This Acorn Rice Pilaf Salad is simply hearty and healthy and is a good addition to Fall dinner menu!
What to Make with Acorn Squash
Have you ever tried eating rice pilaf from a squash? I suppose not. Me neither. But for some reason, when Fall is approaching I start to think of all things Fall vegetables and what I can make with them. What to make with squash is tough because I never seem to know what to do. I believe I once saw something on Pinterest with with a salad of some sort in a Squash. I don’t remember what it was or how it was made. That was years ago. But this lead to my creation of this Squash Rice Pilaf Salad. I made a similar recipe a couple years ago that never made it to the blog. I thought I would make a version again and share it.
Squash Rice Pilaf Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 Acorn Squash
- 1/4 Cup Wild Rice
- 1 Cup Brown Rice
- 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
- 3 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Directions:
Wash and dry squash. Cut them in halves lengthwise. Scoop out shredding and seeds (or leave as is). Sprinkle with 1 TBSP Olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes, until tender. Let cool. Scrape out shredding and seeds if you didn’t do that before. Keep the seeds to add to this dish, if you’d like.
- While squash is baking, separately cook rice pilaf & rice according to package directions. You could make ahead and store in the fridge.
Rice Pilaf: Heat 2 TBSP Olive Oil in a skillet. Add salt, pepper, paprika. Stir. Mix in rice and pilaf. Use a fork or pasta server to mix together.
Note: Using a spoon can sometimes make the rice a little too stuck together. A fork or something with spikes helps it to loosen up. When combined, turn off heat.
To assemble: Fill each half of the squash with rice pilaf mixture. Top with cranberries, pumpkin seeds, squash seeds, if you saved them, and a dried parsley. Yum!!
You got to scoop out squash with the pilaf. It tastes real good.
Make Ahead:
- Bake the squash ahead, placed in the refrigerator until ready for use. I don’t suggest more than a week.
- Cook Rice Pilaf and rice and place in the refrigerator
- When ready to serve, remove everything from the fridge.
- Fry the rice and pilaf mixture (see above)
- Fill squash halves with pilaf, then top with dried cranberries and parsley flakes.
Making this Squash Rice Pilaf Recipe ahead is helpful for when you are short on time. Put the squash in the oven to bake while you are busy doing other matters of the home, then refrigerate. That way, when you want a quick dinner if you’ve been out all day or what not, then assembling the salad would be very easy to make.
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She looketh well to the ways of our household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).
