Creamy Chicken Acorn Squash Bowl {Paleo, Whole30, GF, DF}
Even my meat + potatoes husband loves this one! So easy, delicious + nutritious! The creamy you'd-never-know-it-was-dairy-free garlic cream sauce coats roasted chicken + sauteed kale, then all stuffed in roasted acorn squash. Perfect for fall and something everyone in the house will enjoy! This would also be delicious in a Delicata or Spaghetti squash. Use what you have:). Or even on some roasted veggies!Recipe fills four smaller Acorn halves or 3 heaping halves.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 whole acorn squash, halved lengthwise + seeds removed
- Celtic sea salt + black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups shredded roasted chicken (or 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs)*
- 2 sage leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (preferably bone broth) + more for thinning out sauce
- 2 large cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 cups packed chopped kale
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Soak cashews in water 6 hrs to overnight or in warm if short on time (for as long as you have time).
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place squash halves cut-side up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper/foil. Rub the cut-side with evoo + salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes** until very fork-tender (this will also depend on how large your squash are). Remove from oven when done.
- About 10 minutes before squash are ready to come out of the oven heat a medium skillet (I like cast-iron) with 1 tbsp evoo over medium-high heat. Place two sage leaves in pan and fry in oil until browning on edges, then flip and fry the other side until sage is crisper-er and edges are light brown. Place on a paper towel. In the same oil toss in garlic cloves and sear, flipping frequently, until light brown-being careful not to burn garlic (may need to turn down heat on the stove).
- Next, throw in the chopped kale to the same pan and sear, stirring frequently until just wilted. Turn off heat.
- Drain cashews and rinse with cold water. Place them in a Nutri-Bullet or other high-speed blender with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, fried sage, garlic + some salt + pepper (remember you can always add more later). Blend for about 1 minutes until really creamy + smooth.
- Place shredded chicken over kale in pan and pour on the sauce. Turn the heat on to low, add more chicken broth to thin out sauce and heat just until heated through. Add more salt + pepper to taste. If you roasted your chicken at home on a sheet pan, for added flavor add some of the crispy bits from the pan, along with some of the chicken juices and oil from roasting. Being careful, as the "crispy bits" are usually pretty salty.
- Scoop creamy chicken mixture into acorn squash and top with chopped parsley, + more salt and freshly cracked pepper, if desired or even more "crispy bits" + chicken oil. Enjoy!
Notes
*I like chicken thighs for added flavor. To roast at home rub boneless-skinless chicken thighs with evoo, salt + pepper, and place in oven at 425 for about 45 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. See below as well.
**I have to admit I lost track of time when cooking the squash + chicken so please check earlier than the recommended 45 minutes to make sure they are not over-cooking + my chicken was still a bit frozen and I had both squash and chicken in the oven at the same time.
Where to purchase ingredients (affliliate links)-
- Celtic Sea Salt
- Raw Cashews
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I don't use this brand currently-I use Costco Organic EVOO, but have used this in the past and really liked it).
- Bone Broth (I have never used this one, I like to make my own, but it has really good reviews!)