Category: stuffed

Stuffed Butternut Squash

This stuffed butternut squash recipe features a vegetable and rice stuffing flavored with sage and pecans. A delicious fall meal!…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This stuffed butternut squash recipe features a vegetable and rice stuffing flavored with sage and pecans. A delicious fall meal!

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Want a delicious dinner or stunning side to celebrate the season? Try stuffed butternut squash! Sure, it’s not as common to stuff this popular squash as its cousin the acorn squash. But baked until it’s tender and sweet, it comes out just as tasty (or even more!). This recipe stars a vegetable and rice stuffing with garlic, kale, sage and pecans: fall flavors that accentuate the orange squash perfectly. It’s perfect for a fall dinner, Thanksgiving, or anytime you need a cozy meal.

Ingredients in stuffed butternut squash

Stuffed butternut squash is a tasty dish that works as a fall main course, or a side dish for a festive gathering. It takes about 1 hour to complete, so make it when you’ve got time set aside or follow the make ahead tips below. While the squash roasts, make the simple rice and vegetable filling. Then you’ll hollow out the roasted squash, chop up that portion and mix it back into the filling: so there’s no waste at all! Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Butternut squash (small)
  • White basmati or long grain rice
  • Butter
  • Onion, garlic, celery and kale
  • Dried sage, dried thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper
  • Cream cheese
  • Milk
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Pecans
Stuffed Butternut Squash

Look for small butternut squash

The size of the butternut squash is important for this recipe. Each eater will get one half of the squash, and a large butternut squash is much too large of a portion. It’s nice to have small butternut squash because they make a portion sized-vessel, much like with stuffed acorn squash.

If all you can find is a large butternut squash, you can make four portions by slicing the squash in half length-wise. However, it doesn’t have the same look: so it’s nice to find small squashes if at all possible.

Alternative stuffing ideas

This stuffed butternut squash is vegetarian as written in the recipe below, and it’s easily made vegan. Want a meat-based stuffing, or some other ideas? Here are some alternative stuffing ideas:

  • Italian-style sausage stuffing (or plant-based): Make the stuffing from this Stuffed Zucchini Boats recipe. You can also make this with plant-based sausage and it’s delicious.
  • Beef and rice stuffing (or plant-based): Make the stuffing from these Stuffed Green Peppers. It also works with plant-based beef crumbles.

In many of these cases you’ll likely have leftover filling, so you could roast another small butternut squash (if it fits on the tray!) or serve extras on the side.

How to bake butternut squash

Make ahead and serving tips

This stuffed butternut squash recipe takes 1 hour to prepare, so it’s not intended as a fast and easy meal. Here are a few tips for making this recipe in advance or scaling it up for large gatherings:

  • Make the filling in advance. Make the rice filling in advance, then refrigerate until serving. Before stuffing the squash, re-warm it on the stovetop.
  • Roast the butternut squash in advance. Even better, roast the squash in advance. Remove the inner portion, chop and add to the filling (if made in advance). Refrigerate the squash until serving. Before serving, re-warm the filling on the stovetop, stuff, top with Parmesan, and bake the squash for about 30 minutes until warmed through.
  • If serving for a crowd, roast the squash in advance. This recipe is great for smaller dinner parties or Thanksgiving gatherings. It’s tough to make in large quantities because the more butternut squash you have in the oven, the longer it takes. If you roast 4 small squashes, increase the baking time (it can take up to 1 hour depending on your oven and the squash size). Anything above 8 portions is best prepared in advance in batches.
Stuffed Butternut Squash

More butternut squash recipes

Love cooking with squash? Here are a few more tasty butternut squash recipes to enjoy this season:

This butternut squash recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan and dairy-free, use vegan butter in place of the butter and cream cheese (see below) and omit the Parmesan cheese.

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Stuffed Butternut Squash

Stuffed Butternut Squash

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  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 50 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 4 butternut squash halves
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Description

This stuffed butternut squash recipe features a vegetable and rice stuffing flavored with sage and pecans. A delicious fall meal!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white basmati rice
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more for sprinkling
  • 2 small butternut squash*
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter (or vegan butter)
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cups chopped kale, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 package (4 ounces) cream cheese (or 3 tablespoons vegan butter)
  • 2 tablespoons milk (omit for vegan)
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  2. Roast the squash: Slice each of the squash in half. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the squash on the sheet and drizzle with olive oil on the cut sides, then sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Turn cut side down on the sheet and roast until tender, about 40 minutes (test with a fork to assess doneness).
  3. Make the rice: Rinse the rice in cold water using a fine mesh strainer, then drain and shake it dry. Place the rice in a saucepan with 1 ½ cups water and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the water is completely absorbed (test by pulling back the rice with a fork). Remove from the heat. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.  Fluff the rice with a fork. 
  4. Toast the pecans: Place the nuts in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat. Heat, shaking the pan and stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are fragrant and slightly darker brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove immediately from the heat and transfer to a plate to stop the cooking.
  5. Make the stuffing: Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until tender and translucent. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, and oregano, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the kale and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté for 2 min. Add the cream cheese and milk and stir until distributed and melted. Add the rice and and pecans. Taste and add additional salt to taste (we added ⅛ tsp). 
  6. Fill the squash: When the squash is finished roasting and tender, remove the sheet from the oven. Use a spoon to scoop out the center of the squash, leaving a 1/4-inch shell around the outside. Chop the removed squash into pieces (it will not be perfectly square but that’s ok!) and stir it into the rice filling. You can leave out some of the squash if it feels like it is too much for the rice quantity (since the amount depends on the squash size). Spoon the filling back into the hole in the squash and top with grated Parmesan cheese. There may be some extra filling, which you can serve on the side or reserve as leftovers.
  7. Roast: Return to the oven and bake 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately. Leftovers last refrigerated for 2 days (see make ahead tips above).

Notes

*Size is important here, since each eater will get one half of the squash. A large butternut squash is much too big! If all you can find is a large squash you can slice the squash in half length-wise, but it doesn’t have the same look.

**This recipe is tough to multiply because the more butternut squash you have in the oven, the longer it takes. If you roast 4 small squashes, increase the baking time (it can take up to 1 hour depending on your oven and the squash size). Anything above 8 portions is best prepared in advance in batches.

  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Fall
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Stuffed butternut squash, stuffed butternut squash recipes, butternut squash with stuffing, butternut stuffed squash

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Stuffed French Toast

This stuffed French toast recipe makes a decadent special breakfast or brunch! A maple cream cheese filling takes it over…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This stuffed French toast recipe makes a decadent special breakfast or brunch! A maple cream cheese filling takes it over the top.

Stuffed French Toast

French toast is a favorite for a special breakfast or brunch. But want to take it to the next level? This stuffed French toast recipe makes an irresistible start to any morning! The maple cream cheese filling is sweet and tangy, with a lusciously creamy body that’s the perfect contrast to the custard-soaked bread. Whip up a few of these for someone special and they’ll be absolutely smitten (trust us!).

Ingredients for stuffed French toast

Stuffed French toast looks very fancy, but guess what? It’s very simple to make at home. In fact, you don’t even need to stuff anything. It’s simply a sandwich with cream cheese filling, done up as French toast. This easy recipe makes a big statement: it’s perfect for holidays like Mother’s Day or just a simple lazy weekend. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Cream cheese
  • Maple syrup
  • Powdered sugar and granulated sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
  • Brioche, challah, or Texas toast
  • Butter, for cooking
Stuffed French toast recipe

Best bread for stuffed French toast

You can use many types of bread for stuffed French toast, but there are a few that we think make a superior experience. For this type of French toast, we prefer a bread that’s light and fluffy. Here’s what works well:

  • Challah or brioche: Egg-based breads like challah and brioche make a fluffy, custardy texture to the stuffed French toast. The bread pictured in the photos is brioche.
  • Texas toast: This type of bread is thick cut and makes for nice square shapes; it also has a nice fluffy texture.
  • Sourdough bread: Sourdough bread has a naturally firm texture and a slight tang to the flavor. It’s our top choice for standard French toast, and it works here too.

Tips for making stuffed French toast

Stuffed French toast is simply a matter of making a tasty filling, then making your French toast as sandwiches instead of single pieces of bread. When you cut into it on a plate, it looks like a single piece of bread with a lovely cream cheese filling. Here are a few tips for the process:

  • Mix up the filling until smooth. Microwaving the cream cheese before mixing it up is key to the best smooth texture.
  • Leave a border around the edge of the bread. Spread the filling onto a piece of bread, leaving a border around the outside so the filling won’t ooze out.
  • Dip the sandwiches like your standard French toast. Whisk up a custard, then dip like any other French toast recipe.
Stuffed French toast

Filling variations

Stuffed French toast is perfection with the maple cream cheese filling in the recipe below. But you can mix it up if you like! Here are a few other fun ideas:

  • Strawberries: Add a few finely chopped fresh strawberries to the cream cheese.
  • Blueberry swirl: Add a swirl of blueberry syrup or jam with the cream cheese.
  • Lemon curd: Swap out the cream cheese for lemon curd.
  • Pumpkin spice: In fall, add 1 teaspoon pumpkin spices to the cream cheese.

More French toast recipes

This stuffed French toast recipe is great for special occasions like house guests, Easter, Christmas, or Mother’s Day. Here are a few more fun and special ways to enjoy this morning treat:

This stuffed French toast recipe is…

Vegetarian.

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Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed French Toast

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 5 servings
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Description

This stuffed French toast recipe makes a decadent special breakfast or brunch! A maple cream cheese filling takes it over the top.

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the French toast

  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup milk (whole or 2%*)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 slices brioche bread, challah bread or Texas toast (cut 1/2” thick)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, for cooking

Instructions

  1. Warm the cream cheese in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds until softened. Whisk together the cream cheese, maple, and vanilla until smooth.
  2. Divide the cream cheese mixture and spread it onto 4 slices of brioche or challah, leaving a small border around the outside. Top with another slice of bread and press down gently.
  3. In a wide shallow bowl or container, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt.
  4. Preheat a griddle over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter. Soak each side of the sandwiches in the egg mixture until it becomes saturated, about 15 seconds per side.
  5. Place the bread on the hot skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned.
  6. Repeat with the remaining butter and 4 slices bread. Serve immediately with maple syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar (or toss both sides in cinnamon sugar, following the instructions in Cinnamon French Toast).
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Stuffed French toast, stuffed French toast recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Stuffed Salmon

Impress everyone with this stuffed salmon recipe! The creamy spinach artichoke filling perfectly compliments the flaky fish. Want a dinner…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

Impress everyone with this stuffed salmon recipe! The creamy spinach artichoke filling perfectly compliments the flaky fish.

Stuffed Salmon

Want a dinner recipe that’s easy and impressive? This spinach artichoke stuffed salmon recipe is out latest favorite! A creamy, savory filling flavored like your favorite dip is the ideal contrast to flaky, tender salmon. This might be one of our favorite salmon recipes because it’s so simple and a total showstopper. We made this for Alex’s mom and she can’t stop talking about it (she immediately asked for the recipe!).

Ingredients in this stuffed salmon recipe

Salmon can be stuffed with just about anything, but we like to use a play on the popular snack, spinach artichoke dip. Slice a thin cut into a thick fillet of salmon, then stuff it with a filling of cream and Parmesan cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts and spices. The way the creamy filling accents the flaky fish makes it impossible not to take another bite. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:

  • Thick salmon fillets, wild caught if possible
  • Salt and pepper
  • Butter or ghee
  • Frozen spinach
  • Cream cheese
  • Canned artichoke hearts
  • Garlic powder and dried dill
  • Lemon zest
  • Parmesan cheese
Stuffed Salmon Recipe

The type of salmon to buy

The quality of salmon you can find at the store varies greatly. Lower quality salmon can taste very fishy and have a mushy texture, or have a lot of white stuff (called albumin) when it’s cooked. It’s also important to have thick pieces of salmon for this stuffed salmon recipe: otherwise it will be too thin to stuff. Here’s what to know when shopping:

  • 2-inch thick fillets are handy for this recipe; you might find it labeled center cut at the store. Avoid very thin fillets for this recipe: they won’t be thick enough to stuff.
  • Buy fresh salmon. Salmon that’s fresh from the fish counter usually has the best flavor. Frozen can work, but try to find highest-quality frozen salmon: avoid those big economy-sized bags (we’ve found this type can be thinner and taste very fishy).
  • Look for wild caught salmon. Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. (There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.)

Tips for stuffed salmon recipe

This stuffed salmon recipe comes together easily: but it does require a bit of technique. A few things we recommend? Invest in a food thermometer! It will help you cook the salmon to the perfect doneness. Here are a few particulars:

  • Allow the salmon to come to room temperature before cooking. If the fish is too cold when you start, it can end up cooked on the outside but raw on the inside.
  • Use a sharp knife to slice a pocket into the salmon fillet. Then stuff the pocket with the spinach artichoke stuffing (you’ll have a little left over).
  • Give the fillets a quick sear on high heat on the stovetop. This ensures a nice browned exterior.
  • A fish spatula is helpful for flipping! If you don’t have one, it’s a great investment and can be used for flipping and serving lots of other foods.
  • Bake until 125 to 130°F at the thickest point, about 6 to 8 minutes. Measuring with a food thermometer is the best way to assess doneness of a piece of salmon.
Stuffed Salmon

Easy sides to serve with it

This stuffed salmon recipe comes together easily: but it’s still helpful to have a few very simple side dishes to serve with it. This way, you can whip them up in the hands-off times and still have a meal together in about 30 minutes. Here’s what we’d recommend:

And that’s it! Let us know if you try this stuffed salmon recipe and what you think of it. We hope it will be as big of a hit in your house as it is here!

Stuffed Salmon

More salmon recipes

Salmon is one of our top easy dinner ideas. Here are a few more fun salmon recipes for preparing it:

This stuffed salmon recipe is…

Gluten-free and pescatarian.

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Stuffed Salmon

Stuffed Salmon

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
Print Recipe

Description

Impress everyone with this stuffed salmon recipe! The creamy spinach artichoke filling perfectly compliments the flaky fish.

Ingredients

For the salmon

  • 1 1/2 pounds thick salmon fillets*, skin on (wild caught if possible)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter or ghee

For the filling

  • ¼ cup thawed frozen spinach
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup chopped canned artichoke hearts
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dried dill
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the salmon on a plate on the counter and allow it to come to room temperature before cooking, about 15 to 20 minutes (this is about the time it takes for the oven to preheat)
  2. Meanwhile, make the filling: Thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze it to remove all extra liquid, then use your fingers to break it into rough crumbles. In a small bowl, stir together the spinach with the cream cheese, artichokes, garlic powder, dried dill, kosher salt and lemon zest. 
  3. Pat the salmon dry with a clean towel. Sprinkle it with the kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh ground pepper. Using a sharp knife, slice a pocket across the center of the salmon. Spoon the filling into the salmon pockets, stuffing it as full as possible. (There will be some filling left over, which you can save or discard.)
  4. Heat a large, oven proof skillet over medium high heat and add the butter or ghee. When butter is melted, add the salmon skin side up and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until nicely seared.
  5. Flip the salmon (a fish spatula makes easy work of it). Tilt the pan down slightly and quickly spoon the pan juices over the top of the fish a few times. Transfer to the oven and cook 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness, until just tender and pink at the center (the internal temperature should be between 125 to 130°F in the center).
  6. Remove from the heat. Spritz with juice from a few lemon wedges and serve immediately.

Notes

*2-inch thick fillets are handy for this recipe; you might find it labeled center cut. Avoid very thin fillets for this recipe: they won’t be thick enough to stuff. 

  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Seafood
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Keywords: Stuffed salmon, stuffed salmon recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.