This festive stuffed butternut squash with cranberries, leeks, buckwheat and orange makes a colourful plant based centre piece fit for any celebration. It’s topped with Brussels sprout chips which are just as good as a garnish as they are for a side dish in their own right!
Maybe you’ll be having turkey on Christmas day like me, and looking for veggie alternatives for other days of the week, maybe you haven’t yet decided on your vegetarian Christmas main and this could suit, or maybe you just want another dish to add to your future Christmas Pinterest board? Either way I present you my festive stuffed butternut squash with Brussels sprout chip garnish.
Stuffed vegetables make a lighter alternative to nut roast, which I have to say I’m not massively convinced about. By adding cranberries and orange this is full of festive flavours and festive colours too. Plus the sprout chips make the perfect crisp green brassica garnish! Kale chips who?
If you’re looking for more vegetarian or vegan festive centrepieces, I’ve put together a list of some others I’d love to try. Help me change my mind about a nut roast maybe??
- Nut Roast (vegan and gluten free) from Fab Food 4 All (this may change my mind about nut roasts!)
- Christmas Tofu Wreath from Demuth’s Cooking School (where I got my diploma earlier this year, loads of ideas on their site)
- Kale Lovers Christmas Pie from the Veg Space
- Christmas Mushroom and Lentil Wellington from Tinned Tomatoes
- Lentil & Brazil Nut Roast with Sage & Onion Stuffing & Red Wine Gravy from Tin & Thyme
- Chestnut & Cashew Nut Roast (Vegan) from Thinly Spread
My favourite side dish to go with this is Able & Cole’s Braised Red Cabbage. Stunningly simple.
- 2 small butternut squash, split in half, seeds scooped out.
- 75 g buckwheat, rinsed well
- 1 medium leek, finely sliced
- 75 g fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
- Zest of ½ orange, plus juice half orange
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- You will need approximately 3 sprouts per person
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
- Pre-heat oven to 200º C (fan).
- Place the butternut squash halves on a baking try cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season, then bake for 45-60 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Reduce oven temp to 180ºC (fan).
- Cook the buckwheat in a pan of salted boiling water (as you would for pasta), for 13 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan, over a medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for up to 10 minutes, of until fully softened. Add the cranberries, garlic and herbs and cook for another minute or so. Remove from the heat.
- When the squash is cooked, scoop out the flesh leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Mash the filling, and add to the cooked leek mix. Add the buckwheat, orange zest and juice then season to taste. Stuff the filling back in the squash shells and bake in the oven at 180ºC (fan) for a further 10 minutes.
- Break the sprouts into individual leaves, Do this by first removing the base and then easing them off. Toss lightly with olive oil and season then bake at 180ºC for 5 minutes (check regularly as they burn easily, rather like kale chips)
- Sprinkle over the cooked squash.
Recipe originally posted in 2017. Updated in 2020.
This looks super tasty and festive, I could eat butternut squash every day I think:-) Thanks for linking to my post:-)
What a great looking veggie dish that would keep me happy over the festive period. I think all the vegetables and accompaniments we eat at Xmas are often better than the turkey itself. Hope you have a Happy Christmas Ceri!
Thank you Laura. I quite agree (though I do love a bit of turkey and gravy!). Have a good one! Ceri x
I am so torn about this one. I can’t stand brussels sprouts, but then I want to like them. Maybe this will be the recipe that persuades me at last.
Shared!
Have a great Christmas Ceri xx
Well you’ll be pleased to hear Jac the Brussels sprout chips don’t maketh the dish, so leave em out! Seriously though, they taste so different done like this, give em a whirl… Have a great Christmas! x