This creamy and hearty dish is full of healthy, wholesome ingredients, and it’s vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Winter Squash with Creamy Shiitake Sauce will convince you that a meal of vegetables is satisfying and delicious.
I’ve used both spaghetti squash and butternut squash for this recipe. Spaghetti squash takes about an hour to bake, so I have to remember to get it in the oven before I start making the sauce. I also don’t use olive oil when baking my squash. The Minimalist Baker has an easy recipe to follow. When using butternut squash, I spiralize the top solid part of the squash and warm up the squash noodles in a steamer for 2-5 minutes. You can watch how I spiralize the butternut squash, and troubleshoot, in the video at the end of this post.
Leftover mushroom sauce tastes great served with steamed potatoes. My husband’s preference is to add some beef to the mushrooms and serve it over rice, making a beef stroganoff dish.
If you shop at Trader Joe’s, feel free to substitute their frozen Mushroom Medley for the additional sliced crimini mushrooms. In the video, I combined the Mushroom Medley mix to the blended shiitake sauce. For better plate appeal, serve the sliced mushrooms on top of the veggie noodles and shiitake sauce. Finish the dish by sprinkling it with either sliced green onions or parsley on top.
Shiitake mushrooms are a powerful immune-boosting and cancer-fighting food, according to another article from the Medical Medium Blog. These mushrooms contain interferons which have strong antiviral effects on the body. This “miracle mushroom” also has the ability to absorb pollutants and toxins from our body.
Winter squash is a nutritious food full of phytonutrients and antioxidants. According to the Medical Medium Blog winter squash helps to reduce inflammation, is easy to digest and is high in vitamins and minerals. Serving spaghetti squash or butternut squash is an excellent choice to help strengthen your immune and nervous systems.
Coconut milk also contains antioxidants that are both antiviral and antibacterial. The Medical Medium Blog has additional information on the power of coconuts. If you are looking for another tasty dish using coconut milk be sure to try Coconut Curry.
Serving this immune boosting antiviral meal is an excellent and delicious way to support your family’s health this winter. I hope you enjoy this vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free specially meal.
Winter Squash with Creamy Shiitake Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. water or veggie broth
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 knob fresh ginger, grated
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
- 1 spaghetti squash or winter squash of your choice
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place squash flesh side down on a baking sheet and bake for 45 min. to 1 hour until a knife easily pierces the skin and flesh. Cool and use a fork to scrape out the squash strings. If using a butternut squash, refer to the video on how to spiralize a butternut squash.
- Combine water (or veggie broth), garlic, ginger. lemon juice, shiitake mushrooms and coconut milk in a pan. Simmer. Blend ingredients together in a blender for a delicious mushroom sauce.
- Sauté onion, additional mushrooms in coconut oil (or water). Add coconut aminos. If you are using Trader Joe’s Mushroom Medley instead, you can skip this step. Heat Mushroom Medley according to package directions.
- Serve squash, Creamy Shiitake Sauce, with additional mushroom. Sprinkle with either sliced green onions or parsley on top. Enjoy!
- Additional Tips:
- I make this recipe using either spaghetti squash or butternut squash noodles. When using butternut squash, I prefer to make noodles using my spiralizer from the top part of a butternut squash. First peel the squash, then cut the top of the squash into 4 pieces lengthwise to spiralize. Warm up the squash noodles in a steamer for 2-5 minutes. You can also use potatoes, gluten-free noodles or rice to serve with the Creamy Shiitake Sauce.
- To save time when making the shiitake sauce, don’t slice the shiitake mushrooms. The mushrooms and coconut milk will be blended together in a blender to make the creamy sauce.
- Another time saving tip is to substitute Trader Joe’s Mushroom Medley instead of slicing and sautéing additional cremini mushrooms. You can add the extra mushrooms to the shiitake sauce or serve it on top.
My Medicinal Home 
Looks wonderful!
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