Warmly spiced chickpeas, tangy chimichurri, and roasted acorn squash fill this recipe with an unexpected—but delicious—combination of flavors.
Every year in November, I like to share at least one vegetarian main dish recipe. I find that Thanksgiving hosts often like to have a special option for vegetarians at their table, especially if they’re newer to the family. But what people don’t know is that, for the most part, herbivores are usually happy filling up on sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies. I certainly am!
So this year, I’m bringing back a “main dish” that can double as a side dish: acorn squash with chickpeas and chimichurri. I stuff roasted acorn squash quarters with warmly spiced chickpeas and top them with a tangy herb sauce. It’s a delicious dish with unexpectedly bright flavors that everyone can enjoy.
Another reason I love this recipe? All the ingredients are available at ALDI!
If you’re an ALDI fan like me, you know that it’s an easy and affordable place to shop for a big family meal like Thanksgiving dinner. This recipe makes it a one-stop shop! Throw some potatoes and Brussels sprouts into your cart too, and you’ll have everything you need for a memorable holiday meal.
How to Make This Recipe
You can find the complete recipe with measurements at the bottom of this post, but for now, here’s a step-by-step overview of how it goes.
First, roast the acorn squash. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then, cut each half in half again to form quarters. Roast the quarters cut side up at 450°F until the squash is tender and the edges are browned.
- Why such a high oven temp? It helps the edges of the squash brown up nicely for this recipe!
While the squash roasts, make the herb sauce. I’m calling it a chimichurri, but to be honest, that’s a bit of a misnomer. The main ingredients in traditional chimichurri are oil, vinegar, parsley, and oregano. By contrast, this sauce stars cilantro and lemon juice. I also add pepitas, which give the sauce a nice nutty flavor and make it thick enough to sit on top of the chickpea filling.
Then, start the chickpeas. You’ll sauté the chickpeas with yellow onion and braise them in a little vegetable broth seasoned with lemon, cumin, and a touch of cinnamon. I know, it sounds like an odd combination, but it really works! The pinch of cinnamon brings out the sweet flavor of the acorn squash.
- Ingredient tip: ALDI’s Dakota’s Pride chickpeas are my favorite canned chickpeas of all time! They have a firmer al dente bite than other brands, which means that they hold their shape nicely as you cook them.
When you’re ready to serve, fill the squash quarters with the chickpeas and top them with the chimichurri. Garnish with fresh cilantro, pepitas, and generous drizzles of lemony yogurt. I also love a few red pepper flakes here for a touch of heat!
- Tip: You can skip the lemon yogurt sauce to make this recipe vegan, or top the squash with drizzles of my cashew cream.
Get Ahead
This acorn squash dish is a great one to make ahead for your holiday meal! You can prep all these components up to 2 days in advance:
- Roasted squash
- Braised chickpeas
- Chimichurri
- Lemon yogurt
Store them in separate containers in the fridge until the day of your meal. Before serving,
- Reheat the chickpeas in the microwave or on the stove.
- Reheat the squash in the microwave or a 350°F oven.
Assemble according to the recipe, and enjoy!
More Holiday Recipes to Try
Round out your Thanksgiving menu with these other holiday dishes:
- Best Mashed Potatoes
- Best Stuffing
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Green Bean Casserole
- Or any of these 50 Thanksgiving Side Dishes!
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
Acorn Squash with Chickpeas and Chimichurri
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squashes, seeded and quartered lengthwise
- Simply Nature Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chimichurri (makes extra)
- ½ cup Southern Grove Pepitas Roasted with Salt, plus more for garnish* (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup Simply Nature Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Specially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
Chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons Simply Nature Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon Simply Nature Organic Ground Cumin
- Pinch Simply Nature Organic Ground Cinnamon
- 1 (14-ounce) can Dakota’s Pride Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup Simply Nature Organic Vegetable Broth
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
Lemon Yogurt (optional)
- ½ cup Friendly Farms Plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Simply Nature Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, cut side up, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and browned around the edges.
- Make the chimichurri: Place the pepitas in a food processor and process until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the red pepper flakes, garlic, cilantro, and several grinds of pepper. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Prepare the chickpeas: Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes, until browned, turning down the heat as needed. Turn the heat to low and add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and chickpeas. Stir to coat, then add the broth, ¼ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the mixture to thicken slightly. Stir in the cilantro just before assembling the dish.
- Make the lemon yogurt: In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.
- Place the squash quarters on a platter and top with the chickpeas and chimichurri. Garnish with cilantro and pepitas and top with the lemon yogurt.
Notes
Special thanks to ALDI for partnering on this post!
Enjoyed it. It was delicious.
This was so yummy! The chimichurri was easy and unique. Everyone liked how all the flavors and textures worked together. Plus the presentation looks like a gourmet dish. Thanks! ?
Hi Ash, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Yum. That was so good. I loved the chimichurri with pepitas. All the flavors merged so well together. Thanks again for an unexpectedly awesome dish.
Made this with parsley and a mixture of acorn and delicata squash. Absolutely fabulous. I was amazed at how all the flavors came together. My teenagers and hubby were big fans. I’m doubling the chickpea part next time! Yum – thank you!!
Oh I’m so glad everyone loved it so much!
We made this the other night for dinner and loved it! The chimichurri really makes it!
I used dill in place of cilantro because that’s all I had, and the chimichurri was delicious! This is a great, simple, protein-packed meal 🙂
Hi Sara, ooh I would have never thought to use dill, I’m glad it was yummy!
I made this last week as a trial run for thanksgiving. A huge hit! The combination of all the flavors is perfect. And the extra chickpea mixture plus chimchirri were great additions to other dishes. I’m making this today to bring with me to tomorrow’s thanksgiving dinner. How long do you think the various components will last in the fridge? I do hope it will be as good when made a day ahead. The only thing I’m going to do tomorrow is roast the acorn squash . Fingers crossed.
Hi Liz, I’ve made both components in advance, it sounds like you’re good to go! I think it’s a great plan to roast the acorn squash the day-of. The only slight thing is that the chimichurri will become less green overnight in the fridge – you could always stir in some extra minced cilantro tomorrow if the color is important to you. It’ll taste great either way 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I noticed there is parsley in the directions but not in the ingredients list … unless I’m missing something? Was wondering how chimichurri could be made without it, so I should have read the whole recipe. So I didn’t buy fresh parsley and am wondering if I can get away with dried? Probably not … so I will try this with cilantro pesto anyway and am sure it will still be good!
You can make it with just cilantro, as listed exactly in the ingredients – I had parsley in an early testing round but ultimately simplified it to just use cilantro. Thanks for pointing that out, I just fixed the recipe instructions. So sorry about the confusion!
Thank you! It was delicious. Elevates chickpeas into something a lot more substantial, and love the way the herbs and spices balance with the sweetness of the squash. We are lucky enough to get garden fresh squash from my husband’s workplace (a local private school with a gardening program) and I thought I had done everything that could be done with squash, so this creative, tasty dish saved me!
PS–Sorry I freaked out a little in my initial post but we live in the mountains outside Aspen, CO and the nearest supermarket is 10 miles from our house!
Hi Ali, ooh, I’m so so glad to hear that you loved it! I’ve been on a mission this fall to figure out all kinds of different ways to mix up squash. So sorry for the parsley panic, I’m not sure how that one slipped by – I would never want you to go to the store twice 🙂
We really loved this meal. I served it on salad with some quinoa too and it made a special meal
I made this recipe tonight and loved it! So delicious!
I made this last night for dinner as our main dish!
It was so amazingly delicious. I used 2 whole acorn squash, quartered them and my husband and I each had two quarters and we so stuffed. (This rarely happens)
Only thing I will change is that the chickpea mixture is so good, I’ll double the recipe for next time.
Thank you for sharing this, we really loved it!
How many squash are in this recipe?
2 acorn squash (it’s fixed now up in the recipe)
This is the most exciting vegetarian recipe I’ve seen in a very long time. Looking forward to trying it.
This looks soooo yummy! How many acorn squash are needed?
2! Corrected that in the recipe 🙂
Looks very healthy!