Name: Stuffed Butternut Squash
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 2 butternut squash; pinch salt; pinch black pepper; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 red onion (diced); 1 yellow pepper (diced); 250 g cooked cannellini beans (Approx drained weight from a 400g can); 400 g tinned tomatoes; 1 tsp dried basil; 1 tsp dried oregano; 50 g spinach; 70 g cheese (I used cheddar)

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

This stuffed butternut squash is easy to make and delicious. I've stuffed it with a thick leftover vegetarian bean stew but you can make it from scratch too! It's a simple nutritious recipe that easily gives you some of your 5 a day!

Once squash season comes around there are just so many great ways to use them. I love butternut squash in curries, soups and stews. I also love to cut it into slices or chunks and roast it in the oven.

Butternut squash is also absolutely perfect as a stuffed vegetable too. It's the right shape and half a squash is the perfect size for one person.

What can you stuff butternut squash with?

Well, I love to stuff it with couscous, leftover curry and leftover stews just as I've done with this recipe. When I first made this stuffed butternut squash it wasn't planned at all. We had some bean stew left over. It was a very simple stew. Just tinned tomatoes, cannellini beans, onions, carrots and peppers.

To make it go far enough I just roasted the butternut squash and stuffed it with the stew. I then topped it with some cheese. It was just a meal made from leftovers but I couldn't have made an easier meal if I had planned it.

It was so tasty that I've since turned it into a recipe in its own right.

What ingredients do you need for this stuffed butternut squash?

To make this recipe you'll need:

Butternut squash - You could replace this with a different kind of squash.
Seasoning - A little salt and black pepper
Olive oil - You can replace this with a different oil.
Onion - I usually use red onions but brown onions are great too.
Garlic - I love adding garlic to stews like this! Use lazy garlic if you don't have fresh garlic.
Bell pepper - Use red, yellow or orange.
Cannellini beans - I think these are great in this stew but you can also use black beans or kidney beans.
Tinned tomatoes
Herbs - Use dried or fresh herbs. I like to use basil and oregano as they add a lovely mediterranean flavour.
Spinach - Or you could use kale
Cheese - Use a cheese that melts well. I usually use cheddar but mozzarella and red Leicester are also great.

How can you adapt this recipe?

If you don't want to make the filling from scratch you can just use this recipe as inspiration and stuff a squash with any other leftover stew or thick soup.

If you are following the recipe then feel free to adapt the stew. Add a few extra vegetables such as aubergine (eggplant), sweetcorn or peppers. Add a chilli pepper too for a bit of heat.

Storing and reheating

Any leftover stuffed butternut squash can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat thoroughly in the oven or microwave.

However if you are making this with leftover stew, don't reheat too often and bear in mind that it will probably keep well for three days from when it was first made, not from when it was used as a stuffing for the squash.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, if you want to freeze it then freeze it as soon as it has cooled. It should freeze well for at least three months.

Defrost and then bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes.. Cover the top of the squash with aluminium foil so that it doesn't burn and heats all the way through.

Recipe