Wondering how to turn acorn squash into a meal? Try this Mexican-inspired acorn squash enchiladas for a fun, flavourful and delicious meatless meal.

Enchillada-Filled Acorn Sqaush

If you’re looking for a delicious meatless meal that’s perfect for Fall, look no further than this Enchilada acorn squash. Filled with a vegetable and fibre-rich enchilada inspired filling, and topped with cheese and sour cream. The sauce is my homemade version of enchilada sauce, nice and spicy, combined with corn, black beans. If you’d like to add some protein, stir in some cooked chicken or left-over Thanksgiving turkey.

Aside from the passive roasting time of the squash, the sauce comes together really quickly with canned corn and black beans, so it’s a great meal for a weeknight.

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Ingredients and substitutions

Acorn Squash – acorn squash are the smaller dark green squash that look kind of like an acorn. They are easily available and are perfect for this dish. That said, any small squash would work well here, as well.

Enchilada Sauce – this recipe uses a homemade enchilada sauce. You can substitute a store-bought enchilada sauce if you prefer. Simply omit the passata and spices in the recipe and replace it with a similar amount of enchilada sauce.

Recipe tips!

  • The enchilada sauce is pleasantly spiced for adult tastes. If you are cooking for kids who aren’t spice lovers, you may want to scale it back a bit.
  • Make it vegan by skipping the cheese and sour cream on top or replacing with vegan equivalents.
  • As mentioned, if you’d like to add some protein, stir in some left-over cooked chicken or start with an easy store-bought rotisserie chicken.
  • The sauce is quite thick. If it seems too thick, you can thin with a splash of water or chicken stock.
Enchillada Filled Acorn Sqaush

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Get the Recipe: Acorn Squash Enchiladas

Roasted acorn squash, filled with a corn and black bean filling in homemade enchilada sauce. Topped with cheese and sour cream. Can be made with leftover cooked chicken, as well!
5 stars from 4 ratings
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 2 acorn squash, cut in half, with seed and pulp removed
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • Salt and pepper

Filling:

  • 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/4-1/3 cup jalapeno, diced, seeds removed
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups passata , strained tomatoes in jar or canned crushed tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste, optional
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped, or flat leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1/4 teasoon oregano
  • pinch cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup canned corn kernels , or thawed frozen corn
  • 3/4 cup canned black beans , drained and rinsed

Topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, (I used half mozzarella half cheddar)
  • Sour cream, to serve
  • Chopped jalapeno or cilantro, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until tender (flip them over and test with a fork).
  • When squash is done, remove from oven and increase oven heat to 425 Carefully flip the squash over on the baking sheet so the cut side is up. Brush with a bit of butter, then generously season with salt and pepper. Allow to stand on the baking sheet while you prepare the filling.
  • Prepare the filling: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, another 30-45 seconds. Add passata, tomato paste, cilantro, cumin, chilli powder, oregano, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add corn and black beans. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring regularly, for 4-5 minutes, or until beans and corn are heated through. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, as necessary.
  • Place warm filling in to the roasted squash on baking sheet, dividing it between the 4 squash halves. Top with grated cheese. Place in to 425 oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with diced jalapeno or cilantro.

Notes

Add some protein to this dish if you like, by stirring some cooked chicken or turkey into the filling.
You can substitute a store-bought enchilada sauce if you prefer. Simply omit the passata and spices in the recipe and replace it with a similar amount of enchilada sauce.
Be sure to read the notes above the recipe card for more tips on making this recipe!
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Main Course
Author: Jennifer Maloney
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 373kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 541mg, Potassium: 1441mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 2076IU, Vitamin C: 44mg, Calcium: 331mg, Iron: 5mg
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