Air Fryer Acorn Squash (Stuffed)

Published: Oct 1, 2022 by Colleen 30 Comments

Air Fryer Acorn Squash is a perfect fall side dish or vegetarian main meal. Stuffed with quinoa, cranberries, apples and walnuts, it's delicious, hearty and filling. And it's perfectly seasoned with sage, thyme and lemon.

Air fryer stuffed acorn squash on a speckled with plate. — The quinoa stuffing is chock full of goodness

What is Acorn Squash?

Acorn is a type of winter squash. It gets its name because it looks just like a large acorn. Acorn squash has a mild, nutty, and slightly sweet flavor. Which makes it a ideal for stuffing.

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What is Acorn Squash?
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Ingredient Notes
How To Make Stuffed Acorn Squash
Helpful Tips
Common Questions
Serving Suggestions
More Delicious Squash
Recipe
Comments

Half of an air fried acorn squash stuffed with quinoa, apples, walnuts and cranberries. — Stuffed squash makes a beautiful presentation.

Why You'll Love this Recipe

Air fryer acorn squash takes about half the time as oven roasted acorn squash.
This delicious stuffed acorn squash recipe is a perfect simple side dish or the main dish.
All of the ingredients are nutritional super stars, and together, they are a super healthy combination. Acorn squash is high in Vitamin A, beta carotene, folate, and magnesium, as well as low in calories.
This vegan recipe is naturally gluten free.
Delicious air fryer acorn squash is protein packed! Quinoa is a complete protein, and walnuts add another hit of protein.

Ingredient Notes

It may seem like this recipe has a lot of ingredients, but it's really simple to make.

Onion, Celery and Apples Any type of apple works for this squash stuffing.
Olive Oil Olive oil is for sautéing the vegetables and also added to the quinoa stuffing.

The first four ingredients to go into the pan. — The first ingredients to go in the pan

Acorn Squash These winter squash are available from early fall throughout the winter months at farmer's markets and you can usually find them year round at the grocery store. Look for a squash that feels heavy for its size, and a dull dark green, or dark green and orange skin.
Quinoa Quinoa comes in white, red and black and they are all similar as far as nutritional values, cook time required and flavor. I like red quinoa for its vibrant color. And if you don't want to choose, try tricolor quinoa.
Cranberries You can use dried cranberries, fresh cranberries, or frozen (and defrosted) cranberries.
Walnuts Toasted walnuts bring a delicious crunch and nutty flavor to this stuffing. Substitute pecans or any other nut that you prefer.

Some of the ingredients for making this recipe. — The remainder of the stuffing ingredients

Lemon We'll be using the juice of one large lemon to add brightness.
Garlic Use fresh garlic, or pre minced garlic.
Sage and Thyme Fresh herbs are perfect, but you can also use dried if that's what you have.
Salt & Pepper

The herbs and seasonings needed for this recipe. — The flavor additions

How To Make Stuffed Acorn Squash

Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each end of the acorn squash half to allow them to stand upright. Cut the acorn squashes in half horizontally. Air fry them cut side down for 15 minutes

Two acorn squash halves cut side down in an air fryer basket. — Squash in the air fryer basket.

Sauté onion, celery, sage, thyme, and garlic until softened.
Add apples to the pan and cook for another minute.
Add walnuts and cook until they are toasted.
Stir in quinoa, cranberries, lemon juice and olive oil.

The four steps to making the squash filling. — Making the filling

Fill squash halves with the stuffing mixture and air fry 5 more minutes.

Two filled acorn squash halves in the air fryer basket after cooking. — Back in the air fryer

Helpful Tips

Acorn squash has a hard, thick skin which can make it difficult to cut .To make it easier, put the squash in the microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes until the skin has softened slightly. You'll be able to easily cut through the acorn squash. (Use a sharp knife).
Remove a thin slice from the bottom of each squash half to make it level enough for the squash half to stand upright. (You'll need to remove the stem).
You can roast the squash seeds and use them just like pumpkin seeds. Just rinse them using a colander, dry on paper towels, and toss with a little bit of olive oil and your favorite seasonings. Put the seeds in a single layer in the air fryer basket and air fry 10-15 minutes at 350°, shaking the basket frequently.
If you want to add some sweetness to this recipe, brush a little maple syrup on the cut sides and hollow of the squash halves before air frying them.
The quinoa stuffing can be made ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until it's time to make air fryer acorn squash. Allow the stuffing to come to room temperature while the squash is air frying.
The stuffing will fill 4 acorn squash halves. I used fairly small squash, so I had leftover stuffing. If you have bigger squash, you may not have any stuffing leftover.
If you do have leftover stuffing, store it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The stuffing makes a great side dish on it's own, or you can use it to make stuffed peppers or zucchini.
Reheat the stuffing covered, in the microwave.
Acorn squash is perfect for this recipe, but you can easily substitute any type of edible squash. Delicata squash, butternut squash, kabocha squash, or even cute little sweet dumpling squash (which resembles a small pumpkin). All of them work with this flavorful stuffing and require similar cook times as acorn squash.

Common Questions

Can you eat the skin of acorn squash?

Although the skin of the squash is thick and hard when raw, it becomes tender and soft when it's roasted or air fried. The skin is perfectly edible when it's cooked.

Can I make stuffed acorn squash in the oven?

Yes! To make this recipe in the oven, preheat it to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the prepared squash halves cut side up on it. Roast for 55-60 minutes (this will depend on the size of your squash) or until the halves are easily pierced with a fork.

Is this air fryer stuffed squash recipe gluten free?

Yes! All of the ingredients in this air fryer acorn squash recipe are naturally gluten-free. Quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain, and does not contain any gluten.

Is this recipe Keto friendly?

No, even though it's very high in fibre, quinoa especially is a high carb food, containing 39 net carbs per one cup cooked.

Two stuffed acorn squash halves on a white plate ready to serve. — Ready to serve

Serving Suggestions

Serve air fryer stuffed acorn squash as a main course with vegetable side dishes like Sautéed Green Beans With Garlic & Lemon, Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots, Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables or Air Fryer Zucchini. You can also pair it with a salad. Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad With Apples is a perfect choice.

Or serve this healthy dish as an impressive, but simple side dish for Roast Chicken, or Pork Tenderloin.

More Delicious Squash

Winter squash is delicious, versatile and nutritious. Besides this Air fryer stuffed acorn squash, you might want to try some of these squash recipes.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!