Stuffed Acorn Squash in the Instant Pot

Acorn squash tastes even more fabulous when stuffed with buttery pecans, dates, and brown sugar goodness. The Instant Pot helps to make this recipe fast and easy.

Brown sugar, pecans and acorn squash are quintessential fall flavors. Why not marry them together in a slightly decadent but totally amazing side dish.

It cooks quickly in an instant pot and is a perfect accompaniment to pork chops, chicken and more. 

Winter squash is rolling in! I love seeing all of the fabulous types and appreciate the wonderful varieties local farmers grow.

Our CSA has been including fabulous spaghetti, butternut, acorn, buttercup and more.

I am hoping delicata squash is still coming. Last year I made some honey roasted delicata with cranberries that was so good and I’m hoping to make it again!

Anyway, with the pile of squash growing it is time to crank out some new recipes. It’s fun to have a variety to pull from when the season arrives.

We really love the more savory preparations like Parmesan roasted acorn squash in the air fryer. But my old neighbors introduced me to acorn squash stuffed with butter and brown sugar and I was instantly hooked.

So I thought it would be fun to create a slight twist on that idea and make it even easier and faster with the help of a pressure cooker.

This recipe can easily be adapted to meet your dietary and flavor preferences. However the combination of brown sugar, butter and pecans is hard to beat.

Dates add a nice texture and more natural sweetness. The final combination is the ultimate in candied acorn goodness.

Then all you need is a nice savory main dish and you are ready to go. I think some nice pork chops, pork roast or chicken would be fabulous. A great sausage would be really good too.

Addition and Substitution ideas:

• If you don’t have dates, try raisins or dried cranberries.
• A sprinkle of cinnamon would be delicious!
• A grating of orange zest over the top would be amazing as well. 

If you would rather bake your acorn squash in the oven, that’s not a problem! Get it halved, cleaned and stuffed then bake it at 400 F for 50-60 minutes.  It should be fork tender and delicious!

Now tell me your favorite varieties of squash and your favorite recipes. I’d love to hear all about it!

5 from 5 ratings

Instant Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash

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Author: Carlee

Servings: 2 Servings

Acorn squash tastes even more fabulous when stuffed with buttery pecans, dates, and brown sugar goodness. Make it even faster with the help of an electric pressure cooker.

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Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 17 minutes mins

Total: 27 minutes mins

Ingredients 

0.5x1x2x

• ▢ 1 acorn squash
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup pitted dates chopped
• ▢ ⅓ cup pecans chopped
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons butter

Instructions 

• Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out all of the seeds and pulp. Put squash halves in an instant pot safe pan. (You may have to do one at a time depending on the size of your squash and pan.)
  1 acorn squash
• Mix together the brown sugar, dates and pecans. Place half of the mixture in each squash half.
  3 Tablespoons light brown sugar, ⅓ cup pitted dates, ⅓ cup pecans
• Cut the butter into small pats and place them over the filling in the squash.
  2 Tablespoons butter
• Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker, then put the pan on the rack.
• Place the lid on the instant pot and be sure the vent is set to closed.  
• Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Allow to naturally vent for 5 minutes and then manually vent. 

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Nutrition Information

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 101mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 32g

“Cooking With Carlee” is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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