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Plus browned butter bread crumbs… but that just seemed too crazy long to add into that title!
The site is back to normal. YES!
And Friday could not come fast enough!
To celebrate Thursday and the anticipation for Friday, I have stuffed squash for you! Oh yeah, it is delicious. All roasted up with some butter and brown sugar.
Oh man.
That right there? Yeah, I could call that dinner and be so happy.
Actually, all fall food is making me so happy.
Please tell me I am not the only one lighting the pumpkin spice candles every single night, eating at least two honeycrisp apples a day, roasting a butternut squash every other day, dunking apples in caramel, adding pumpkin and cinnamon sugar to everything, caramelizing onions left and right, browning butter at least once a day and roasting a chicken once a week?
It is so my happy place. So cozy and the smells? The smells are like no other. It’s just awesome. I am obsessed with fall and I did not even know that was possible. It’s so possible
But whatever, I am loving every single minute of it.
Well, at least I’m trying too. The last couple days have been pretty crazy and just miserable (except for my hikes – so gorgeous here now), but things are looking up!
The idea for these came from these Healthy Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Skins that people kind of go crazy for. They’re so good, I think it is the combo of sweet and spicy.
As many of you know by now, this is kind of my favorite combo.
So they were a smash (sorry, I have smashed pumpkins on the brain)!
So good, the sweet brown sugar roasted squash mixed with the spicy chicken, the spinach and then couscous filling – so good! Then topped off with some sharp cheddar cheese and finished with browned butter bread crumbs!!
Yup, I am fully addicted to brown butter, but that’s been pretty obvious lately. I am also fairly sure that tomorrow’s post will most like include more. I seem to have fallen hard.
The squash take a little time since you have to roast them for close to an hour, but there is nothing hard about them and they can completely be made ahead of time and just thrown in the oven before dinner to re-warm and melt the cheese! Feel free to add any left over chicken you have on hand.
Roasted a chicken on Sunday and have the meat leftover? Use it! It would be perfect for this!
These cute little acorn squash halves are fall comfort food done just a little bit healthier. Which in my book still includes CHEESE… and of course browned butter.
Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Brown Sugar Roasted Acorn Squash
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 702 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash halved and seeded
- 2 tablespoons butter softened to room temp or melted
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders or breast
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 3 in whole canned chipotle chilies adobo minced (use less for less heat)
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup cooked couscous may sub rice or quinoa
- 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Browned Butter Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Brush the insides of each acorn squash with 2 tablespoons melted butter and then sprinkle on the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Place in roasting pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and swirl the liquid around the flesh of the squash and coat it well, trying to use up all the sauce/butter that formed while baking, then discard any remaining liquid.
- While the squash the squash is baking also bake the chicken. Place the chicken in a baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is no long pink in the middle. During the last 10 minutes of cooking add the chopped spinach to one side of the baking dish and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Place back in the oven until the spinach is wilted, about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes, then shred the chicken with two forks or your hands.
- In a medium size bowl combine the remaining olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, fresh cilantro, oregano, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Mix the spinach, chicken, cooked couscous and chipotle sauce together. Now grab the acorn squash halves and stuff with the chicken mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and acorn squash is crisp.
- While the squash bakes make the brown butter bread crumbs. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter. Melt butter over medium heat until just browned. Butter will melt, foam, and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Quickly remove from the stove and whisk about 30 seconds longer. Let sit 2 minutes and them stir in the Panko bread crumbs.
- Remove the acorn squash from the oven and top with fresh cilantro and the browned butter bread crumbs. Devour!
- The squash can be made ahead, stuffed and then refrigerated until ready to eat. Just bake as directed.
Ah, heck yes!
As vegetarians, we love the havarti wild rice version of this recipe from your cookbook. We’ve made it for Christmas dinner the last 2 years! Our only issue is finding other uses for chili in adobo. We have made bbq sauce with it and put it in the food processor with hummus for a spicy kick! But we are always left with a lot of leftover chilis and sauce. Any good ideas that we can use it for?
Hey Aubrey,
Happy New Year!!🎆 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your review! You could put it into chili! xT
You can freeze the chilis and sauce. Just put them in a baggie and flatten it and put in the freezer. Then you just cut off however much you need for future recipes.
Excellent recipe! Complex, rich flavors that really embellish the subtle nature of the acorn squash. The notes of fresh lime against the spicy chicken coupled with the crispy panko makes for a memorable experience. I chose to decrease the spiciness to make the other flavors stand out, which I did by using only 1 chipotle pepper, omitting the cayenne, and using 1.5 tsp chili powder. It’s a keeper for sure!
Hey Justin,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄
I wrote a review for this recipe yesterday, but it mysteriously vanished…
It was long and I don’t wish to rewrite it, but I will leave the stars.
LOL how weird!! So glad the recipe was enjoyed:) Thanks for the review! xx
So happy to have acorn squash ideas beyond the classic, but usual, butter/brown sugar. Although requiring both oven and stovetop cooking makes it more time intensive than a typical weeknight dinner. I found the half pound chicken an awkward quantity, so baked 1.5 pounds and made two cups of couscous and chipotle sauce. I’m thinking of either freezing the extra filling to have in a week or so, or just eating as is with fresh spinach. What I love about this, and many of the recipes on this site, is that it is pretty easy to make your own minor adjustments with confidence that the end result will work out. For example, toasted walnuts or beyond burger could make this vegetarian in a snap. Can also see this with leftover turkey as a Thanksgiving weekend meal.
One aside, directions appear to have been written a little hastily. It would help in the ingredients list to note that some cilantro is desired for garnish. Also, the cayenne is missing from the instructions step – I omitted it and later realized it was likely intended for the sauce. Not a big deal, but mentioning it.
Hey Michelle,
Fantastic!! 🍁🍂 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xT
I made these this past week and they were delicious, and are very fancy compared to my usual dinners. I will definitely make again.
Hey Nancy,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out! xT🍂