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    Home » Entrees

    Vegetarian Stew with Quinoa, Butternut Squash & Coconut Milk Recipe

    Published: Dec 7, 2011 · Modified: May 2, 2022 by Dara · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 57 Comments

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    This easy vegetarian stew is rich in flavors, thanks to coconut milk, butternut squash and fresh ginger. The leftovers heat up well for lunch the next day.
    This easy vegetarian stew is rich in flavors, thanks to coconut milk, butternut squash and fresh ginger. The leftovers heat up well for lunch the next day. #vegetarianrecipes #stew #butternutsquash

    Monday was time for a serious detox. I spent the weekend at the Joshua Creek Ranch for Georgia Pellegrini's Girl Hunter (more on that in a future post), and happily feasted on venison, smoked turkey, wild game gumbo and maybe a glass of wine or two (or three). Monday was a return to a Meatless Monday meal of Crockpot Gingered Chickpea & Spicy Tomato Stew. With a chunk of ginger sitting in my fridge, an extra can of chickpeas and butternut squash left over from my recent obsession with Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa (I've made it three times in the past two week), I set to work on a light vegetarian stew.

    One of the first recipes on my blog paired coconut milk and jalapenos with cauliflower and brown rice (here's the recipe) and knew it was a good match. This time, since I'm now a little more health conscious, I switched to lite coconut milk and replaced part of the coconut milk with diced tomatoes. The sweet butternut squash provides a great foil for the heat of the jalapeno and the coconut milk and tomato sauce soaks into the quinoa. Piled into a bowl and garnished with green onions, it makes for a comforting and satisfying dish.

    ButternutCoconutStew1

    The vegetarian stew recipe:
    In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water, and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat, fluff with a fork and re-cover to keep warm.

    In a medium or large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the cubed butternut squash. Cook until the squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

    In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until the onions are turning brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add ginger and minced jalapeño and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring.

    Butternut Coconut Stew Collage

    Add the lite coconut milk, diced tomatoes with juices, chickpeas and cooked butternut squash. Turn the mixture to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the butternut squash is tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

    Divide the quinoa between bowls and ladle the stew over top. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve.

    ButternutCoconutStew4

    More vegetarian stews:

    Cookin' Canuck's Vegetarian Mushroom & Cannellini Bean Ragout
    Cookin' Canuck's Crockpot Chickpea Stew with Balsamic Caramelized Onions
    Herbivoracious' Persian-Italian Eggplant Stew
    Sailu's Kitchen's Tangy Shallot Stew
    The Skinny Gourmet Andreae's Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

    Vegetarian Stew with Quinoa, Butternut Squash & Coconut Milk

    This easy vegetarian stew is rich in flavors, thanks to coconut milk, butternut squash and fresh ginger. The leftovers heat up well for lunch the next day.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Entrees
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 4 Servings
    Calories: 341kcal
    Author: Dara Michalski | Cookin' Canuck

    Ingredients

    • ⅔ cup quinoa
    • 1 ⅓ cup water
    • pinch of salt
    • 2 cups diced ½-inch butternut squash
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil
    • 1 medium onion diced
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
    • ½ large jalapeno pepper seeds & membranes removed, minced
    • 2 large cloves garlic minced
    • ½ cup lite coconut milk stirred
    • 1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes (with juices)
    • 1 14 ounce can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
    • 2 green onions thinly sliced
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water, and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat, fluff with a fork and re-cover to keep warm.
    • In a medium or large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the cubed butternut squash. Cook until the squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
    • In a large frying pan, heat olive oil oil over medium heat. Add onion and kosher salt and cook until the onions are turning brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add ginger and minced jalapeno and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring.
    • Add the lite coconut milk, diced tomatoes with juices, chickpeas and cooked butternut squash. Turn the mixture to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the butternut squash is tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
    • Divide the quinoa between bowls and ladle the stew over top. Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.25of Recipe | Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 1470mg | Potassium: 664mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 14.9mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 4.3mg
    Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I'll be sure to find it.

    Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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    151Shares
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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. MEAl5

        November 15, 2017 at 12:05 am

        5 stars
        SO good. And so good for you

        Reply
      2. Kris

        May 13, 2014 at 10:36 am

        I LOVE this recipe. I do mine a little differently though. I always double it so I can use the whole can of coconut milk - I like it to be like more of a chili consistency rather than what the picture shows. I also add cinnamon and nutmeg to mine. It makes it hot and sweet at the same time! I also just mix the quinoa in with the stew - I end up mixing it all up anyway!

        Reply
      3. upper Back stretches Arms

        December 24, 2013 at 2:54 am

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        Reply
      4. David Star

        November 16, 2013 at 6:44 pm

        Recipe nice enough, just bland. Maybe my jalapeno's were not hot enough.
        Added minced Sage to go with the butternut squash, Oregano to go with the chickpeas, and lots of black pepper. Did not have quinoa on hand so made brown rice. Served stew/rice with broiled pacific salmon. Will look at other herbs in the future. Will make this again, but will add cumin or curry spices.

        Reply
      5. Alex

        January 14, 2013 at 4:42 pm

        I just made this !

        Its awesome and not very long to make (quite messy though... two different saucepans and a frying pan---ugh)

        I would suggest making a little more quinoa as I felt there was too much sauce for the grain (don't double it though.. just maybe 1 cup instead of 2/3rds)

        Thanks !

        Reply
      6. Kelly

        December 30, 2012 at 12:22 pm

        This is absolutely delicious! Best detox stew after all the Christmas glutany! Do you have any idea what the nutritional values are? Thank you for this recipe

        Reply
        • Dara (Cookin' Canuck)

          December 30, 2012 at 9:15 pm

          Kelly, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this. I'm sorry - I haven't figured out the nutritional data for this one, but here is a site that will help you do so: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp I hope that helps! I do plan to start including nutritional information for future recipes very soon.

          Reply
      7. Colleen

        March 26, 2012 at 1:58 pm

        I made this last night for my family and wanted to let you know what a hit it was. Even the 6 and 4 year olds cleared their plate, which isn't always the case. Thank you for a keeper.

        Reply
      8. Anneli Faiers (@Delicieux_fr)

        March 07, 2012 at 11:17 am

        I have a vegetarian coming to live with me for the next 3 weeks and this immediately caught my eye. Anything with coconut is a winner for me and I love chickpeas too so I shall be making this asap. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

        Reply
      9. A

        February 10, 2012 at 7:55 pm

        I made this tonight for dinner and it was a great way to use up some leftover coconut milk (other half was in a curry). I ended up tossing everything in the pot all at once, so I don't lose any of the butternut squash goodness and so flavours would be more integrated. Also added a cup of veg broth to thin out the consistency. Next time I may add some spicyness, since coconut milk seem to beg for it.

        Reply
        • Dara (Cookin' Canuck)

          February 10, 2012 at 8:08 pm

          Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I always love to hear the changes that other make to suit their taste buds.

          Reply
      10. JenE

        January 17, 2012 at 7:24 am

        This was awesome. The nutty flavor of the quinoa was a perfect complement to the stew....

        Any tips on what to do w/ the rest of the coconut milk? I have more squash too, I will probably make another batch of this for my lunches here at home w/ the kids...

        Reply
      11. Kelli H (Made in Sonoma)

        December 14, 2011 at 7:17 pm

        5 stars
        I just made this for dinner and it's so delicious! It also feels good to eat because I know it's healthy!

        Reply
        • Dara (Cookin' Canuck)

          December 14, 2011 at 9:26 pm

          I'm so glad, Kelli. Thanks so much for letting me know.

          Reply
      12. Kelsey@ ReadySetFeast

        December 14, 2011 at 9:52 am

        Looks looks almost too good to eat! I just started using coconut milk in cooking and it makes such a nice difference!

        Reply
      13. Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet

        December 10, 2011 at 10:38 am

        Wonderful recipe Dara! I am bookmarking this for sure. I still have a bounty of homegrown butternuts waiting for their delicious demise in my basement. 🙂 Great inspiration!

        Reply
      14. Marla

        December 10, 2011 at 6:55 am

        Dara, I too went meatless the days after our amazing weekend. I had mostly veggies, lentils and nuts. Wish I had this recipe though. Looks wonderful!

        Reply
      15. Katie

        December 09, 2011 at 4:10 pm

        Just the title of this recipe had me hooked like a fish on a pole! This looks incredibly easy to make with simple, flavorful foods. I'm sure it's a crowd favorite. Thanks for sharing!

        xo,
        Katie

        Reply
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      I'm Dara, a Canadian living in the U.S. and sharing my favorite healthy recipes. My cooking motto is that healthy eating never needs to be boring!

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