Creamed spinach stuffed butternut squash
Cheesy creamed spinach stuffed butternut squash is a delicious, crowd pleasing side dish or vegetarian main. It’s creamy, cheese and absolutely irresistible.
Spinach and butternut squash are two vegetables that are widely served in South Africa. Most chain restaurants serve these two as their vegetable side dish options and I have never complained. Because I LOVE creamed spinach and I LOVE butternut squash. So what happened when I combined these two loves of mine? THIS, my friends. The cheesiest, creamiest creamed spinach stuffed into sweet, roasted butternut and baked until golden brown and delicious. I mean, have you ever seen anything so glorious? Hellloooooo Thanksgiving side dish!
Ingredients needed
- Butternut squash.
- Spinach.
- Butter/olive oil.
- Onion.
- Fresh garlic cloves.
- Flour. I used all-purpose flour but you can use gluten free flour if needed.
- Milk. Use any milk of your choice.
- Cream. Heavy cream or whipping cream.
- Salt and black pepper. I sometimes add a sprinkle of grated nutmeg or herbs like sage and thyme for extra flavor.
- Mozzarella cheese.
- Parmesan cheese.
How to make stuffed butternut squash
Half two whole butternut squash and season generously with salt. Place into a roasting pan or deep baking sheet and add boiling water. Cover with foil and place in a preheated oven to bake for 30-45 minutes until fork tender. In the meantime, make the creamed spinach by sauteeing the onion and garlic in a large skillet or pan until soft and translucent over medium heat. Add the spinach and allow to wilt before adding the flour. Stir to coat the spinach in the flour then pour in the milk and cream. Stir until smooth then allow to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened and is smooth. Season with salt and pepper (a little grated nutmeg would be delicious here too) and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before stirring in the cheese.
Remove the roasted butternut from the oven then scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh in the “neck”part of the butternut to create a hollow for the spinach. Scoop the cheesy creamed spinach mixture into the butternut and top with grated Parmesan cheese. Place back in the oven and allow to bake for another 10 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve.
Can I make this ahead?
This recipe can be completely prepped up to 24 hours in advance and kept covered with foil in the refrigerator. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave oven.
What to serve with stuffed butternut
This recipe will make a great vegetarian main dish, especially for events like Thanksgiving. It’s also a great side dish and works so well with roasts.
Butternut squash recipes
- Honey roasted butternut squash soup
- Butternut risotto with haloumi
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta With Pancetta And Sage
Creamed spinach stuffed butternut squash
Ingredients
- 2 butternut squash halved
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup boiling water
For the creamed spinach
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 750 g (1½lbs) baby spinach washed
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Place the halved butternut squash into a deep roasting pan then season with the salt.
- Pour the boiling water into the pan and cover with foil.
- Place in the oven and allow to roast for 30-45 minutes until soft. Once roasted, scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh. Set aside.
- While the butternut is roasting, make the creamed spinach. Saute the onion and garlic in 2 tsp of olive oil until soft and translucent.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted then add the flour and stir into the spinach. Pour in the milk and stir until the sauce is smooth then add the cream. Allow to simmer gently for 7-10 minutes or until the sauce is thick and smooth. Season to taste and remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before adding the mozzarella cheese.
- Once the butternut is roasted, spoon the creamed spinach into the hollows of each butternut and top with Parmesan cheese.
- Place back in the oven and allow to cook until the tops are golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
First, Alida, you should add spinach to the Ingredients Needed list. Threw off my shopping.
But more importantly, I tried this recipe and it was fantastic. I cooked up some Italian sausage and added it to the creamed spinach to make it a hearty meal.
Also, when the squash was baked, I scooped some out and stirred it into the spinach mixture to even out the ratio of squash/spinach per bite.
I’ve added the spinach, thanks for notifying me. 🙂
Sooo delicious and easy
Hi, this look so yummy I can’t wait to make it.
Have you or anyone else tried making this all the way up to putting the whole thing in the oven but freezing it and cooking it at a later date? x
I haven’t. I would be nervous that the cream would split once thawed. You could definitely make it 1-2 days ahead and keep in covered in the fridge before baking, though.
Hi, this looks yum…could I save the last step and make ahead the day before?
Yup! Just bake before serving.
This was so easy and yummy the best vegetarian dish I’ve had in a while used Greek yogurt in place of cream on mine really enjoyed it
Thanks a million
Yum! Made this for dinner tonight. I made just half of a butternut squash and scaled down the sauce to match. I added cooked bacon to the creamed spinach. Also, I scored the long end of the squash and removed a bit before spreading the creamed spinach over the entire squash. Really delicious.
This was AMAZING! I had some leftover chicken, so I diced it up and added it to the creamy spinach sauce, along with your suggestion of nutmeg. It was outstanding. Thank you for sharing this amazing and easy recipe!
So happy you liked it.
This was VERY good! I added mushrooms, kale and sage to mine!
Yum!
I added some cooked hot Italian sausage,crumbled….delicious!
Even my 4 year old couldn’t resist eating this!!! So creamy and savory. Delicious ?
Fantastic and easy! Actually made it as a main meal and added lean mince and cream-style sweet corn, thank you! ?
Amazing recipe! Very delicious and satisfying. We broiled it for 4 minutes to finish it off.
Thanks for posting such a delicious and easy to make and follow recipe. I couldn’t find a way to post the pic of the final product but it looks amazing!
So happy you enjoyed it Sandra!
Amazing!! This is my new side dish when friends come over.
Delicious! 🙂
I did it yesterday and we loved it.
Thanks!
Delicious. I roasted the squash earlier in the day and then stuffed and reheated just before dinner. Added a couple pinches of nutmeg, a winner! This is going on my favorites list.
Wow – this was so yummy and healthy too! I’m a single gal and wanted to have this for dinners this week so I mashed the squash, divided it up into some ramekins, and covered them with the creamed spinach. They we so easy to toss them in the oven individually each night. Keep up the good work!