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
Ingredients
- 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
- ¼ 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!
Jenny says
Delicious! I'm struggling to think of a dazzling Christmas dinner dish to try to avoid getting dragged into the veganism discussion with some distant relatives. My immediate family are fine with it, but I know that the others are going to bring it up and I'm already worrying about how to deal with it. Good food is the best defence, I suppose!
Bianca says
Definitely! Distract yourself from the discussions with lots of delicious food :) haha, but I feel ya! Last year we made a lentil/nut loaf for christmas, which was excellent, but it took way longer than expected :D Not sure what we are planning this year, but maybe I'm doing a seitan roast again...there's too much delicious vegan food in the world.
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Well thanksgiving = done! Seriously this is all I would need, it's like a whole thanksgiving feast in one, cranberry sauce and all. Heck I don't even need a plate since it comes with it's own bowl. This looks so super yummy Bianca! Ugh the vegan conversation...it always comes up at some point with family gatherings. Just don't say a word and shove deliciousness like this at people, probably the best tactic :D
Bianca says
Thank you so much, Natalie! Hahaa, I love your solution to dinner-table-discussions :))
I'm glad the acceptance for veganism got better in the last years, still there are questions like... "can you eat fruits?" "can you eat flour?" that still crack me up :D and yes, I really got asked these.. not even from the same person!
Debbie says
I just bring what I like to share and tell them nothing but if they ask I say I don't do dairy or meat. Somehow the word Vegan brings more eye rolls. Happy Thanksgivings !
Bianca says
Yep, I totally get that! :) Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
Rachelle Martins says
Hi folks -happy holidays! Can you sub couscous with quinoa in this dish?
Bianca says
absolutely! it will be just as delicious!