Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal {Gluten Free, Vegetarian}

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal Gluten free Vegetarian

This aromatic, sweet, and creamy kabocha squash maple oatmeal is a nutritious, gluten free, and vegetarian breakfast that is perfect for chilly autumn mornings.

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal Gluten Free Vegetarian

I recently realized a new goal in my life this week. You know how on Instagram there is that hashtag #squadgoals? I have #squashgoals. 

On Monday, I came home from the grocery store and unpacked not one, not two, but four squashes…to add to the three we already had eagerly awaiting use. I’m like a squirrel stashing acorns for the winter, only I’m hoarding acorn squash. I am trying to incorporate squash into as many meals as possible; just wait for the butternut squash pizza that’s coming next Friday.

Ryan and I dream right now of living in the mountains. It would really only be about 60-90 minutes from where we currently live, so it is not as if we’d be totally removed from civilization. Just far enough to pull a bit of a Thoreau and escape from the crowdedness of modern city life.

We’d still need to got to REI, of course, so we can’t be too far from civilization.

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal Gluten free Vegetarian

In this vision of life in the Cascades, we imagine having our own garden and growing plenty of squashes. Ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (which I’m itching to re-read—does anyone else love re-reading books almost as much as reading new ones?), I have eagerly anticipated the day when we have enough land to garden. Squashes thrive in Washington state—all of the ones on my table are from either Washington or Oregon. It is an honest-to-goodness life goal of mine to have a garden and grow my own produce, including squashes. 

I also decided that I would overcome my fear of goats and have some goats for the sake of making goat cheese, and so Charlie can have some friends. (If you wonder about my abnormal fear of goats, imagine being 4 years old and chased by goats with those creepy, sideways-slit eyes in a pen at a petting zoo. They nibble at your clothes and greedily climb on you, almost knocking you over, and traumatizing you for life.)

For now, however, since we’re not growing our own squash in the mountains, I’m content with greedily purchasing it every single time I step into the grocery store. Which, when you’re fueling your body for a marathon, is frequently.

To follow up with the past two squash recipes I’ve shared, here is another tasty and nutritious fall recipe for you today: kabocha squash maple oatmeal.

I never tried kabocha squash until this year, actually, in part because I never found it in our little grocery stores of Valparaiso, Indiana. Here, in the suburbs of Seattle, varieties of squashes abound in the produces aisles of even Fred Meyer (the PNW Kroger): butternut, acorn, sugar pumpkin, spaghetti, kabocha, delicata, carnival, and a few hybrids such as stripetti squash.

I knew moving out here was the right choice.

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal Gluten free Vegetarian

We first tried kabocha squash similar to how we enjoy most of our squash this time of year: roasted. It was quite good roasted, but the sweeter flavor, even more caramel in flavor than pumpkin, suggested to me that this would work best in a sweet dish.

So, I pureed up the remaining kabocha. When in doubt, throw it in the food processor, right? Since I’m cutting back on sugar to lean down to racing weight (I write as I’m baking a pumpkin pie for Ryan’s birthday), I didn’t want to bake with this puree. Instead, I wanted to use it to add an extra nutritional boost to an already healthy meal. Enter: my beloved morning bowl of oatmeal.

This kabocha squash maple oatmeal is a creamy, autumnal, delicately sweet, and aromatic breakfast. Not only does is kabocha squash maple oatmeal absolutely delectable in taste, it’s plentiful in nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Plus, it’s topped with pecans, which are a rich source of healthy fats and iron!

As I mentioned last week, too much calcium can inhibit the absorption of iron, so I made these oats with water. Thanks to the creamy squash puree and an egg whisked in for protein, you won’t miss the milk!

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Vegetarian)

Laura Norris
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup water or milk of choice
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup kabocha squash puree*
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 10-15 pecans

Instructions
 

  • Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over the stove.
  • Add the oats to the water, reduce to a simmer (medium-low heat), and cook for 5-7 minutes until the water is absorbed.
  • Crack the egg into the oats and whisk constantly for one minute, so that it is thoroughly combined with the oats and cooks through (you should not see any noticeable bits of egg).
  • Whisk in the kabocha puree and cook for an additional 30-60 seconds.
  • Stir the pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup. Remove from heat, serve in a bowl, and top with the pecans.

Notes

*For the kabocha squash puree, you can follow one of two methods:
1. Chop the squash in half, remove the seeds, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, until tender. Let cool for 45-60 minutes and then use a spoon to remove the flesh. Puree the flesh in a food processor for 2-3 minutes, until smooth.
2. Chop the squash in half, remove the seeds, and carefully use a sharp knife to remove the skin and cut into small cubes. Add a small amount of water to a pot, add the squash, cover, and cook on low on the stove for 20-25 minutes, until the squash is tender. Puree in a food processor until smooth.
For an extra fall touch, sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on your coffee. You’ll never go back.

Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal Gluten free Vegetarian

I’ll be linking up for Meatless Monday with Tina and Deb. Be sure to check out the link-up for lots of delicious vegetarian recipes!

Meatless Monday

For more squashy goodness, check out the Eat to Run: 50+ Recipes to Fuel Your Fitness without Breaking the Bank e-cookbook! 

[Tweet “Nutritious and delicious! Kabocha Squash Maple Oatmeal from @thisrunrecipes #glutenfree #vegetarian #fitfluential #sweatpink”]

Questions of the Day:
Do you garden or want to have one someday?
What foods are you obsessed with right now?
What are your weekend plans?

 

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30 Responses

  1. I would love to have a garden but unfortunately I have a black thumb. I need you to come and keep it for me! I am not going to lie–the one time I had kabocha squash is was TERRIBLE–I think that it had gone bad or something–but I do something very similar to this with pumpkin!

    1. The same thing is SO good with pumpkin. I hear you on a bad squash ruining things – I cut open a sugar pumpkin that was MOLDED inside last year, cried, and then didn’t try sugar pumpkin again until this week. And now I’m rueing all those missed opportunities of eating sugar pumpkin.

  2. Sad truth here, but Ive never tried a kabocha squash. Heck, Ive never even seen it in my grocery stores! It gets SO many rave revews in the blog world, but I just can’t seem to find it. This looks really delicious though!

    1. I never saw it in a grocery store (or tried it) until I moved to Seattle. I could never find it when I lived in Indiana or Ohio, and my mom’s never seen it in Missouri. Maybe it’s a regional thing? Hopefully you can find one and try it – it is delicious! Thank you!

  3. I totally love kabocha! Last fall I was on an acorn kick, but over the winter I got into kabocha. As you might guess, I love it with eggs – I’m so predictable 🙂 This looks like the perfect comforting breakfast on a fall morning.

  4. This looks and sounds delicious. I don’t have much of a green thumb so I don’t plan on having a garden any time soon, but I am all for buying locally farmed produce!

  5. I laughed when you said you’re stashing squash like a squirrel stashes acorns, haha. You come up with the most unique, season recipes and this sounds delicious! I also love all kinds of squash so this time of year I love to try different recipes with them. Thanks!

  6. Okay so at first when I read that you’re afraid of goats I was like, what? And giggled. But then when you explained the whole petting zoo chasing and nibbling thing, I totally get it! I remember that feeling and it’s horrible. And they REEK! And now I have a new phobia. Move over spiders, Suzy is freaked out of goats now!

    1. I seriously question who thought it was a good idea to give goat treats to little kids and then lock them in a pen with them. I’m oddly afraid of weird animals – I can handle spiders but emus scare me so much that I get anxious when I see one on TV. It’s actually hilarious for everyone but me.

  7. I LOVE gardening! I grew so many cherry tomatoes this summer that I was picking roughly 50 a day for weeks! I had to get a little creative on how to eat them up so they wouldn’t go to waste! I love all squash too especially delicata and butternut which I have to say is the one food i’m always eating! I’ve never thought to put it in my oats though, I always shred zucchini in mine, so I definitely have to try this soon! Kabocha is so good!

    1. My mom had a cherry tomato plant when she used to garden that would grow like crazy also! Zucchini in oats is so good also – definitely a summer favorite of mine. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it! 🙂

  8. I just found your blog. I am a runner also, and live so close to you-in Redmond. I grew up in Woodinville and regularly run on the trail you pictured. I love gardening, but only have enough space for my herbs. Your kabocha oatmeal looks amazing. I love kabocha, but have never tried it in oatmeal…I will have to give it a try. My weekend plans include going for a run and then a hike on Sunday up Mt. Dickerman 😉

    1. That’s so cool! We could very well be seeing each other out on our runs 🙂 I love Woodinville. And thank you – I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it and that you enjoy your hike!

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