A roasted butternut squash half, stuffed with its flesh mashed with fresh goat cheese and roasted garlic, topped with chestnuts and a drizzle of honey.
This stuffed butternut squash comes out of the oven golden, its tender flesh mashed with fresh goat cheese and roasted garlic, with lightly browned slices of cheese on top, followed by crumbled chestnuts and a drizzle of honey. The sweet-savory balance is gentle, and fresh herbs keep it light. Allow 1 hour for 2 servings, including 45 minutes in the oven at 220 °C. The low-carb variation belongs in my collection of keto main dishes.
What Is Stuffed Butternut Squash ?
It is half a butternut squash, also known as butternut pumpkin, roasted in its skin, then scooped out and refilled with its own flesh. Here, the flesh is mashed with 150 g of young goat cheese, a head of roasted garlic, a small roasted shallot, fresh thyme and oregano, before going back into the oven topped with slices of goat cheese.
The filling stays chunky and soft, never smooth like a puree. The 5 to 6 chestnuts, roasted separately, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey are added only at serving time.
The Origins of This Version
Stuffed squash served in its skin is a home-cooked fall and winter dish, made when market stalls are full of firm squash and fresh chestnuts. The principle stays the same : roast, scoop out the flesh, season it and return it to its shell.
Squash and goat cheese work together through a simple contrast, sweet flesh paired with a slightly tangy cheese. Roasted garlic adds mellow depth, while chestnuts and honey bring a festive touch.
The Main Ingredients
The butternut squash half is both the base and the serving dish. Soft young goat cheese mashes easily into the warm flesh : some in small pieces for the filling, the rest in thin slices for the top. If you follow a diet free of cow’s milk, lactose or A1 casein, take the goat cheese into account.
The head of garlic, roasted whole in aluminum foil, yields sweet, soft cloves to squeeze into the filling. The shallot, or a small onion, roasted in large pieces and then chopped, and the leaves from a few sprigs of thyme and oregano round out the seasoning, with a little oil and salt for the initial roasting.
Chestnuts and honey make up the classic version. For a lower-carb version, replace the chestnuts with two handfuls of walnuts and the honey with a honey-flavored sugar-free syrup ; this brings it to 5 g of net carbs per serving.
Cooking Tips and Serving
Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with an ice cream scoop and score the flesh in a crisscross pattern to within 1 cm of the skin, with a cut all the way around about 1.5 cm from the edge ; oil, salt and place in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes with a baking sheet alongside it holding the head of garlic with its tips cut off, oiled, salted and wrapped in aluminum foil, the shallot pieces and the chestnuts with a cross cut into their bases.
Scoop out the flesh, mash it with a fork along with the goat cheese pieces, chopped shallot, squeezed-out garlic and herbs, then stuff the squash and cover with the goat cheese slices. Return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes : the goat cheese will melt a little and may brown, without becoming stretchy like mozzarella. Peel the chestnuts once they are lukewarm, crumble them over the squash and drizzle with honey just before serving.
Along the same lines : Air fryer butternut squash.
For more inspiration : Red kuri squash stuffed with Camembert.
Browse all my keto recipes.
Stuffed butternut squash with goat cheese, roast garlic and chestnuts
Print Recipe Pin the recipe Add to my listIngredients
- 0.5 butternut squash
- 150 g goat cheese young
- 1 head garlic
- 1 shallot small (onion)
- A few sprigs thyme fresh
- A few sprigs oregano fresh
- 5 to 6 chestnuts
- 1 to 2 tablespoons honey (or honey-flavored syrup made with a sugar substitute)
For a Lower-Carb Version
- 2 handfuls walnuts or other low-carb nuts, instead of chestnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have a baking dish ready.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds with an ice cream scoop. Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern, stopping one centimeter short of the skin. Also score a line around the edge, about 1.5 cm from the skin. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the baking dish.0.5 butternut squash
- Cut the tips off all the garlic cloves, leaving them attached to the head. Remove the outer skins, but leave the thin skins around the individual cloves. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap in aluminum foil.1 head garlic
- Peel the onion and cut it into large chunks. Drizzle with oil. Place in a small baking dish if desired.1 shallot
- Score a cross in the base of each chestnut.5 to 6 chestnuts
- Place everything in the oven for half an hour. The head of garlic, onion and chestnuts can simply sit on the baking sheet beside the dish.
- Cut about a third of the goat cheese into small pieces. Cut the rest into thin slices. Strip as many leaves as possible from the thyme and oregano stems. A few sprigs here and there are fine.150 g goat cheese, A few sprigs thyme, A few sprigs oregano
- Remove the garlic, onion and squash from the oven. Scoop out the squash flesh with an ice cream scoop. Mash with a fork and mix with the goat cheese pieces (the larger portion). Cut the onion into small pieces. Squeeze out the garlic. Mix everything together and stuff the squash. Top with the goat cheese slices (the smaller portion).
- Remove the chestnuts from the oven. Return the dish with the stuffed squash to the oven for about another 10 minutes to a quarter of an hour. The goat cheese will melt slightly, but will not become as runny as mozzarella, for example. It may brown lightly, though.
- Peel the chestnuts once they have cooled. Remove the squash from the oven. Crumble the chestnuts over the top. Finish with a drizzle of honey (or honey-flavored sweetener). You can also put some sugar (or sweetener) on the table if desired.1 to 2 tablespoons honey, 2 handfuls walnuts
