Chicken Salad Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe
A few years ago I fell in love with acorn squash and now it’s my go-to squash for almost everything. I use it in soup, stuff it with sausage and rice for diner, serve it with brown sugar and butter as a sweetened side, OR eat it stuffed with a light salad for lunch!
A Yummy Lunch Indeed!
This recipe easily came together during a refrigerator rummage one afternoon. I had the chicken breast and squash leftover from a previous meal; and the salad ingredients are a household staple. I quickly combined everything, stuffed my squash, and dug in! The result was too good not to share.
Acorn squash tip: Do you have trouble cutting your acorn squash? After almost slicing my hand a dozen times I decided to try softening the squash a little before cutting into it. I now boil my squash for 3-5 minutes before I cut into it. This allows the knife to cut the squash using less force.
Chicken Salad Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe
(recipe makes 2 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 Acorn Squash
- 1 Chicken Breast (or 4 tenders)
- 2 Cups Spring Mix Salad Greens
- 2 tbsp sweetened nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc)
- 2 tbsp bleu cheese crumbles
- 3-4 tbsp Vinaigrette Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
Directions:
Bring 8 cups of water to boil in large pot. Gently add whole acorn squash to water. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Remove acorn squash from water. Allow to cool on cutting board for 5 minutes. With a large/sharp knife, slice squash in half from the stem to the bottom. Scoop and discard seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and roast on a baking sheet face down until tender (about 20 minutes).
While the acorn squash is cooking, rub chicken with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Grill Chicken Breast OR Heat a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Add chicken and brown on one side for 2 minutes. Flip chicken, add 1/4 cup water to the pan, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes (or until chicken reaches 165 deg.) Set chicken aside and allow to rest while you prepare the salad.
Toss salad greens with vinaigrette dressing. Set aside.
Slice chicken breast. Set aside.
Plate acorn squash halves, one squash half per plate. Stuff each squash with 1 cup salad greens. Top each with chicken, bleu cheese, and nuts. Drizzle with additional vinaigrette (if desired).
This looks wonderful! I LOVE acorn squash and chicken salad too. Never thought to combine them but it really does look yummy!
THis looks like a delicious Chicken Salad.
What a nice summertime recipe! Looks yummy 🙂
Oooooo….this looks yummy and the recipe sounds delicious!! I love acorn squash and your tip to boil it for a couple of minutes is one I’ll be trying next time I make it.
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. It is a favorite in my house.
This looks like an amazing salad.
This looks really delicious and fairly easy to prepare. My kind of dish!
This looks like a really good recipe and I will make it soon!
This looks like a really unique twist, my husband would love to try this as a change for lunch!
Interesting, low carb recipe!
This really looks SO GOOD! I like acorn squash but have never made didn’t know how………… I will be making it now
What an interesting and unique recipe, this is definitely something that I never would have thought of on my own! It sounds delicious though, I can’t wait to try it! Thank you so much for sharing.
This looks DELICIOUS! I’ve never cooked acorn squah but now I think I need to try it
I love acorn squash and will have to try this recipe!
I love a stuffed acorn squash. You can tell this recipe is a good one!
acorn squash is one of my favorite things in the world!
I have never had acorn squash before! It does look yummy indeed! Thanks for sharing!
I made this and it was wonderful! This will be something we have often
wow this looks amazing! I think Ill have to give this a try!!
liking this new twist on chicken salad. thanks
Looking good and tasty
I’ve never tried Acorn squash but this recipe makes me want to try!
thanks so much for this recipe
This looks good, thanks for sharing
This looks and sounds delicious. Another thing you can do if you don’t want to season and cook the chicken is buy a rotisserie chicken at Kroger or which ever grocery store that sells them in your area. I do this a lot when making chicken salad. I also add dark-colored grapes which gives the chicken salad just a touch of sweetness. Paired with the sweet nuts, this is super delicious and tasty.
I love vegetables, and have never had acorn squash. This looks so yummy and healthy! I need to pin and try this recipe soon!
This is making me hungry. Thanks!
I Love finding unique recipes for leftover chicken!! Thanks for the great idea here.
Oh my, this looks so good! I can’t wait to start getting acorn squash from my garden. This will be good to make!
This looks so good! Beautiful picture. I can’t wait until my garden gives me acorn squash. I am going to try this!
This looks SO good it’s easy to forget it’s healthy!
This stuffed acorn squash sounds like a recipe that I would enjoy making for myself some night.
I love acorn squash. I love chicken salad. Win/Win!
Just bought squash last week and have to get on baking and trying this!!
This looks so delicious and low-carb! A winner for me for sure!
Looks like an amazing salad and I like the presentation too.
I am so printing this recipe out it sounds so good! I am always looking for new recipes that are healthy and easy to make thanks for sharing this one.
this looks amazing!
I love all varieties of squash
Interesting combination of ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds like the perfect fall dish – we have so much fresh squash this time of year!
What an inviting dish!