Acorn Squash Curry with Lentils & Roasted Chickpeas
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This Acorn Squash Curry with Lentils & Roasted Chickpeas is comfort in a bowl. The roasted squash is divine and the curry is perfectly spicy.
This curry is the perfect comforting dinner for a cold night at home. The curry is savory, slightly spicy and cooked down with red lentils. The acorn squash and chickpeas are seasoned, then roasted until tender. And everything is served up with hot rice and a generous sprinkle of cilantro. This is beyond delicious.
How to make the roasted squash
Don’t be intimidated by squash. I know they seem tricky to work with – their tough skin, and seedy insides. But just be sure to use a sharp knife and you’ll be just fine. AND the best part about this recipe is we’re using acorn squash. Which means there is no need to skin the squash. Once roasted, the skin is totally tender and edible.
Once you have the squash de-seeded and chopped, add it to a bowl with some seasonings & olive oil and toss until coated. Transfer to a baking sheet along with some seasoned chickpeas and roast for 30 minutes. The squash is tender & slightly browned and the chickpeas are crispy.
How to make the curry
The curry is packed with flavor and only takes a few ingredients to get there. Start out by cooking some garlic, ginger and shallots in olive oil & red curry paste. Let everything get super fragrant and slightly tender.
Add in the lentils, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar and peanut butter. Bring everything to a boil and simmer until the lentils are cooked through. Lastly, add coconut milk, lime juice and a few handfuls of spinach. Let everything cook down for a few more minutes and try not to dig in before it’s done.
How to serve the acorn squash curry
Serve the curry over hot rice and top with the roasted squash, chickpeas and PLENTY of cilantro (unless you hate it, of course).
This dish is rich, filled with veggies and packs the perfect amount of heat. This makes great leftovers too – just reheat and dig in.
Need more recipes? Check these out:
Acorn Squash Curry with Lentils & Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
FOR THE ACORN SQUASH
- 1 acorn squash washed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- salt & pepper
FOR THE CHICKPEAS
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas drained & rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper
FOR THE CURRY
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and diced
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 2-4 tablespoons red curry paste
- 3/4 cup red lentils dry
- 3-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted peanut butter
- 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
- 1 lime juiced
- 3 large handfuls spinach roughly chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped, separated
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the acorn squash in half* and scoop out the seeds. Slice the squash into 1 inch slices, removing the stem and base. Place in a bowl and add the oil, paprika, garlic powder, turmeric and a pinch of pepper. Toss to combine. Place on one half of the baking sheet, being sure not to overlap the pieces.
- Add the chickpeas to the same bowl and add the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder and a pinch of pepper. Toss to combine. Spread out on the other half of the baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Flip everything and cook for another 10-20 minutes or until the squash is tender.**
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger and shallots. Cook down for about a minute and then add the red curry paste. Continue to cook for about 3 minutes, or until the shallots are tender.
- Add the lentils, 3 cups of broth, both soy sauces, rice vinegar and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, lime juice and spinach and simmer for 5 more minutes.***
- Turn off the heat and add 1/2 of the cilantro.
- Serve the curry over hot rice and top with the squash, chickpeas and more cilantro.
Video
Notes
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If you make any of these recipes be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
This was so. dang. good. I’m not vegan but I am trying to incorporate more plant-based meals into my diet and I didn’t miss the meat at all here! Wonderful flavors!
Thanks Whitney! So glad you loved it!
The photo is as so appealing, I wanted to give it a go, despite my (previous) dislike of squash. So glad I did! It was a great combination. I forgot the roasting Veg, so the squash was too soft, but still good. Lovely flavors with the spices. Next time I will increase the smoked paprika and the chili paste cuz I like a little heat.
Thanks for the recipe
This recipe is sooooo good. Hits every note! I had some honey nut squash laying around so I used that instead of acorn and it was great! Next time I will double the chickpeas because I ate most of them before the curry was finished cooking!
The recipe rocks. I made Tweeks to hit closer to my meal macro goals. I used water to sauté aromatics. I used spray chosen avocado oil for the chickpeas and squash roasting. I used light coconut milk. I added 2 servings (60g) of pumpkin seed protein powder (no flavor). Those changes brings the macros for 1/6 of the recipe or one serving to 28 grams of protein, 46 g of carbs, and 13 g of fat.
Impressed! Seemed to make a lot of curry for the amount of veggies but I can always use the leftover with something else. Very flavourful and the different elements complimented each other perfectly! Had to sub applecider vinegar for the rice, regular soy sauce, regular peanut butter and dry ginger instead of fresh, onion instead of scallion – all good!
This recipe blew my mind and made me fall in love with cooking. I never thought I could make something so delicious and I come back to it whenever I get overwhelmed with stress and need to remember who I am and what I can do. 🙂 Thank you for that.
This was a great curry with so many different textures! Went heavy with the red curry paste and it was delicious!
LOVE red curry paste! Can’t go wrong with adding more. So glad you loved it!
What a fantastic meal, we had it with some brown basmati rice. so tasty.
My non vegan son is so impressed with the sauce going to use your recipe too!
Awesome recipe!!!
Thanks Laura!
This recipe is so good and incredibly filling! I ran out of peanut butter, but it’s still delicious without. It was also very easy and more hands-off than I thought it’d be. The most work is cutting the squash, really.
I’m a novice when it comes to Thai curries, but I found this easy to make and super yummy. I used 2 tbs of the curry paste since I am sensitive to spice, and used unsweetened coconut milk which kept the flavor savory (and not overly coconut-y). I also used 2 tbs low sodium soy sauce instead of 1 dark and 1 low sodium. Will be adding this to the regular recipe rotation.
Thanks so much Olivia! So glad you liked it!
Wow – will make this again for sure.
May try roasted cauliflower in place of the acorn squash as an alternative.
Thanks Tom! So glad you liked it!
This is a killer recipe. I just keep going back to it! The only change I made is to double the squash, which gives a person 3-4 wedges per serving.
Never enough veggies! So glad you liked it Vince!
I made a fat free version of this meal by cutting out the peanut butter and coconut milk (and only used coconut aminos in the place of both soy sauces) and it still turned out wonderful! Next time, I might just add the cut-up squash to the soup as it boils, so I don’t have to bake as a separate step (I’m lazy and I’ll do anything to save time in the kitchen). Will definitely be making it again though!
Boiling the squash would definitely save some time – and it will still taste good! So glad you liked it!
incredible 🤤
Thanks Luna!
Yum!!!!! So good and easy
Thanks Danielle!
I got some picky eaters that would not eat the chunks of squash so I decided to blend it after it cooked with coconut milk and then added it to the lentil curry, made it more creamy. Turned out delish!
Really yummy and warming. My curry came out super runny, even though I only used 3 cups of vegetable broth. Maybe I’ll increase the lentils next time?
So glad you liked it – it might be the coconut milk you used also. I usually use full fat to give it a really creamy texture!
such a delicious curry! The acorn squash was easier to prep than i expected. More than 20 minutes prep time for sure but will be making again.
Took a bit of prep, but worth it! Even my toddler loved the rice, chickpeas and squash (though the curry had too much spice for the baby, but just right for us!). Thanks!
So delicious, so easy!!! The acorn squash alone was amazing!!
Hi Kelly – so glad you liked this! And yes, I could just eat a plate of the squash lol
Thanks for sharing your recipes! Do you think butternut squash would work instead of acorn squash?
Made this for dinner tonight and it got rave reviews from meatatarian hubby and vegan son. My prep time was not even close to 20 minutes. I even cut up squash and let it and the chickpeas marinate overnight. Delish nonetheless! Thanks for the recipe😊
Hi Chelly! So glad it was a hit with the whole family!