Ready for a Festive Fall side-dish for your dinner!? This one is so tasty, bringing together flavors of autumn with a sweet roasted pumpkin and cinnamon apples! Roasted using coconut oil and adding cinnamon coconut flakes at the end gives it the perfect tasty touch! And of course, it’s nutritiously healthy!
On what very well could have been the peak fall foliage day, I took a drive to my favorite farmer’s market and farm stand, Blooming Hill Farm, to pick up some autumn vegetables.
They had a bunch of apples along with a bunch of pumpkins! I didn’t know exactly which pumpkin I wanted, but I had an idea to prepare a sweet side-dish.
I chose a Red Kuri pumpkin you see on the left, and a Kabocha Pumpkin you see on the right.
For this recipe, we’re going with the Kabocha! Packed with vitamins and minerals, it brings some yummy health benefits to the fall table! Often Kabocha is seen as a green pumpkin with the inside flesh orange just as you’d expect with any pumpkin. The one I picked up is a red kabocha and is usually a bit sweeter than the green. The inside flesh is indicative of the high amounts beta-carotene the pumpkin packs! Our bodies convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is essential for our immunity, eye, skin and cell health. Also a good source of vitamin C and fiber and as with any squash, it’s an easy to digest vegetable! It is low in carbs and is low on the glycemic index, which is key for people looking to keep their blood sugar in check. The skin is edible as well, just as with zucchini or yellow squash! Extra fiber in the skin too!
Let’s begin! You can use any size Kabocha and cut it in half, scooping out the seeds.
Cut in sections just as you would cantaloupe.
Place in bowl and pour melted coconut oil over to coat. About 1-2 tbsp should be enough depending on the size of your kabucha
Place on foil-lined sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of ginger.
Separately slice apples and coat with a bit of melted coconut oil and cinnamon. A touch of maple syrup or butter here is ok.
Line on parchment paper on baking sheet, then bake for about 30 minutes.
When the kabocha ready, cut from skin and place in serving dish. It should cut through very easily.
Add apples to pumpkin and if you would like, you can add toasted cinnamon coconut ! Below is how to toast the coconut flakes.
One cup of unsweetened coconut flakes, add to bowl with remnants of coconut oil. Add cinnamon to coat generously.
Line on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for only about 10 minutes or even less, they will burn quickly!
Sprinkle on top pumpkin and apples and there you have a super nutritious autumn side-dish! It’s a sweet one, but not overly sweet and goes well with lean meat, vegetables and tart dishes too!
You can also serve this over a bed of sauteed Kale!
And by doing so, you just served up some fantastic fall nutrition! Infographic courtesy of rawkinbodycleanse.com
| Prep Time | 5 mins |
| Cook Time | 30 mins |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 Kabocha Pumpkin Medium sized or larger depending on your preference
- 1-2 apples Use as many apples here, I typically use 2 to get a good amount of slices
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 2-3 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 cup coconut flakes
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350F
- Cut kabocha pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Then slice into sections.
- Place into bowl and pour coconut oil over meat, sprinkle with cinnamon over each
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place kabocha and apples together - or you can do separately having kabocha on one sheet and apples on another.
- Bake in oven for about 30 mins. The time can vary depending on your oven heat and the size of the pumpkin. Ideally you want the pumpkin to be soft and easy to remove from skin, maybe with a touch of brown roasted meat on the tips if you prefer
- For cinnamon coconut flakes, add flakes to same bowl with the remnants of coconut oil and cover generously with cinnamon. Line another sheet with parchment paper and spread flakes out. Bake for about 8-10 mins keeping an eye as they can burn quickly
- Place pumpkin and apples in a pretty bowl, sprinkle cinnamon coconut flakes over top and serve!
Your roasted Kabocha pumpkin with cinnamon apples and coconut flakes recipe looks delicious. I would love the recipe. Have you posted it anywhere.
Thanks
Moira
Hi Moira!
Thanks so much for reading my blog. I have been having trouble with the recipe plug-in for this site, I need to replace it with a new one as so many of my recipes are not appearing under the blog. I updated it now and it is there, hopefully it stays. If you see this response and make the recipe, let me know how it goes!
Jamie