Hearty Stuffed Butternut Squash for fall! This side or main dish stuffs roasted butternut squash with a delicious tempeh sausage, wild rice, and mushroom filling. Bring it to Thanksgiving or make it for dinner!
Looking for more cozy vegan butternut squash recipes? You’ll love my Butternut Squash Lasagna, this Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup, and my Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas!
The more squash I can eat during fall and winter, the better! And this Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffed Butternut Squash is one recipe I’ve been craving all season long. So nutty, savory, and hearty, it’s a miracle when I end up with leftovers.
There are 3 components to this fall side dish:
- Roasted butternut squash. It’s sliced in half and hollowed out to act as the vessel for our filling.
- A well-seasoned tempeh “sausage,” wild rice, kale, and mushroom filling.
- A super simple garlic tahini sauce for drizzling over the mountain of filling and squash.
I’ll be serving this stuffed butternut squash with my favorite Vegan Turkey Roast and a big helping of my Classic Vegan Stuffing during the holiday season. What will you serve it with?
Why you have to try this wild rice-stuffed squash
- Best way to eat squash – I love roasted butternut squash as much as the next person, but it’s so much more fun to eat when the whole squash is stuffed with a delicious and hearty filling.
- So filling – One serving of this stuffed butternut squash recipe and I’m full. The tempeh sausage, wild rice, kale, and mushroom stuffing is so satisfying!
- Savory side dish – This recipe makes a lot of stuffed squash (enough for everyone at your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or family dinner). The filling is so savory and well-seasoned, I just know there’ll be at least a few guests asking for seconds!
How to make vegan wild rice-stuffed butternut squash
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Start by roasting the squash. Once sliced in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place the squash halves cut side up on a large baking sheet. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then turn them over and roast cut side down until fork tender.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Cook the wild rice in a saucepan on the stove until the water is absorbed. Set it aside.
Next, steam the tempeh with some water in a skillet until nearly all the water has evaporated. Add the olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, basil, oregano, chili flakes, and soy sauce to the pan and cook over medium heat.
Add the mushrooms and kale to the pan and cook until they have softened. Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the dried cranberries and cooked rice.
To stuff the squash, scoop some of the roasted flesh out, dice it into small pieces, and mix it with some of the sausage rice filling. Divide the filling between the hollowed-out squashes until they’re filled to the top (don’t be afraid to overfill them!).
Recipe Tip
You can save the rest of the scooped squash for another recipe, like my Butternut Squash Soup or my Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce!
Return the stuffed squash to the oven and roast again for 10 minutes.
Make the garlic tahini sauce while you wait. Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.
Recipe Tip
The quality of the tahini is really important here because it’s the main flavor component in the sauce. Taste it before you start… If it’s really bitter, I recommend starting over with a better-tasting brand.
To serve the stuffed butternut squash, drizzle the garlic tahini sauce over each one and enjoy while they’re still hot.
Frequently asked questions
Nope, there’s no need to peel the squash before you roast it. The peel actually holds the flesh in place and will make handling the squash much easier.
Butternut squash is an awkward shape that can be hard to cut sometimes. When this happens, zap it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it’s soft enough to slice.
Absolutely! This recipe would be just as fantastic with roasted acorn squash. Just keep in mind that acorn squash is smaller and won’t need to bake as long.
Swap the tempeh with store-bought vegan sausages instead. You’ll just need to omit spices and soy sauce since the sausages will already be seasoned. Give them a taste while cooking and adjust the flavors with added salt or soy sauce as needed.
I like the rustic feel of wild rice, but you don’t have to use it. Instead, try making the filling with cooked quinoa, farro, or brown rice.
Not inherently, no. For a gluten-free variation, use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce and gluten-free tempeh.
Sure. You can whisk the tahini sauce, roast and hollow out the squash halves, and make the filling 1 to 2 days in advance. Keep everything in separate containers in the fridge until it’s time to assemble and bake as normal.
Stuffed Butternut Squash
Ingredients
Butternut Squash
- 3 medium butternut squash 2-2.5 lbs each
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt + black pepper
Sausage and Wild Rice Mushroom Filling
- 3/4 cup wild rice
- 1 1/2 cups water for cooking the rice
- 16 ounces tempeh
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 4 cups loosely packed chopped kale
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Garlic Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Roast the Butternut Squash
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Carefully slice each squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the seeds and stringy flesh out.
- Place the squash cut side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and rub into the squash with your fingers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then turn the squash over cut side down on the pan.
- Roast in the oven for about 45-55 minutes, until it's fork tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Prepare the Filling
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the filling. In a small-medium saucepan, combine the rice and water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 40-45 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
- In a medium pan with a lid, crumble the tempeh small and add 1/2 cup of water. Steam, covered for about 5 minutes until nearly all the water has evaporated.
- Now add the olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, basil, oregano, chili flakes and soy sauce to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and kale to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms and kale have softened. Remove from heat and stir in the dried cranberries and cooked rice.
Stuff the Squash and Bake
- Once the squash is roasted, remove it from the oven and carefully turn the squash over. Let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the sides. Dice the squash you removed into small pieces and mix 3 cups with the sausage rice filling (save the rest of the cooked squash for another purpose, or use it all if you prefer).
- Divide the sausage rice squash filling among the hollowed out squashes and fill them to the top, molding them tall in the middle. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Make the Garlic Tahini Sauce and Serve
- In a medium bowl, add all sauce ingredients and whisk well until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add more water until it's creamy and pourable. If your tahini is thick and clumpy, use a food processor or blender to make the sauce smooth. *Make sure to taste your tahini first – if it's really bitter, start over with new tahini.
- Drizzle the garlic tahini sauce over the stuffed squash and serve immediately.
Notes
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Make Ahead – You could make the tahini sauce in advance, pre-bake the squash, hollow them out and prepare the filling ahead of time, perhaps a day or two in advance. When the time comes to serve, simply fill the squashes and bake until warm. Serve with sauce for drizzling.
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This will work with acorn squash as well, though acorn squash will need less time to bake.
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Gluten-free – Use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce and gluten-free tempeh.
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If you don’t prefer tempeh, you can use a 12-16 ounce package of store-bought vegan sausages instead, chopped up. Omit the spices and soy sauce following the tempeh in the ingredients if you do this, and just add salt or soy sauce to taste.
