to taste.
• Spoon the filling into the roasted acorn squash and serve with homemade Cranberry Sauce!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 11gFat: 1gSodium: 31mgPotassium: 1074mgFiber: 6gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 960IUVitamin C: 28.9mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan!