Easy AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto

This Easy AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto is rich and nutty, yet healthy and nourishing, making it an ideal cozy winter side dish!

Last week, I shared an amazingly delicious, yet delightfully simple 2-Minute Paleo Kale Pesto recipe. Be sure to check out the post to see all the ways you can use it to add a boost of flavor to almost any meal, snack or side dish! Today, I’m showing you how you can use that Paleo Kale Pesto to spruce up a classic, comforting winter side dish – roasted acorn squash!

Just 8 ingredients and a few minutes of hands-on time is all you need to make this AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto. It’s simple enough for a weeknight side dish, yet colorful and flavorful enough to share with a crowd. Let’s get cooking!

AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto Ingredients

For the AIP Roasted Acorn Squash, you will need:

• Acorn squash – the key player in this recipe. Acorn squash has a mild, nutty, sweet flavor with a soft, buttery texture. It’s the perfect foundation for the addition of a bold, flavorful kale pesto. If roasted properly, the skin on acorn squash is soft and edible, so there is no need to peel it ahead of time. Just slice and roast for the perfect texture.
• Avocado oil and sea salt – just a little oil and sea salt is all you need to bring out the full flavor of the acorn squash when roasting

this recipe!

For the AIP Kale Pesto, you will need:

• Organic baby kale – I love to just buy a container of organic baby kale to make this kale pesto recipe super quick and simple. Just dump the container in your food processor – no prep necessary. If you have fresh curly kale on hand, feel free to use that instead. Just be sure to wash it and remove the tough stems. Lacinato kale will also work, but is a tougher green, so the pesto texture may be a bit different.
• Garlic cloves – for a nutty, spicy kick
• Fresh lemon juice – for zip
• Nutritional yeast – for a savory, cheesy flavor that helps keep this kale pesto dairy free, as well as Paleo, AIP and Vegan
• Extra virgin olive oil – for a buttery flavor and consistency that ties the pesto together
• Sea salt – to make all the flavors shine

You may notice that the kale pesto recipe doesn’t have any nuts or seeds. That’s to keep the recipe AIP compliant, as well as provide a nut-free pesto option for those allergic to nuts. But don’t fret – I promise you won’t miss them! The flavor and texture of this kale pesto is so delicious, you’ll forget you ever even had pesto with nuts in it before.

How to make AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto

For the AIP Roasted Acorn Squash:

Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Wash, halve, core and slice your acorn squash.

Arrange the acorn squash slices on a sheet pan in one layer. I like to use parchment paper to prevent sticking, but you can also lightly grease your sheet pan ahead of time. Drizzle a little avocado oil over the acorn squash and sprinkle with sea salt.

Roast at 425ºF for approximately 25-35 minutes, or until the squash is easily pierced with a fork and the skin is softened.

For the AIP Kale Pesto:

While the squash roasts, add the AIP Kale Pesto ingredients to a food processor and pulse until desired consistency, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.

When the acorn squash has finished roasting, drizzle with the AIP Kale Pesto and serve. That’s it! Easiest side dish ever.

How to store the leftovers

Depending on how much pesto you like on your acorn squash, you may have a bit of kale pesto left over. If so, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. See the Paleo Kale Pesto recipe post for some fresh ideas about how to use it.

If you have leftovers of the whole recipe, store the acorn squash and kale pesto separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. To reheat, pop the acorn squash in the oven for a few minutes and top with room temperature kale pesto.

Other recipes to try

If you loved this AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto, try one of these other AIP recipes next:

Paleo Herb-Roasted Acorn Squash (GF, DF, AIP)

Warm Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash (AIP)

Crispy Herb-Roasted Broccoli (Paleo, AIP)

If you enjoyed this AIP Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto, I would love it if you would leave a star rating and review! And be sure to snap a photo of it and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @hurriedhealthnut and hashtagging it #hurriedhealthnut.

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