Stuffed squash is one of our favorite meals during the summer months when the garden is overflowing with different squash varieties. This vegetarian stuffed squash recipe has a Tex-Mex flare that my children love, especially when we use scallop squash but you can use whatever summer squash, zucchini (courgette) or delica squash you happen to have.

We had never seen scallop squash until we moved to this area. The first time someone gave us some, it was a little overgrown and the skin was a little hard. I didn’t think it would sauté very well because of the skin and I’m a little too lazy to peel squash. So we cut it up, battered it and fried it. oh, yeah, it was good! But since we try to reserve our fried food calories for okra I knew I would have to figure out another way to cook it.

A couple of years ago I found several stuffed squash recipes and mixed them up and adapted them to our taste. Last week we harvest enough white squash to make stuffed flying saucers (as my children like to call them.)

We’ve used this recipe to stuff long zucchini, round zucchini (zapalitto) and acorn squash. They’ve all been delicious so just use what you have.

How to make vegetarian stuffed squash

I like to make the rice ahead of time, I usually make a pot of rice on the weekend to use throughout the week. This cuts down on the prep time when I’m making these for dinner. Although most of the time it takes to make stuffed squash is hands-off time.

For the black beans I use home canned beans but you can certainly use store bought, just buy the unseasoned ones.

You can play with the amounts of beans and rice, if you want more beans and less rice, just make the adjustments. I think having 6-8 total cups of beans and rice mixture is a good amount to serve 8 people.

We like to use scallop squash for stuffed squash but you can use any squash you have. If you use a summer squash you can eat the skin and if you use winter squash, like acorn squash, you won’t eat the skin because it will be too tough.

Vegetarian stuffed squash ingredients

8 small scallop squash (or 4 zucchini cut in half)
2 cups cooked black beans
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup salsa (or more)
1 Tbsp. cumin
salt, pepper and cilantro to taste
grated cheddar cheese

Vegetarian stuffed squash directions

Cut the top off the white squash – not all of it just about  a 3-4 inch circle. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds out.

Brush the insides of the squash with olive oil and put in a baking dish or cookie sheet and pop into the oven while it preheats to 350F. This will help soften them up and reduce the cooking time once they’re stuffed.

In a pan, combine beans, rice, salsa, cumin, salt, pepper and cilantro (optional – if you like it). Heat up the mixture until hot but not boiling.

Remove the squash from the oven and carefully stuff them with the beans and rice mixture.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until the squash is soft. Top with cheese and cook for another 10 minutes or until squash is soft.

To make this dairy free or vegan, substitute regular cheddar cheese with dairy free or vegan cheese.

Enjoy!

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