When it comes to the holidays, I always appreciate a hearty and meaty main dish that is meat-free (obviously). It’s a great way to show your family and friends that vegan recipes can be incredibly satisfying and don’t require your tastebuds to sacrifice anything. Which is why I’m sharing this recipe for a delicious Creamy Lentil Stuffed Butternut Squash!
First holiday season as a vegan? Check out my holiday survival guide for vegans!
Table of Contents:
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Step-by-step instructions
3. Tips for making this recipe
4. More vegan holiday side dishes
5. Recipe card with notes
Why you’ll love this recipe
Healthy indulgence. It’s hearty and creamy and packed with so much flavor, but it’s completely vegan, gluten-free, and won’t weigh you down. The lentil filling is rich, creamy, and packed with such incredible flavor (sticky browned onions, lots of garlic and fresh herbs, red wine, tahini, and balsamic vinegar).
Umami heaven. The filling honestly tastes meaty, which is crazy because there’s no meat or meat substitute in it. My partner said this recipe gets a 10 out 10 on the “umami meter.” The trio of ingredients at the end—tahini, miso, and balsamic vinegar—bring so much flavor to this dish so please don’t skip them!
A flavor explosion in your mouth. The tahini brings creaminess and nuttiness, the miso brings a punch of savory richness, and the balsamic vinegar bring a slightly sweet and tangy bite.
Step-by-step instructions
First, slice your butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and gunk, then transfer the squash halves to a large baking sheet, cut side up. Brush each squash half with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast the squash at 425°F for 45-50 minutes until fork tender and lightly browned.
Meanwhile, make the creamy lentil filling. Dice the onions and chop the garlic, rosemary, and sage. Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan and add the diced onions. Cook 8-9 minutes until browned. Then add the garlic, sage, and rosemary and cook 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then deglaze the pan with the red wine.
Pour in the vegetable broth, lentils, paprika, and bay leaf.
Simmer the lentils for about 30 minutes, or until al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed. Finally, stir in the tahini, miso, and balsamic vinegar. Add salt to taste.
When the butternut squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out most of the flesh from each half, but leave a border around the sides and bottom and don’t scoop too deeply.Add the lentil filling into each squash cavity. Bake at 350F° for 15 minutes until warmed through.
Make the butternut-tahini sauce. In a food processor, blend together 1 cup of the scooped out squash flesh, tahini, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth, then pour over the squash when ready to serve.
Tips for making this recipe
When you scoop the flesh out of the roasted butternut squash, be gentle so that you don’t scoop too deeply or forcefully, or you’ll cut through the skin of the flesh.
If used rosemary and sage in this recipe, but you can use any combination of sturdy woodsy herb, including thyme and oregano.
How to make this recipe ahead of time: Make the lentil filling a day or two in advance, and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Roast the squash halves a day or two in advance, and store tightly covered or in an airtight container in the fridge. Make the butternut-tahini sauce the same day you roast the squash. On the day of serving, stuff the squash and bake in the oven for just 15 minutes!
More vegan holiday side dishes
- Mashed Potatoes: fluffy yet creamy mashed potatoes just like you love, but vegan
- Scalloped Potatoes: Outrageously good cheesy, creamy pillows that melt in your mouth
- Vegan Gravy: A deeply savory and boldly flavored mushroom gravy
- Crispy Baked Mac and Cheese: cheesy, creamy, and crispy (and more nourishing than you’d expect!)
- Wild Mushroom Stuffing: an umami-rich spin on the classic stuffing
- Pumpkin Stuffed Shells: cheesy, chewy, garlicky, and creamy!
- Vegan Cornbread: crispy-crusted and buttery and practically melts in your mouth!
Creamy Lentil Stuffed Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 3 medium butternut squash
- Regular olive oil or avocado oil for roasting
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Creamy Lentil Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (you will need more oil if not using a nonstick pan)
- 2 large yellow onions, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage leaves
- 2 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) dry red wine (such as Pinot Noir, Shiraz/Syrah, or Malbec)
- 1 cup (190g) green or brown lentils
- 2 ⅔ cups (640 mL) vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
- 2 ½ tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoons white miso paste
- 2-3 teaspoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
Butternut-Tahini Sauce
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash (from the scooped out halves)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3-6 tablespoons water or vegetable broth, more as needed to thin the sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Slice each butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and sticky stuff with a spoon. Place each squash half, cut side up, on a large baking sheet and rub each with a bit of the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 45-50 minutes, or until the flesh is fork tender and lightly browned.
- Make the Creamy Lentil Filling. Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onions and season with a pinch of salt and sauté for 8-9 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning but not too often so that they can brown, or until most of the onions are browned. Add the garlic, sage and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine into all of the ingredients, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and pour in the red wine and deglaze the pan, stirring up any browned bits, until the liquid has evaporated and the smell of alcohol has dissipated, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, along with the lentils, bay leaf, and paprika. Stir to combine and increase the heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to maintain a rapid simmer, and simmer until the lentils are just tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the tahini, miso, and balsamic vinegar, and stir until well incorporated. Taste for seasonings, adding about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside.
- When the roasted squash is cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scoop out the flesh from each squash half, leaving a ½ to ¾-inch -thick border around the sides and bottom.
- Transfer 1 cup of the butternut squash flesh to a food processor (set aside the rest for another use, such as a risotto, pasta, oatmeal, or smoothie).
- Reduce oven temperature to 350F° (175°C).
- Stuff the lentil filling into each squash cavity. Add the stuffed squash halves to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until everything is warmed through.
- Meanwhile, make the butternut tahini sauce. To the food processor with the 1 cup squash flesh, add the tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and blend until smooth. Stream in the water or broth, scraping down the sides as you go, until you have a pourable but thick sauce.
- To serve, drizzle the butternut tahini sauce on top of the stuffed baked squash. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
I have made this twice thus far. Once as directed and the second time, just the lentil filing over noodles. Perfect recipe. I have made many recipes from blog and cookbook. Every recipe is a winner.
Thanks for the awesome review, Elizabeth. It makes us so happy to hear you’re such a fan of the recipes! :)
Absolutely delicious, thank you so much Nisha…. I love your vegan recipes all the time, specially the one with lentils or beans.
You’re very welcome, Ammie!
Made this for my vegan adult son’s birthday. He was very impressed. Thought it was in Gourmet category. A very tasty dish with new flavours. I used small butternut squashes. Perfect for one serving. Processed all the squash filling and will use remaining sauce to add to baked veggies to tomorrow. I will definitely make it again.
Love all your recipes.
So lovely to hear, Leanne! Thank you so much for sharing that with us :)
Made this for the vegan Thanksgiving main and it was so so delicious! Tons of flavor in the lentils and the sauce was such a nice (and easy) add-on. Will probably make again next year :)
Perfect! Thanks for sharing that with us, Hannah!
Hi Nora! I’ve seen this recipe a few times and since I must make it once it gets cold here in south Texas! Since it was cold and rainy yesterday I finally got around to making it and it was amazing! I admit I forgot to buy red cooking wine and used some white wine I had in my fridge plust I wished I had left the lentils cooking longer and covered. Nevertheless, this was an amazing dish! I plan to make others soon! Currently enjoying it with jasmine rice and air fried tofu.
Wonderful, thanks for sharing Brenda! Good to hear you’re a big fan of the squash!
Nisha,
I made this to rave reviews.
Your recipes and precise instructions, when followed, turn an average cook into a gourmet chef. I’m vegetarian and my gf is vegan. We both love your recipes, and every week I look forward to your emails. Thank you.
Sina
Aw, we’re honored to hear you two are such fans of the recipes. Thanks for the awesome review! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
This was delightful! 10 stars!!
So lovely to hear, Jack! :)
I love this recipe! Made it last year for Thanksgiving and we’ll be making it again this year!
Thanks for sharing, Maria! We’re delighted a RPL recipe made it onto your holiday table :)
Another delicious recipe! Can’t wait to make it again. So simple and so delicious. Thank you for all your perfect recipes!!!
Quick question: do you think you could do the same recipe with acorn squash instead of butternut? They have similar flavor profiles–just wondering if you’ve tried…
Hi Olivia, yes definitely! We haven’t tried it but it would work!
Tastes really amazing, especially with the sauce on top! I didn’t want to use red wine, so I used red wine vinegar. But it looks like it was too much vinegar, so I had to correct it with some baking soda. Still ended up tasting pretty great though. Oh, and I didn’t have miso paste, so I used soy sauce instead.
I loved this recipe, from the presentation to the deep, complex flavours. I’ll just leave a couple of side notes:
1. Use very small squash. I took the two smallest (instead of 3) I found at the fruit shop and still, it was impossible to fill them. Maybe squash is smaller in the US, but take this into account.
2. It took me much more time and water to cook the brown lentils, even if they were soaked! Although I’m sure this plays a positive role in its flavour.
I’m now wondering what’s the best use for the big squash purée that we didn’t use.
You can make butternut soup with the scooped out flesh from the butternut or use it in panzerotti, use you imagination there are tons of things. You could make frittatas, ooh im salivating thinking of all the things. Good luck
Loved this recipe!!
Glad to hear it, Kathy!!
One of my favorite family recipes by far! Don’t skip the sauce – it adds a mellow creamy taste to the dish. Thanks for posting
Rose, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
I made this yesterday for some friends coming to dinner…omg its so nice and flavoursome! I’ll definitely be making it again. I made the filling and roasted the squash the say before so it was less stressful yesterday. Thank you!
Awesome, Liza. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
We made this last night. I soaked the brown lentils with baking soda per your videos (which we binge every now and then). This must be the key to cooking them in 30 minutes or less! I wasn’t enjoying the flavor of the lentil mixture UNTIL we added the butternut-tahini drizzle – it needs THAT sweetness and creaminess to tie it together. Thank you for another delicious recipe!
Heidi, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
Took more liquid then the recipe called for also the pan should be covered. so the lentils cook quicker. The taste was very good and the recipe was easy to follow. I will definitely add this recipe to my weekly meal plan. Thank you
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Renee!
Great recipe, I got to impress my family for Christmas 😊
Awesome, R. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
I loved the complex flavors of this dish. I served it as a main course for Sunday dinner and it was perfect. It took awhile for the lentils to cook, so I kept adding liquid. The sauce is delicious. I’m new to your site and can’t wait to try more recipes.
Laurie, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
This was soooo amazing! I wondered about the miso and the balsamic vinegar but it gave it a great taste! Highly recommend!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Rhonda!